Cross Keys Hotel

05.02.2025

Lovely staff, delicious food, beautiful building, warm atmosphere. We came for an evening meal before seeing a local show and the staff made sure our food came out in plenty of time to get to the show.

03.02.2025

We stopped in for a light lunch in this beautiful ancient town centre pub/ restaurant. what a lovely place. Internally it has been renovated to a high standard keeping lots of the old timber beams. Very good service and very good freshly prepared food. Would have loved to stay longer! And dog friendly!

03.02.2025

The food was varied and enjoyable. The staff were very helpful in dealing with the confusion of arrival time of different members. This enabled all of us to have an enjoyable lunch despite the confusion.

02.02.2025

Lovely hotel right in the town centre. Not so ideal if you’d like a good night sleep as windows not great and you hear every noise. Even heard joggers running past in the early morning. The staff are joyful and friendly but unfortunately for us the service, hence the bad score, let it down. We booked dinner for the Saturday evening which was poor service and breakfast (which was delicious when arrived) was even worse!!! There was not such a thing as hot water as we had to wash and shower in barely Luke warm which wasn’t what you wanted after a day walking in the cold. Room very small but clean and lovely comfy bed. Tea/coffee making facilities were spot on.

31.01.2025

Had a fantastic stay at the Cross Keys recently. The location is perfect, right in the heart of Saffron Walden with ample parking nearby. The room was cosy and comfortable, and the building itself holds plenty of charm. The staff were very helpful, friendly and obliging. The breakfast included with the price of the room was excellent, and the pub on the bottom floor very nice. Overall a super little inn which I'd highly recommend to anyone and look forward to returning to 😊

18.11.2021

A lovely stay as always

20.01.2025

I think the staff were a bit stretched as service was a little hit and miss I.e. pre dinner drinks arrived at the same time as the meal, long gaps between visits from waiters and had to go to the desk to pay. The food looked great and very nice portions but veg was a little cold under the meat.

20.01.2025

Pros: Comfy bed and pillows. Great location. Beautiful building. Warm welcome on arrival. Good breakfast selection. Cons: 10am check-out time seems stingy considering you can't check-in until 4pm. Bathroom lock didn't work. No bottled water in room (hope the bathroom tap water is drinkable!) Mouldy shower seal and heavy calcium build-up on and around shower. Also had to fiddle with the water pressure for a very long time to get hot water to come out the shower. Very loose toilet seat. Getting our order taken at breakfast took a while as only one waitress and manager had his head in his phone.

17.01.2025

It’s a friendly atmosphere and food is of a good quality. We had Sunday lunch - party of 4people but we all said the food was not hot enough.

13.01.2025

We went twice over the festive period the first time 28th Dec, and we were sat opposite the kitchen, the door was open so we could see everything. A couple came in with a dog ( nothing against dogs!!) sat in between us and the kitchen. We had our meal served, and it was lovely, but as we were eating it, the chef or one of the chefs came out and fed the dog sausages!! We never saw him sanitise when he went back into the kitchen!!! The second time, the wait was ridiculous even the waitress came and apologised for the delay. Once the food arrived, it was warm, not as hot as you would expect, because we were that hungry after the wait we just ate it and left. My problem is they put a service charge onto the bill (10%), and given the choice, I wouldn't have given this because that service was non-existent and normally I tip very well for good service 👍

12.01.2025

We made a last minute decision to have a night away and the Cross Keys Hotel, Saffron Walden was able to provide. The period room was everything we had hoped for with shutters on windows, a ceiling that was wavy with age and internal timbers - to say nothing of views out onto the High Street and Kings Street from the first floor. Chef Roger provided excellent vegetarian, gluten free food and we had both breakfast and evening meal. A delightful stay. Many thanks, staff of the Cross Keys.

07.01.2025

An evening meal. The pub is beautiful from the outside and inside and perfect place to hide from the icy cold in early January. We had loaded potatoes which I’d recommend before steak and ale pie and the steak for mains - both very tasty. The two chaps who dealt with us were very welcoming and polite, overall very good experience. The non alcoholic options were good too.

05.01.2025

Terribly slow service. We waited three quarters of an hour for our food to arrive and my lunch was cold. The food is generally good but the wait is frustrating, especially when a service charge is added to the bill and although optional, it’s uncomfortable to refuse to pay it. This is not a one-off. The ambience and building are very good but the service is consistently poor.

04.01.2025

Christmas Day lunch: The table was decorated beautifully and the food was delicious and the presentation was appealing. Service was a little slow but , having said that, the restaurant was exceptionally busy and our waiter was very attentive. A lovely venue to enjoy Christmas lunch with family.

10.11.2024

Big Thankyou to Wendy & all the staff at cross keys hotel for letting us host my Mother-in-laws 80th birthday. They were great!! They made us feel welcome and they helped making the night run smoothly!! Food, service was great!! Thanks again!

30.12.2024

Did not stay at the hotel, but had Christmas lunch. Service was terrible. Unfortunately the restaurant was short staffed on Christmas day which led us to have very poor service. The manager was useless and not up to the job, just buried his head in the sand. There was a young lad waiter who also was not coping and had a bad attitude and was rude. There was one good waitress called Laura who was very good and did her best in a tough situation. We stood for 15 mins inside the door before someone even acknowledged us and we had my 2 elderly parents ( one with a walking stick) . Once we sat down at the table we waited 20 mins and no offer of drinks so we had to chase. Our starters came after 35 mins which was fine, but still had no drinks ! ( We had pre ordered our food as it was Christmas day). We had to chase again for our drinks! We had finished our starters before the first drinks arrived! Food was ok though. We had to chase for our desserts , then they bought out 2 desserts, but we had to chase for the other 2 which took them another 20 mins and they bought out the wrong desserts ! so had to send them back and waited again! Fortunately the food was good, although the roast potatoes were more like boiled potatoes, which was a shame particularly as roast potatoes are important to your roast on Christmas day. Luckily we did have one waitress who was trying to hold it all together called Laura, and if it wasn't for Laura I am not sure we would have stayed, but on Christmas day you are limited to what your next option would be....will not be back.

29.12.2024

This was our festive Boxing Day meal, 12 of us managing to gather together for the first time in a year. As a result we did enjoy ourselves, but sadly there were disappointments. Whilst staff were extremely friendly, each of the three courses were extremely slow in being served. The food was of good quality and tasty, but most of the main courses were no better than luke warm. When the bill was presented, each dish was individually priced instead of showing the festive menu fixed prices, and it was only subsequently that as a result I found that the total price paid for the pre booked meals exceeded the original charge shown on the booking confirmation. Overall, a disappointment, but great staff and a great venue.

29.12.2024

The food and service was brilliant could not fault it. All the staff were so friendly and the food was AMAZING. It was my Birthday and they made it very special for me and my family.

28.12.2024

Ate in the restaurant. Very good. Service was good. Not stay at hotel so rest of questions not relevant

27.12.2024

nice setting, friendly service, nice people but the slowness and need for continual reminders never fails to disappoint

26.12.2024

Lovely stay in the centre of town. Enjoyed a festive Xmas meal which was excellent and two good breakfasts. Our room was very good and staff friendly with good service.

25.12.2024

Good

19.12.2024

My friend and I meet here regularly as it’s half way between us both from Kent and Leicester. Had a great breakfast as always! Always made to feel welcome! My dog was welcomed too and given lots of doggie biscuits!

16.12.2024

We called in for Sunday lunch and had a main course each. We followed that with coffee and a cake in the coffee bar. We were served by friendly staff and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere.

12.12.2024

Lovely meal, good service. Some items not available but not a problem, thank you

10.12.2024

my partner and i used to absolutely love coming to this place, we had been coming at least twice a month for the last almost two years. for our last two visits, the service has been incredibly slow even if it wasn’t busy, taking on average 30 minutes to be served, and our starters have been coming out before our drinks. we both work in hospitality so understand things happen completely, but it’s been a little frustrating. when we went to eat last night, we were one of 3 other tables seated. it took a good few minutes for us to be seen and seated, 15 minutes for our order to be taken and then 30 minutes for our drinks to arrive. when they did, the size of my partners drink was wrong and there was a big red lipstick mark on the rim of the glass. we called the waiter back over and showed him; he looked all around the glass and couldn’t seem to see it, and then said “i’m assuming you’re going to want a new glass”. he took it away and returned a few seconds later with the same glass that had clearly just been wiped around the rim. when we got our starters, the onion rings were thin and lacking in onion. we could also audibly hear the kitchen from where we were sitting. Granted, the table was opposite the opening to the kitchen, but we could hear the kitchen complaining about what we had just ordered. when the mains eventually arrived, the portion sizes were very disproportionate and some things that were advertised on the menu were missing. we asked for the bill after only eating half of our meals, and it took asking the server twice for her to bring it to us. when it came, we had been charged for the wrong size drink, and after that had been amended the optional tip was added on to the total we had to pay without an option for us to choose. We usually love it here but doubt we’ll be back :((

09.12.2024

nice food nice staff

08.12.2024

Nice hotel the staff were great they had to work particularly hard in the restaurant as all the tables were filled and there were about 20 choir people standing and singing christmas songs which we very much enjoyed staff copped very well with that many people to look after well done. Also the food was very good and so was the breakfast. PS was was a bit bothered not having any staff on site overnight but this is not a complaint would still visit again

07.12.2024

We had a lovely evening, with choir singers in the background. No complaints. Recommend the burger :)

03.12.2024

We had a delicious lunch in The Cross Keys...a venue I have always liked. Good service, warm atmosphere and excelent food.

01.12.2024

Friendly welcoming staff. Rooms quirky and have character.

27.11.2024

The cutlery and glasses were dirty, the service was ok. The food choices were limited and i would not go back

19.11.2024

Had dinner on a Friday evening (we didn’t stay in the rooms). Food was delicious and service was great - we will definitely be returning

18.11.2024

We came for Sunday lunch, food was amazing but the service was a bit slow

18.11.2024

We thought the pub / restaurant was lovely and the staff friendly and attentive. My mother in law wanted mussels and fries but being Sunday the waiting staff didn't think they were available. She came back to say the chef could make them for her. Our only disappointment was the dessert. The creme brûlée didn't have much taste and the crumble was a bit mushy. But all in all an enjoyable Sunday lunch on a wet afternoon.

17.11.2024

Staff terrible - rude, do not listen to orders and do not follow up. Waited over an hour for food and 4/6 orders wrong