The two of us first visited the Hunter's Rest for my birthday in January 2005 and we fell in love with the place. It nestles in the heart of the Somerset countryside and pheasants, owls and swallows are so ubiquitous they seem part of the service. The inn has a great atmosphere and truly feels like the earthy, but civilised Hunting Lodge it once was. The food is excellent - it's hard not to go for the local fare of 'Oggies' every meal, but there are always plenty of specials on offer and I couldn't think of a more fitting place to eat Game Pie or Venison. Breakfast is hearty and the Full Somerset takes some beating if you like your breakfast English and traditional.

Sad though it may be, we've been back to the Hunter's rest close to twenty times over the past two years. In that time we've stayed in all the rooms at least once, but room 4 with it's traditional four-poster and roll-top bath remains our favourite. We have always found the rooms comfortable and well-equiped, being cleaned daily.

Most of all it is the warm welcome and the level of friendly service that keeps us going back. The landlord genuinely cares about his guests and does everything he can to make each stay at least as good as the last. We have always found the other members of staff to be friendly and efficient.

We would recommend anyone to visit the Hunter's Rest if they want a genuinely warm and friendly holiday experience. Forget your cheap and cheerful seaside B&Bs or your la-de-da snooty hotels, this is the real English getaway. Don't all go at the same time though, we'll be wanting our favourite room again soon!

We stayed here for 4 nights this year. Whilst the rooms were acceptable (there are none on the ground floor if you find stairs a bit difficult), they were not always as clean as could be and the tea and coffee trays were not fully replenished.

The view across the vast flat roofed extensions towards the fields is terrific and the "balcony" constructed on the flat roof was OK, however, even as bird lovers, the swallows' nest immediate above the door onto the roof had left much evidence of its presence!

Mine host is very friendly - as are his dogs who live on a settee in the bar. He supervised breakfast only and at this meal we had to ask for the grapefruit to be cut, there were no grapefruit spoons and we had to share the time with staff spraying tables nearby with furniture polish.

However, our main criticism is the amateur running of the place by an assorted group of young people, many of whom we only saw on one occasion. The staff also use the bar as their staff room. Totally unprofessional.

Downstairs, the bar and restaurant were dirty and shabby, funishings were smelly and outdated (roll on no smoking!) and the conservatory had the biggest cobwebs we have ever seen. This area is a disaster with drapes faded and filthy.

The menu was very ordinary, the specials did not change for the first two nights and of these, a number were crossed off at a very early hour of the evening.

This may have been a quintessentially English pub - however, no longer and we will certainly not return.

From the moment we entered the pub, the landlord and staff were welcoming and attentive and we were made to feel very much at home.
Our room was clean, very comfortable and nicely decorated, with a lovely bathroom and had fantastic views of the countryside - extremely relaxing.
Despite being located quite remotely, The Hunters Rest is a popular pub for diners and the landlord made sure that a table for dinner was reserved for us and others staying there each night. The food is very good pub food, reasonably priced and the ale well kept with a selection of four real ales in addition to the usual. Breakfast was also excellent.
Well worth 'hunting' down!

(Jan 2006) We recently stayed at the Hunters Rest and apart from the fact that no one was there when we arrived it was very pleasurable. The pub itself was o.k. the ale was very good, the food was nothing special but the en-suite room more than made up for the rest. The en-suite bathroom was very clean and new and the breakfast was very pleasant. The landlord was a very jovial pleasant character. Nice stay.