The Royal Oak

As other people have stated the staff were amazing so friendly and welcoming, the food was next level and I slept like a baby !!

Just keep doing what you are doing I will be back

Mooie kamer en fijn restaurant/ pub beneden

Buiten nogal een rommel in de tuin, papieren etc. Kreeg een beetje wegrestaurant idee

Lovely staff. Accomodating of dietary requirements.

It felt dirty. The carpet throughout was really dirty. Noisy by the road.

Staff were lovely and food was amazing!

The rooms need a bit of updating and new carpert but it was clean and the bed was comfortable

Good bar and enjoyed the breakfast. Room was good (lots of milks, teas and coffees as well).

Woke early and did hear some early morning road traffic noise from my room when trying to get back to sleep. Not a problem though.

staff helpful and very friendly

Food was good and the breakfast.The room had everything you needed and was clean.

Nothing.

Clean, comfortable, lovely staff and good food!

No complaints!

Good for a one night stay. Vegan breakfast was welcome.

Needing some upgrade.

Close location to Alton Towers

Tired rooms, stained carpets and headboards (refurbished bathrooms were nice)

Location was ideal for what our party needed

Couldn’t close a window in the room which may have been a problem if the weather was colder

Good, tasty food at reasonable prices. Excellent breakfast, lots of choice.

The bathroom was very clean, with good size towels. The bathroom would, however, benefit from an upgrade.

We had a meal at the hotel which was very nice and the breakfast was very good to.

I booked two rooms. One was a double room and was very shabby the other was larger room which was cleaner but was very noisy as you could hear the music from the pub below.

Excellent location far visiting nearby Alton Towers. We had a full day at the park and stayed just the one night. Had dinner in the restaurant that evening and the included breakfast. Food was excellent and plentiful. They were also accommodating in my dietary needs swapping some things and ok with me using my own low carb bread. Rooms were nice and clean.

Only little negative was the mattresses were a little lumpy. But after a long drive and 9 hours at the theme park we were shattered so slept fine.

Convenient Location, spacious room, big bed, bath and shower, friendly, obliging staff and great price.

Nothing

Everything, the room was lovely and comfortable, food for breakfast and evening meals superb; but it was the staff that really made the stay. Everyone we met were so helpful and friendly. Thank you.

Nothing

All staff were friendly, helpful and welcoming. Room was clean, food was excellent. Everyone made our dog very welcome too.

No complaints.

The location

The late night music 2am

Lovely garden , good food.

It was noisy, people noisy outside of the property until 0:45 in the morning

Friendly, helpful staff.

Breakfast was excellent

Brilliant stay we are looking forward for 2 nights in November 2026

Nothing to fault

Excellent stay, staff Excellent, food Excellent,great location for what we needed,Excellent prices for food and drink.

If picky garden area could do with a clean up, new patio tables. New pull cord required in bathroom room 1

Food was good and the staff worked hard and were friendly and helpful

Our room was dire, not clean, cobwebs all over the ceiling, carpet was very stained and for a double room very small. The bathroom was very in need of a refurb. The floor was cracked and was generally mucky. It was very hot and a fan was needed. We opened the window, which was double glazed and there was lots of dirt on the ledge between the glazed. Generally the whole room needs to be refurbished

Good location from Alton towers, lovely food and friendly staff

The location of this place was ideal for what we needed.

It was everything we were expecting when we found it and then booked.

Food was good, staff was professional

Not very clean, toillet didn't work properly, and a lot of noisse from people and floors cracking.

Lovely environment with good staff,my kids had great signal WiFi all through

All was well

Food and staff very good

Our room small and was it for dog friendly use. Carpet and headboard on bed marked

Great staff. Plenty of tea and coffee etc. in room and biscuits

Nothing

Nice pub..good food. Good location. Friendly staff. Comfortable beds.

Dried mud in floor not been hoovered.

The friendly and professional staff, the food was fantastic and great value for money, the room was lovely and the bed very comfortable, the shower was incredible, the location was great for multiple nearby places of interest, loved the fact that it's dog-friendly. Overall just brilliant!

Nothing

Superb friendly and staff, all excellent, lovely evening meal and fine breakfast

Nothing springs to mind, everything fine

When we arrived we were taken to the annex of the pub/hotel. the carpet to the stairs was thread bare and looked dirty, in room, the shower grouting was black in places, window frame was as bad did not stay.

Our room was large, comfortable with kettle and lots of tea bags, milk, coffee, sugar. Bathroom was good size, shower was excellent (although for us, being older and not used to a shower over the bath slightly difficult to get in and out of). Staff were so friendly and helpful, nothing too much trouble and gave us good advice re directions, places etc.

Unfortunate that the main road is outside and has lots of heavy traffic! Keeping windows open in this heat made the traffic noise more but the windows did have secondary glazing. This did not impact our stay, its an observation.

Location

General cleanliness. Bedside lamp not working and on a roasting hot night neither was the fan.

The bed was clean and all staff very friendly, polite and helpful, doing their best to improve matters. Breakfast was good and well cooked, we only had bacon, poached eggs and beans. Good amount of tea offered. In the room there was a large amount of tea bags , coffee sachets and milk provided.

On entering the building (accommodation entrance) the carpet on the steps was ripped which made it a "trip hazard", also the carpet on stairs, landing and in the room were dirty and fraying in some places. Due to our evening meal having been delayed (we waited an hour) we was offered a free desert and drink each. Breakfast on the first morning, the cereal (co-co pops) was out of date, this was mentioned to a staff member, only to find the same cereal was there on the second morning. The bathroom light above the sink did not work. There was no safety rail for getting in / out of the bath.

Food was lovely, especially the breakfast and morning staff. Bathroom was comfortable with a powerful, easy to use shower. The venue has a large car park and plenty of seating outside.

I arrived late afternoon on a Friday after a 5 hour drive. Temperature was in excess of 30c. When I gave my details to the young lady behind the bar, the first thing she said was " you owe £86.25". I appreciate the venue was busy but a bit of an intro would have been nice. When I entered my room, the temperature was overpowering. I had to open the window to get some air circulating. There were 2 large and 1 small white, bamboo towels arranged on the bed. Both the large towels were stained. One worse than the other. The light above the mirror in the bathroom didn't work. The venue has a large beer garden with speakers dotted around and attached to the building. Sadly, one of the speakers was close to my window. When it came to sleeping, the blades on the fan provided were loose. When it was on, they either moved forward towards the metal protective cage, hitting it, or backwards towards the the stand, eventually stopping the blades from spinning. The music was eventually turned off at about 2345hrs. I then had the choice of leaving the window open and listening to the group of drunk males outside until they left at about 0130hrs or closing the window and being kept awake by the fan. I chose the venue as I was taking part in a sporting competition the next day. A good nights sleep would have been greatly appreciated but it was not to be sadly.

Full Oak Breakfast was particularly good and can be recommended. Room was spacious and staff welcoming, helpful and polite. Parking was plentiful and accessible.

En-Suite needed repairs to be undertaken. Towel rail, Toilet Roll holder were both loose and needed attention. Toilet seat was made of flimsy plastic and a little unsafe. Light cord for main light was missing. Music from disco/DJ VERY loud until midnight, exasperated as the room lacked air conditioned which necessitate the windows being open to assist air flow. Room lighting was very dim and would benefit from higher wattage LED bulbs.

The staff were outstanding - friendly and helpful in every way. Hotel generally is a little tired but we could see that there were improvements happening. We had an older bedroom which I am sure will be updated before too long.

Bedroom a little old and in need of a refresh, although the bathroom was great with new fittings all lovely and clean.

Friendly and comfortable. Food was enjoyable.

Location, food,value.All very good.

Everything

Nothing

Friendly staff, nice pub, cooked breakfast and good size room. Great location for Alton Towers too

Nothing

Nothing

Restaurant closed, no breakfast, no wardrobe facility, terrible beds, no internet, sparsely furnished, cold tap didn't work, possible leak in the bathroom, toilet didn't flush properly, no glasses for water. Terrible value for £97!

Extremely generous breakfast and great parking. We were visiting the area for a friends party so the location was great. The staff were very friendly and helped us sort out cabs/ubers.

The property was a little tired

Staff were very friendly and breakfast included in price was excellent. We ate both nights in the restaurant and again food was excellent. Very handy location for visiting alton towers.

Bedrooms could benefit from a fresh coat of paint and new carpets. Carpet was quite dirty. Also the windows need to be cleaned as there were a lot of dead flies lying around.

Lovely pub in a great location. Food was great and staff couldn’t be friendlier.

The place in general could do with some TLC and general maintenance. The bathroom was a little tired wirh the loo roll holder poorly fixed, shower selector knob broken and floor blown. The pub could do with a lick of paint and the beer garden tidied up a little.

lovely pub the grounds were perfect outdoor country music plenty of seating and carpark space, The food was delicious very big portions of home cooked quality food, staff were quick very helpful and polite, rooms perfect for our stay with our spaniel 5* from us

nothing we didnt like

Food

Rooms not cleaned well and carpets are old.

It’s a no from me . Food not very good , room average

The food was very good all provided by local suppliers. We had an evening meal and the full english breakfast. staff friendly. dog friendly. Beer was well kept. very busy so book a table.

The rooms would benefit from an update, but the good food more than made up for this.

The location is great and so easy to drive to Alton Towers. There is a good, large car park and it's free to park. The food is absolutely outstanding. Prices are decent. There's a lovely little field of cows right next door to go and visit.

The relationship between the accommodation and booking.com needs to be improved greatly. I paid for our 3 night stay well in advance and yet received messages from both parties saying I still owed money. Upon arrival I was questioned about it and really, the staff should have been able to deal with it with booking.com. We were also given the wrong room at first, I had booked a king room which clearly stated on the description that it had an extra large double bed and a bath tub. We were given room 6 which had what looked to be a normal & quite grubby looking double and a shower, no bath. Which had the previous guests hair still in. We were not impressed and spoke to a member of staff at the bar who seemed baffled that we were unhappy and kept saying "the pictures on booking.com are not a representation of all the rooms" and while I am very aware of that, the description clearly stated a larger bed and a bath tub which I had to reiterate to the lady several times before she finally understood what I was saying. She kept saying "I don't understand why booking.com have written that description" well neither do I, but it's not my job to find out! We were finally shown to room 5 which was bigger, had a bigger bed and a bath tub so accepted that. The room was ok, it was adequate for our needs but it was quite dated, paint chips all over the walls, cigarette burns in the carpet, the divan bed had a lot of staining and scuff marks all around it. There was a dressing table with no mirror, cracks in the mirror of the wardrobe and cobwebs everywhere. The sink in the bathroom didn't hold any water and the automatic light stayed on for a really long time so a little annoying when going to bed having to wait a good 10 minutes before the room would darken. The room had the large bed plus two single beds with pull out mattresses underneath.

We loved the property have stayed there b4.

It dose need updating Looking very old and wore

Dinner and breakfast

Very busy road alongside the pub

Brilliant

Brilliant

Excellent food, cheerful and helpful staff , large and well equipped room.

Choice of draught beer.

Perfect stop, after walking at Dovedale. Lovely meal and friendly staff. Room was comfortable, with Bath/Shower. Meal great and good wines. Easy to find, parking, very generous breakfast.

Nothing to dislike.

Lovely airy, light large room. Excellent shower. Quite a good range of cooked breakfast items. Nice variety of choices for lunch menu. Good selection of teas and coffees etc. in room Well located and easy to find. Lovely pub and garden. Lots of parking.

A wider variety of cold breakfast items eg pastries No amenities for making your own toast or jug of milk available for cereals. Pillows were very hard, although we did find softer ones in cupboard. Non slip mat is needed for bath. No handrail on stairs and no lift available.

The room is awaiting a refresh so the bathroom is quite dated but the overall size was amazing! The welcome tray was well stocked and the room smelled nice and clean. We ate sn evening meal on arrival and the menu was varied. Breakfast is included and there are cereals and fruit juice, then a range of cooked items plus tea/coffee. We are vegetarians and I have to say, the cooked vegetarian full English was literally the best I've ever had! Plus Oat Cakes - never heard of Staffordshire oat cakes before but they added an unexpected treat.

The bathroom was dated and awaiting a refresh.

Lovely old building, very friendly staff. Room was clean and comfortable. I feel it was very good value for money, I think my room had,had a recent refresh whilst the room my sister had was a bit shabby. I liked the welcome tray with complimentary biscuits and hot chocolate. The cooked breakfast was substantial.

I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't a lift. The doors, that were fire doors, were very heavy, My window didn't shut completely so the noise from the adjacent function room was a bit annoying.

This was the 2nd time we've stayed at the Royal Oak, and it shows how much of a community favourite it is, as there was again a major local function on in the grounds. The staff are great, the food and drink very well priced, the rooms spacious, but you need to check what's going on in Ashbourne on the weekend!

Great staff, good food, accessibility

Inclined to to be noisy in the building at night. Shower over bath inclined to challenge agility and the shower screen set up tended to leave fror wet .

Food was lovely and so were the staff.

Carpets were filthy, otherwise room was good.

Staff pleasant and good location for our journey.

Despite previous confirmation that a vegan breakfast could be provided there was no oat or soya milk for the coffee and the only food option was mushroom tomato and beans. The bed springs made a noise when you moved in bed.

Superb location for the event we were attending in their function room. Bedroom was good. Facilities were comfortable, little dated but clean. Food including breakfast was excellent.

Some carpets need renewing.

This place is absolutely gorgeous, plenty car parking, pub is fantastic little place, food was plenty full large portion and a great choice on the menu, staff very helpful and friendly, room was really clean and comfy, highly recommended if ur going to Alton Towers its a quick few miles away

The room and adjoining en suite were both much more spacious than anticipated. The room was spotlessly clean and the bedding fresh as a daisy. The breakfast was excellent quality, and a great start to the day. Apart from being well appointed (we were there for a visit to Alton Towers 15/20 minutes away) the biggest strength of the venue were the staff. Super friendly, very attentive, and totally professional.

Two minor niggles... The tiny TV at the far end of the room was a bit disappointing, but not a deal breaker. The breakfast offer would benefit from the addition of yogurt to go with the fruit and cereal.

Great location, food was really good and reasonably priced, staff were lovely and friendly. Breakfast was also good.

Decor needs updating very tired and worn especially the entrance hall for residence. Room very dated fittings were not fitted correctly in bathroom, new pillows needed. Basic room for price.

Wow what a great place to stay the staff are amazing and the family room we stayed was wonderful we arrived late as we visited Alton towers which is 15 minutes away we were running late as we had booked a table there for 8pm but didn’t arrive until 8.30 pm which was no problem to the staff The pub has a massive car park and the food was amazing massive portions and value for money. As for breakfast what can I say we have stayed at many establishments but this lovely country pub’s breakfast outclasses many of the ones we have stayed plenty of options for breakfast and when they say a full English this is exactly what you get and very tasty too I’ve never tasted an oatcake which is served with breakfast and it’s great the staff are very nice and nothing is to much trouble it’s so good we have booked another stay with them for later in the year I would highly recommend this lovely pub to anyone I can’t wait for our next stay thank you so much to everyone there for our great stay you were all fantastic

The staff were really friendly and helpful. We took our dog, the location was great and there was lots of outside space.

The pillows could have been but more comfortable.

Great location and staff were great.

Rooms really need updating. Carpets are dirty and furniture showing it's age and wear.

Breakfast was lovely and so was the location

The carpet and the chair in the room was very marked

The breakfast, which was included in the price, was excellent, I only wish I had taken more time over it. I also had an evening meal there the previous evening, which was just as good, and the two other guests who joined me thought the same. There were plenty of supplies of towels and drink making ingredients in the room, and I appreciated the ensuite.

The road the pub is on is a busy one, which with the windows open( it was very warm) was quite noisy, but I had come prepared with ear plugs, so didn't notice once they were in, and slept well enough.

STAIR AND HALL CARPETS COULD USE A SHAMPOO BUT I NO THEY GET A LOT OF FOOTFALL

Great place to stay and food is amazing

Large, comfortable room with good facilities , including a refurbished bathroom. Friendly and helpful staff, a welcoming reception when my case was carried up to my room and a very helpful lady who served breakfast each day. Generous helpings of well cooked food at breakfast. A lovely position next to the river and close to Ashbourne.

N/A

Amazing breakfast and evening meal superb 👌 stayed here for 5 nights large parking area. Staff were extremely welcoming and dog friendly. Large room with very comfy beds. Perfect place fantastic scenery very reasonably priced would definitely stay there again

Nothing

most things.

Swearing in the bar in the evening, by contractors. Not very classy.

Food was very good, staff were very f - we had a lovely few daysriendly, location was excellent

Nothing!

Good location. Staff friendly. Pub food and breakfast lovely and value for money. The bed was somewhat comfortable.

The overall cleanliness was poor - bits on the carpet; hairs in the shower; dust; marks on the walls; general strange smell; carpets need a good clean. The rooms where the building is located needs an overhaul of painting and cleanliness.

Goed ontbijt, goed eten, goede prijs-kwaliteit verhouding

Vieze vloerbedekking, verouderd interieur

Breakfast was very good. Plenty of good tasting food Staff very nice. We did not do dinner. Our room was comfortable enough could of been a little cleaner

Cleanliness Hairs on sheets Lots of dust and cobwebs Overall we needed a place to stay overnight I would definitely stay again

The building is very quaint with old beams and features. Breakfast was amazing. Staff are fantastic and very professional. Plenty of parking and all set in a beautiful area. Beer garden was lovely in the sun with a refreshing pint.

You could feel the springs in the beds in the twin room like the mattress was out of the 50's. Windows were falling apart at the catches and couldn't really shut them fully. Neither of which spoilt our stay as it was only for one night however it may have become an annoyance if we stayed longer.

Staff

Gardens

Staff were excellent, really friendly. Food was great, as was the beer and really good value for money

Nothing

breakfast was great dinner very good room very tired carpet was very stained and dirty needs a revamp please do this as its letting your business down as the food was spot, this is constructive criticism for you we may not be the only ones to say this but we both have our own businesses and its good is feed back thanks for your time also please spend the money on a room and carpets revamp as its a good revamp and future proof for the business thanks

food, beer garden and staff

The breakfast was fine

Room heating and cleanliness

Location

The room was a little tired looking.

Very helpful, welcoming managers who made us feel very welcome. The managers were very accommodating with a large group and they served a really lovely breakfast. Excellent accommodation, again they sorted everything out for us as required.

Not much really, overall a great place to stay.

Could do with new stair carpet

Nothing

Good food and location

The breakfast

Lovely place in a great location - the staff were lovely and the food was great!

Location was good. Food and service were excellent.

As a motorcyclist the transition from carpark to main road needs improving. The carpark on a whole was off street and spacious.

Lovely location and good size room. Friendly staff and it was good to see a busy pub valued by locals and tourists alike. The food was fantastic. Great choice for evening meals and for breakfast and it was excellent value for money.

The bed was a little lumpy and some of the facilities in the bathroom were a little tired. That said it was very clean and spacious with lots of tea and coffee supplies.

Great breakfast and burger night was fab value huge portions

Good breakfast, friendly staff, comfy bed

Nothing

The young lady who did breakfast was really friendly and happy

Beds were a bit old

Plenty of free parking, nice location excellent breakfast

Room was on the small side but we weren’t in it much