Our expectations were high when we arrived at this hotel — recently overhauled by Ilse Crawford, the renowned designer behind the stylish and popular Soho House New York and Babington House hotel in Somerset.

So it came as a bit of a surprise when we were led to a tiny box room overlooking the high street in Hurley, a quaint, well-to-do village in Berkshire, into which a double bed was squashed so that it almost touched the walls on each side.

There were cream coloured walls, a stand-up mirror, a poky shower-room and three Penguin Modern Classic novels on a shelf. It looked like a rather dull, very plain, hopelessly cramped showroom at Ikea. A Range Rover roared down the street, passing by the window a matter of feet from the bed. What a letdown.

We asked for another room, and found ourselves in a slightly bigger version of the old one in an outhouse across the street.

This at least had some room to move, and sunlight was streaming through the blinds. Three more Penguin Modern Classics were propped on a windowsill.

A glass jar on a simple wood desk contained a few tea bags, milk cartons and ginger biscuits. Beside the bed there was a three-legged table at just the right level to bash your shins. In the poky bar, part of the original inn dating from 1135, there were a few battered chairs and some old-fashioned framed postcards on a wall.

Two glasses of wine cost £10. In the dining room there was a sense of chaos. The tables were very close to each other as though every inch of the room had been used to jam in extra diners (everything in the Olde Bell feels a bit squashed).

My house terrine was fine, but the chicken kiev was hopelessly overcooked and the service was tetchy and slow.

Afterwards we strolled round the corner to the Rising Sun pub. What a relief! No ugly minimalism. No fuss. Just a comfy old village boozer, with reasonable prices, plenty of space and not a Penguin Modern Classic in sight.

The Olde Bell (01628 825881, theoldebell.co.uk), High Street, Hurley, Berkshire SL6 5LX.

Mystery Guest paid £95 B&B.

Room 4 out of 10

Service 4.5

Food 5

Value 6

Score 4.9

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