The Volunteer Inn

Unfortunately, the accommodation did not live up to the description on The Volunteer Inn's website. "The Volunteer Inn is a recently re-opened lively Public House based in the lovely village of Grove found within Wantage in Oxfordshire. With 5 en-suite Double Guest Rooms all freshly redecorated and modern facilities installed, this lovely Inn is a wonderful treat for business users, couples, and much more." As you can see from the photos, these statements are misleading. The corridors leading to the rooms are grubby and in need of repair (holes in walls and ceilings). The stairway is steep and has low ceilings (I feel this should be outlined in case people have access requirements). The room itself was adequate but with a very old, very thin quilt, with no additional blankets, meaning I was cold all night. There was a fan just outside the room which made an intermittent noise which made for interrupted nights sleep. The shower over the bath did not have any grab rails and this meant that I was unable to have a shower. The carpark was dark, with no lighting. We tried to explain our concerns and give the manager an opportunity to address our concerns. After some back and forth we refused to stay for the full duration of our stay and found alternative accommodation in Wantage for the same price, which included breakfast and surpassed expectations.

I booked a 'deluxe room' it was tiny and shoddy. There was damage to the plasterwork, a rusty radiator with the paint peeling and the shower/toilet was tiny. I decided to check out within an hour even though it meant I lost my money as it was non-refundable.

Quiet & very clean room. Perfectly adequate breakfast. Definitely tired in places, some redecoration required & a rather pokey entrance area to the rooms with vacuum cleaner “decoration”. I ‘d like to suggest that the bar floor is not cleaned whilst guests are having breakfast!!

Booked a double room for one night as we were attending a wedding at Lains Barn, just down the road. Underwhelmed when we first pulled up into the car park- if this happens to you, keep the faith. Fantastic warm welcome- honestly so friendly! The room was clean and tidy, small en-suite shower room. The bed was super comfy with lovely bedding. We both got a great nights sleep 😴 We only had coffee in the morning as we were going out for a birthday lunch that day. Chatting to the owner’s daughter we understand they source all local produce for the pub - as much as is possible. So a great place to stay if not the most attractive.

Stayed 2 nights in Feb in a single ensuite room - simple room with good shower, lots of hot water; generous central heating. Spotlessly clean, with a comfortable small double bed; plenty of tea & coffee supplies and excellent lighting for work or reading in bed. Chose the breakfast included rate and it was very good value for a full breakfast. Looks like there is no ground floor room so you do need to climb stairs to the rooms. Pub was very quiet each night. Some traffic noise from the A338 in the morning but not enough to disturb. Easy to find.

Kitchen was closed so no food available at all

Having phoned to check latest check in time we arrived at 2045, having been told latest was 2100, no problem we thought, then we were told that we’d have to wait, no reason given, so we waited and we’re taken to the room that smelt of musk and damp, there were holes in the walls and damp on the walls, the bed creaked, bathroom was clean , and the carpet was damp, no actually sodden, I raised these points in the morning and apparently the roof had leaked, it was an old building etcetera etcetera, none of this information was passed to us, we were pushed for time as we were attending a funeral so I left my number and asked them to call after 1400, they said they would and of course didn’t, Young inattentive staff more interested in playing darts

Friendly staff and clean

Just the one night in this friendly pub, they serve a very good breakfast