The Kingfisher Bedford

10/10

Exceptional

12 Mar 2026

Alexandru

Clean room and parking is good.

6/10

Pleasant

18 Feb 2026

Malcolm

z

10/10

Exceptional

11 Feb 2026

Andrew

Great position ,by the river. Staff very friendly, rooms very clean. I would definitely stay again.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

03 Feb 2026

Jacqueline

Lovely retreat ! X

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

19 Nov 2025

David

Very helpful staff

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

14 Nov 2025

Stephen

Friendly staff. Good pub food

Business

8/10

Excellent

24 Oct 2025

Eva

Nice 1 night stay, friendly staff, nice room.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 Oct 2025

Stephen

Very friendly welcome from Reception. Clean and comfortable room and a great restaurant. Plenty of free parking.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

05 Oct 2025

Katie

Lovely venue, basic but spacious rooms, food was really nice in the restaurant

Business

10/10

Exceptional

05 Oct 2025

TONY

Lovely relaxing stay, thank you

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

30 Sep 2025

Gary

Very nice, good food.

Business

8/10

Excellent

03 Sep 2025

Paul

Well located

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

24 Aug 2025

Tracey

We found everything very nice especially the waiting staff, always a smile and more than willing to help in every way . Only criticism we have was the wait for our meal on the one day other than that a lovely stay .

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

11 Aug 2025

Donna

Beautiful property to walk around and sit outside for drinks or dinner. I’ll be back again!

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

24 Jul 2025

Tony

Very convenient location for our visit to the Bedford area. Lovely settings & surroundings, very clean, comfortable and staff cannot do enough for you. Will return if ever in the area again.

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

16 Jul 2025

Karen

The only reason we didn’t score excellent was a half hour wait for cooked breakfast on Tuesday and a mix up about us checking out earlier than our booking, which was confusing. The staff at reception and serving breakfast and dinner were great. Thank you.

4/10

Poor

13 Jul 2025

Natasha

Lacked any warmth

Check-in set the tone for the entire stay. We arrived excited to check in to the hotel. We stood at the desk which seemed an age waiting for the member of staff to look up from his computer screen and acknowledge us. Eventually he did. Gave us our key and we went to the room. No information given to when breakfast actually was or WiFi code. Luckily these are on the key card.
Went to the room. We had paid extra for a family room as we had our 13 year old with us. The room was just a double. Phoned down and told reception that we must have the wrong room and was told they would put a z bed in. This bed was terrible, one false move and my son spent the night sleeping on the floor as it kept collapsing.
There are no net curtains, so as the room is so dark due to lack of lights, you can’t even draw back the curtains as all and sundry can see in your room!!
Breakfast carried on the poor theme. We had to send back the Eggs Benedict, as it was inedible. So I switched to the buffet breakfast. This was scarce, not topped up at all and had a very small breakfast with about 12 baked beans.
Checkout carried on the theme of the stay. There was no one on the reception desk. So we couldn’t convey our disappointment in the stay. We simply had to put our key in the quick check out box.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

31 May 2025

Torin

Amazing hotel brilliant for pets and pet family’s alike. Had a great time and will defo be using again if in the area.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

17 May 2025

Eva

Strange rule over terrace seating

We had a one night stay for a meeting in the region. The hotel is not near to any other Pubs so you are rather captive, it has a nice garden terrace area next to the river, this is very pleasant in warm weather. We were however very disappointed that despite being residents we were not allowed to use this unless eating. A bizarre rule.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

26 Apr 2025

Philip

“ Bedfords own oasis”

It’s maintained to an excellent standard . Tucked away off a busy road but with ample and excellent car parking facilities . Had a couple of meals during our stay which were excellent value served by friendly staff and set next to the local river.. perfect ! Well worth giving it a try .

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

16 Apr 2025

Verified traveler

Kingfisher

Lovely spot and very nice hotel/pub/restaurant
Thank you for a wonderful moment on my touring around

Self

10/10

Exceptional

13 Apr 2025

Philip

Another stay at the Kingfisher

We stay at the Kingfisher fairly frequently. The room and service on this occasion was excellent, as usual.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

17 Mar 2025

Abi

Stayed in this beautiful property for a wedding. Very comfortable bed and clean room.

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

23 Feb 2025

Kevin

Nice hotel/pub good value

Business

4/10

Poor

21 Nov 2024

Nick

Avoid

The rooms are clean and nice but no better than a Premier Inn so at £125 a night I expected a bit better.
Don't eat in the restaurant if you are hungry! It's minimalistic and wildly overpriced for average at best food.
They also put a service charge on before you get the bill which I found very arrogant. I requested it be removed both times as the service was poor.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

25 Oct 2024

Carl

Great hotel

8/10

Excellent

20 Sep 2024

Chrys

1) A convenient location.
2) Clean and comfortable room.
3) Good restaurant.

Business Self

4/10

Poor

11 Sep 2024

David

Dynamic pricing rip off for a shabby room.

I was in Bedford to clear my late parent's house, as I didn't know how long it would take, I booked into several hotels during my stay. Having noticed that the bigger hotels were indulging in dynamic pricing on one evening I booked into the Kingfisher (at about 6pm, so I can't imagine there would be massive amounts of people searching for a room at that time), assuming that as it was an independent hotel they must be offering something special for the exorbitant room rate,I am not allowed to mention otherwise my review is not allowed to be posted especially as the photographs would indicate that it was a very nice hotel, with bright and airy rooms.

What I got was a dingy room with no air con, no mini fridge and tired decor which quite frankly was below the standards of what you'd find in a premier inn. It was quite galling to note that a couple of days later they were charging almost fifty per cent less . So I guess that dynamic pricing practices aren't just for the big boys. Frankly even £89 would still be too much for what you get. They promise \"views over our grounds \" well, I suppose that technically, the car park is within the grounds so the view of the car park I got would be covered by that statement, but it isn't what you'd really imagine from the website. Once bitten, twice shy. i won't be staying there again.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

28 Jun 2024

ANDREW

Lovely gardens and hotel, in a quaint position next to the river.

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

12 Jun 2024

Ben

Rooms at let down

Staff, restaurant and surroundings all very nice. Room was tired and expensive (£170/night!). Double room was just two singles pushed together with no mattress topper so you could feel the whole gap where the beds joined. Noisy when people got up (5.30am) as water pipes are loud and doors banging all over the place. Won't stay again

Business

10/10

Exceptional

26 May 2024

P W H

as expected: your usual excellence

Business

6/10

Pleasant

13 May 2024

Shirley

The room was disappointing no view overlooked a flat roof to other buildings. Window security broken. Lock on bathroom door broken if you closed it you were locked in!! Room 26. Considering we booked this room in January for 2 nights would have thought they could have done better.
Breakfast staff slow and not attentive.

10/10

Exceptional

23 Apr 2024

Jason

Yes I’d stay again

It’s was pretty good food was amazing but small portions !! With a big price tag

Business

10/10

Exceptional

05 Mar 2024

Christopher

The staff are fantastic ,friendly and helpful. The food was excellent and the rooms are well maintained and clean. Our only problem was the pillows are very soft and there was no information if you could get extra pillows.

Leisure

10/10

Exceptional

11 Feb 2024

mark

Great stay

Amazing staff very friendly. Food was amazing. 100% will return.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

05 Feb 2024

Asim

Good hotel, bad restaurant.

Hotel was good, nice and clean, however the restaurant is overpriced for the type of food they offer. What the hell is ‘oyster mushroom’ dish about? Paid £15 for it for the dish and it wouldn’t even feed a child.
So 2 stars for the restaurant and food.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

14 Sep 2023

Gordon

Nice property, plumbing very noisy walls very thin but and enjoyable stay

Business Self

10/10

Exceptional

30 Aug 2023

JOHN

all of it.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

18 Aug 2023

Andrew

Property in a good postion, easy tk get to, loads of parking . Nice restuaramt on site .
We enjoyed our stay

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

12 Aug 2023

Daniel

Nice area , lots of outer area space with neat , and beautiful gardens

The food doesn’t give good value for money , steak’s about £26.00 and comes in a child’s portion without the standard additions you’d get from a standard pub

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

27 Jul 2023

Darren

Really good

8/10

Excellent

21 Jul 2023

Jenny

Quiet, comfortable room. Nice location. Plenty of free parking

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

13 Jul 2023

Thomas

lovley

lovely spot, shame there is not a path down the river so you can easily cross into Priory park and get into Bedford

10/10

Exceptional

05 Jul 2023

Curtis

The grounds and property was beautiful. We stayed on a Saturday night and there was a wedding going on- very loud until about 23:30.

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

03 Jul 2023

Zoe

Only stayed the night and checked in about 10.30 after a wedding so didn’t experience much of the hotel. Staff were on hand and check in was easy, quiet overnight and the room was sizeable. Nice grounds too

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

01 Jul 2023

Natalie

The staff were very friendly the breakfast was excellent and the outside area was beautiful

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

28 Jun 2023

Bernie

Only thing wrong was no hot water in the sink. This was reported.

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

27 Jun 2023

Jayne

Clean hotel in a beautiful setting

Hotel clean and a beautiful setting. Food could be improved as we had to send one dish back but they dealt with it promptly and removed it from the bill

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

21 Jun 2023

Julie

Nice setting

Business Self

6/10

Pleasant

16 Jun 2023

Kevin

Initially been ignored by the receptionist and then told wait was not a good start, room key given to myself, no your room 11 and that’s just through the doors , down the corridor and to your right , it was find your own way . Tried to book a table for a meal , very busy you can have a table at 5.45 ( 10 mins from me arriving after three hour journey) or 8.00 o clock. So choose 8.00 turned up at 7.15 for beer at the bar , said I had booking for 8.00 to be told you can be seated straight away , the restaurant was very quiet.
Meal , steak was not rested blood on the plate, also suspect straight out a refrigerator into pan , pepper sauce cold, but restaurant staff very good .
Room , TV not working

Business_and_leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

22 May 2023

Kevin

Very nice

Very nice hotel. Excellent dinner of Chicken Schnitzel and Fish n Clips. Large portions. Modern pub decor.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 May 2023

A

Excellent weekend stay

Beautiful riverside location in a historic building. Excellent service. Food was excellent and prices were reasonable. All in all a wonderful stay and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

23 Apr 2023

Julian

Good place to stay

Friendly and comfortable and pretty location on the river.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

19 Apr 2023

Debbie

lovely place to stay, nice food and very reasonably priced

Family

10/10

Exceptional

26 Feb 2023

margaret

Perfect base to explore the area

Booked this hotel to attend a family funeral. Booked standard double and Room 9 room size, bathroom, furniture all perfect. Bed was firm and very comfortable for us. The temperature of the room was perfect as some chain hotels are too warm for a comfortable nights sleep. Ate here for 2 nights and there was plenty of choice and we enjoyed the fish and steak was cooked to
our likening. We heard no noise at night but I would imagine that our room which overlooked the car park might be a problem if there was a wedding that day

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

26 Dec 2022

jason

This is a beautiful property and all the staff are very friendly and wonderful. The manager (Kay) and everyone else always had a smile on their face and happy to help. Kay also took us on a quick tour of the property and showed us the inside of the 13th century building now used for events (weddings, etc). Can't wait to go back in the warmer months and be able to dine outside by the river.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

11 Dec 2022

Chris

Fantastic hotel

Fantastic stay, friendly staff who made us and our dog feel welcome. Food was amazing as well, can’t recommend it enough

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

11 Nov 2022

Verified traveler

Good !

Evening Restaurant Service took 1 hour to bring food.
Stay was Comfortable and Peaceful :)

Business

8/10

Excellent

14 Oct 2022

david

Very nice hotel, good food, great service. Would stay here again.

Business

6/10

Pleasant

25 Sep 2022

Verified traveler

Nice pub but not worth paying for a king room.

Lovely hotel and bar. Booked and paid extra for a king bed rather than a double. Arrived and it was 2 singles pushed together (and made up individually). Spoke to reception and told that was standard for booking king rooms.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

19 Sep 2022

Jayne

I enjoyed the hotel and the gardens outside overall enjoyed my stay will stay here again

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

19 Sep 2022

Karen

Very comfortable beds. Good bathroom lighting. Good curtains to block out light.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

22 Aug 2022

Tessa

The pub was in a beautiful setting with very well maintained and stunning gardens which looked out onto the river. Staff were very friendly and helpful always with a smile. Room was immaculate.
The only very slight comment was the shower which wasn’t powerful at all and only like warm, plus on our particular visit there was a wedding, and the music didn’t stop until about 12.30 so couldn’t sleep until then, but totally understandable, they were having a great time, and we will certainly come back again and will recommend your hotel to everyone.
My partner and I were in the retail business for many years, so first impressions, and the way you deal with customers are so important, and whoever is in charge at your hotel has got it right!! Congratulations all the team at the Kingfisher!!

Leisure Partner

4/10

Poor

19 Aug 2022

Barry

Noisy Function and sleepless night

Stayed for an overnight visiting our son and his family.
There was a function on until about 2am which kept us awake most of the night.
Our room was on the ground floor opposite the function room.
I would have thought that guests who were not attending the function would be allocated rooms well away from the noise however not so.
We have stayed at this hotel many times over the years but I guess the moral is always check with this hotel if there are any functions on as you may get a room like ours and loose a good nights sleep

Partner

8/10

Excellent

31 Jul 2022

Jim

Excellent location and nice rooms. Plenty of outdoor seating. Drinks rather expensive but overall good hotel.

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

29 Jul 2022

John

the only thing lacking was no aircon in the rooms

Business

8/10

Excellent

11 Jul 2022

Christopher

Nice could do with some improvments

The place is loverly only think was the bed wasnt too comfortable instead if 1 kingsize bed it was 2 pushed together and also no air conditioning as it was a hot day which made the eveing abit uncomfortable but all in all a nice place to stay

Self

6/10

Pleasant

23 Jun 2022

Peter

Hotel

Hotel was ok to a good standard, but sadly the restaurant was closed which wasn’t advised or discounted.

Business

8/10

Excellent

10 Jun 2022

Verified traveler

Would stay again

Renovation works in progress, so hotel was not fully functional. Other than that it was a pleasant stay.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

05 Nov 2020

Luke

Nice stay with a good atmosphere

Clean enoigh although i found a web on the window. Tv was very small considering the distance from the bed to tv. The room could also do with another light because even with all 3 lamps on it was dim.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

30 Oct 2020

Michael

I would recommend this hotel

Very well maintained hotel. Covid rules adhered to

Business

10/10

Exceptional

07 Mar 2020

Verified traveler

Very clean.excellent location over looking the river ouse

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

05 Jan 2020

Verified traveler

Bed was uncomfortable, otherwise could not fault anything else.

Friends_and_family Partner

8/10

Excellent

23 Nov 2019

Verified traveler

Great hotel loverly and warm. Management obliging, attentive and caring. Room could do with some smartening up re the paintwork on the skirting boards door frames. (and dusting). Soundproofing terrible. Meals in the restaurant really good but limiting/boring for a vegetarian/vegan especially the deserts.

Business Partner

8/10

Excellent

04 Nov 2019

John

Very good nights sleep

Perfect for an overnight visit to the family in Bedfordshire.

6/10

Pleasant

09 Oct 2019

Verified traveler

Plenty of parking. Friendly staff. Decent food and not over priced.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

06 Oct 2019

Verified traveler

Lovely location and surroundings . Room was nice and, overall e joyed our stay

10/10

Exceptional

02 Oct 2019

WesV

Historical buildings just outside Bedford backing onto nice section if the River Ouse. Friendly welcoming staff. Has some very good meals in the dining room. Our particular room was comfortable and quiet despite wedding event taking place during our stay. Breakfast maybe a little on the pricy side although kitchen prepared options excellent.

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

10 Sep 2019

Marcus

Great Wedding & Venue / Accomodation a Let Down

We were part of a wedding taking place on a Sunday .
The wedding started at 13:30 in the hotels Barn and check in time is 2pm. As we all know Sunday is the least occupied hotel night so you would expect that the rooms being used by guests of the wedding would be the priority, bearing in mind how much the wedding cost, and would be ready by 1pm to allow guests time to check in before the wedding started and change but they weren’t so people had to check in between the ceremony and the breakfast and as a result one person missed out on being in the guest photo. To add to that the receptionist could not have been less helpful, ignoring customers at reception when she had clearly seen 3 of us waiting when she returned to the unstaffed desk. She was slow, miserable and very unhelpful. Then the TV reception in the room was so poor you couldn’t watch anything longer than 15 minutes before you had to turn it off because picture and sound were breaking up on all channels. In the morning we were woken up by someone clearing leaves with a blower outside our window at 8am and lawnmowers being moved engines running on the service road outside our window. As check out time is 11am an hour earlier than lots of hotels they could have waited until 9am to garden outside bedrooms or timetable it in for after 11am when rooms would all be empty of guests.

Friends_and_family Friends

8/10

Excellent

26 Aug 2019

Craig

Nice and relaxing by the river

Nice hotel with good food in them restaurant for both dinner and breakfast. The bar area is nice but the seating by the river is a lovely place to have a beer and relax.
My only gripe would be the lack of air conditioning in the room.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

23 Aug 2019

Verified traveler

Excellent hotel with good kitchen. Rooms are decent with recently renovated furniture. Staff friendly and helpful.

Friends_and_family Family

6/10

Pleasant

16 Aug 2019

Gordon

Went to check in and was told Expedia didnt pass the booking on to them so hadnt expected us. Showd them the confirmation I recieved from Expedia and they said they had 2 rooms left so luck for us.
Went to the room and it smelt of damp and wetness, had a debumidifier running and the door propped open with a towel.
We took the room anyway amd opened the window as we were at a wedding we had to get back too. Slept with the window open amd left early the next day.
The staff were lovely and helpful though and the rest of the hitel was good. The bridal/wedding suite was lovely as well.

Leisure Partner

4/10

Poor

31 Jul 2019

Verified traveler

Young staff were very helpful, unfortunately it was extremely noisy due to a wedding and it was difficult to sleep.

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

31 Jul 2019

Gareth

Picture perfect

Picture perfect hotel where you can dine adjacent to the tranquility of the river as boats gently pass by. The room provided everything you'd expect with no external noise. Food was good but best to err on the side of caution and cook the chicken burger for a few minutes longer. Staff were welcoming and helpful.

Business

8/10

Excellent

16 Jul 2019

Vicky

Riverside location was lovely and just as pictured which is unique !
Quiet room on upper floor back (even though there was a wedding going on)
Receptionist on check in and following day (blonde lady ) could have been more welcoming and friendly eg look up when new guests arrive at reception.
Could wedding guests be kept separate from other guests at breakfast . We really didn’t want to hear about their aftereffects of too much alcohol !

Friends_and_family Partner

10/10

Exceptional

19 Jun 2019

Verified traveler

Wedding accommodation

Stayed after a wedding at the hotel, so barely spent any time in the room but it was clean and tidy. Shower was a bit disappointing but otherwise perfect for our needs.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

02 May 2019

John

Friendly, comfortable stay. Good food and good service. Excellent choice.

8/10

Excellent

28 Apr 2019

Verified traveler

Very pleasant hotel. Visited for a Wedding & Overnight stay. Boarded the John Bunyan trip boat to & from the hotel with a Buffet on board for our friends wedding. Restaurant staff very helpful & friendly. Good choice of evening menu. .Food was lovely & presentation very nice apart from the Ice Cream which really needed an extra wow factor. Great choice of breakfast, but disappointed as the cooked food was practically cold.
Overall an enjoyable stay

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

27 Apr 2019

Verified traveler

landing stage for private hire river trip boat.
Ideal for some types of wedding reception.

Friends_and_family Partner

8/10

Excellent

26 Apr 2019

Alan

Very nice hotel.

All good. Service excellent, breakfast could have been better.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

11 Feb 2019

Verified traveler

Staff were all excellent really friendly, there were a few issues at breakfast which let them down.

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

05 Jan 2019

Peter

Lovely place

First time here, won’t be my last I hope.

10/10

Exceptional

03 Dec 2018

Verified traveler

We had a very pleasant stay at the Barnes hotel. The room was nice and the staff were very helpful

8/10

Excellent

28 Nov 2018

Chona

Just had room only s visiting friends.
Will stay again if in the area

Partner

8/10

Excellent

07 Nov 2018

Verified traveler

Recommended hotel stay

Check in was very easy and reception were expecting us. Room was ready in time for our arrival and was clean and tidy. Bed was fairly comfortable and had a good nights sleep as the room we stayed in was very quiet. Bathroom was functional with a shower over the bath but the flush plate for the toilet was broken/smashed, it still worked fine. Stayed in hotel first evening, bar staff very friendly and also ate in restaurant. Good selection on menu from lite bites to a la carte but with a very relaxed atmosphere and dress code. Wine was a little pricey but it is hotel prices after all. We had breakfast the next morning; excellent choice and plentiful. Lovely setting with the river directly behind the hotel. Didn't see much more of the surrounding area as we were there to attend a wedding. Free wi-fi in the hotel and it wasn't a problem when we asked for more coffee sachets as there were only 4 in the room.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

26 Oct 2018

Andrew

Very much a business/ conference tyoe hotel. Was fine for what we wanted but I felt slightly overpriced to be honest.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

21 Oct 2018

Verified traveler

Good dog friendly hotel

Went with my dog, extremely dog friendly. Lots of nice walks both short and not so. Hotel food was very good room was clean and comfortable. Had a great stay

8/10

Excellent

11 Oct 2018

Tom

Very pleasant stay

8/10

Excellent

09 Sep 2018

Catherine

Just what we needed...

Stayed at the Barns Hotel because it was convenient for an event we attended at Wrest Park. Would go back simply because it was really lovely. Nice staff, nice room, excellent breakfast. The only thing I would say is that whilst the room rate was very reasonable, the cost of the breakfast was quite high.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 Sep 2018

Mark

My daughters wedding

Great location for my daughters wedding. Everything was there and the stuff couldn’t be more helpful.