It is important to remember that for every bad review there are probably lots of satisfied customers. These reviews are the comments of individual visitors to Information Britain and have not been authenticated by us. They should not be taken as the views of Crawbar Ltd - publishers of this web site.

Reviews of Buck Inn, Buckden

Best rates for a Local Hotel

Review by L Beckett on 27th August, 2010

Add your review
My partner and l discovered the Buck Inn a year ago when we stopped for a meal, we enjoyed it so much we decided we would stay for a long weekend the following year, so in May this year we booked for three nights and couldnt wait to stay there, imagine our shock when we arrived to find taped to the inn door a notice saying "closed until further notice" couldnt believe no one had got in touch to tell us what was happening! we were both very disappointed and ended up staying in the White Lion in Cray,which if im honest is one of the worst places l have ever stayed in!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Date visited: 6th August 2010

Review by ian jones on 2nd June, 2008

Add your review
Stopped here about 4 yrs ago and it was excellent so booked again . After booking saw bad reviews and was worried - need not have been everything was fine , rooms were good and food was of the quality and price to be expected for a decent pub.The staff were also friendly and attentive. No problems so dont let old bad reviews put you off!.

Date visited: 30th May 2008

Review by Carole on 28th December, 2007

Add your review
We have just had the most wonderful Christmas at The Buck. The Inn looked absolutely amazing when we entered. The decorations were very tastefully done and there was a welcoming fire in the bar.The newly decorated public rooms and reupholstered furniture were a very welcome sight. Our bedrooms were spotless and comfortable. We had come prepared with thermal underwear but the hotel was warm enough at all times. All the meals were of an excellent standard. The staff were friendly and very attentive. On Christmas Day we had a fun evening of quizzes, all the staff joined in. I would thoroughly recommend the experience to anyone else and would like to than Julie Alf and Peter for all their hard work.

Date visited: December 24th - December 27th 2007

Review by paddy drury on 28th August, 2007

Add your review
My daughter and I had planned a hike in the area around the village of Buckden but had read poor reviews of the Buck Inn. We got a great welcome from thre NEW owners and I had a truley great pint at 11:00 hrs when we passed by on the Monday, so much so I booked in for the Wed night. On our return the service was great the room spotless and very comfy. The evening meal was a real treat. In short folks forget all about the old Buck and welcome the new. The new (2007) owners have spent more than a bit of money on the place and it a great place to stay, a very good pint and I wish them all the best for the future

Date visited: 20th &22nd August 2007

Review by Joe & Barbara Birchall on 19th August, 2007

Add your review
We would highly recommend a visit to the Buck Inn at Buckden, North Yorkshire. Alf and Julie made us very welcome as did all members of their staff. The food in the bar and in the lovely Restaurant was excellant. The bedroom en suite was very clean, all linen both bedding and towels were good quality. We shall be visiting again.

Date visited: 18/19.08.2007

Review by Gary Delaney on 1st March, 2007

Add your review
We recently had the pleasure of visiting The Buck Inn, as contractors working on the re-development of this hotel. Granted, previous tennants had allowed it to slip into a very sorry state, and clearly had no intention of getting full potential from it. We will say, however, that the new managers (Julie & Alf) are miles ahead of those who were last there, and have got the villages and pubs best interests at heart. It won't happen over night, but it will soon be the place eveyone should visit when in The Dales! We would like to recommend The Buck and wish Julie, Alf and the team all the best for the future! Thanks, ESS Ltd

Date visited: 26th February 2007

Review by Pam Todd on 16th January, 2006

Add your review
Had heard such fantastic reports of this place, so booked a break in December for the early part of January 2006. When we arrived we were not asked to sign in (I'm not sure if that contravenes any saftey regulations), no details were taken, and the welcome was far from warm. We were given a small smelly room which we asked to change. The Manager didn't have a clue and spent the time blaming the owner. The only other staff was his son and girlfriend? together with the Russian chef who couldn't understand the menu! There were 14 people requiring a meal on the Saturday night. We sat down in the restaurant at 7.45pm, the first to do so. We were still waiting for the main course at 9.45pm. The last family to be served, finished eating after 11pm.(They sat down to eat shortly after we did!) I felt really sorry for the young couple who had come away to celebrate a birthday and engagement. He was a chef and had heard wonderful things about the food too. They abandoned all hope of a main course after 10.00pm! I think this Inn is trading under false pretences, taking bookings when there is no way that guests can be properly catered for. Yes the walking, as always, was fantastic. The towels were clean and fluffy, everything else was a disaster. Who can this be reported to in order to prevent other customer's disappointment?

Date visited: Jan 2006

Review by Jonathan Miller on 3rd January, 2006

Add your review
Having read the two reviews above, I thought I should offer my own review, and a different slant. I have visited the area on a number of occasions with my parents, who are regular visitors, but this was the first time we have stayed at the Buck. yes, there are a few problems at the moment. The owner seems to get through more staff than towels, and the temporary manager seems to have inherited a potentially sinking ship, as bookings seemed to be all over the place, some DIY needed doing, and apparently the locals no longer frequent. However, in the 2 days and nights there, the room was warm and clean, the breakfasts were beautiful, large, and well presented, the beer was well kept and the bar was lively. The walking is still magnificent, there are plenty of local walks, tea rooms, pubs and attractions, and the staff are making every effort to tray and turn round a difficult situation. So, to cut to the chase, I enjoyed my stay, it could have been better, but it could have been an awful lot worse! Give the place a chance

Date visited: 28/29th Dec, 2005

Review by Paul Fobbester on 14th December, 2005

Add your review
There is a review of this Inn by Jane Hyde on this site all ready. All I can say is that I wish I had read this review prior to my visit and not after. Jane's story reflects my own ,word for word, except that the nationality of various members of staff had changed! Unlike Jane we could not get a discount on our bill on Sunday morning as the manager had mysteriously disappeared - as had any signs of breakfast. However it was some consolation that the staff had also given up with the place. The staff, who were obviously far from wealthy, were given lifts by the guests to other towns in the area looking for work. I fear that the Buck will open for business again this weekend with another set of impoverished staff and another set of hapless guests. Stay away!!

Date visited: 9th-11th December 2005

Review by Jane Hyde on 18th September, 2005

Add your review
We had the misfortune to arrive at the Buck Inn for a weekend break. Arriving at around 6.30pm we booked into our room, which was just about big enough to swing a cat; the room our friends were in was not even big enough for that!! Both rooms were just about clean, although rather shabby and in need of renovation.To be fair they did provide plenty of big white fluffy towels in the bathroom - the only positive point in the whole fiasco. Prior to our visit I had booked a table for dinner in their 'acclaimed' restaurant. We went down to the bar for a pre dinner drink only to be told that the restaurant was not opening because they didn't have a chef, but bar meals were being served. We decided to give them a try because those that had passed us by to other guests looked ok. We were served by a very polite waiter from Portugal, unfortunately he spoke very little English. The meal arrived and was alright, but not what we had been led to expect from the hotel website. Breakfast on the other hand was a total nightmare - Fawlty Towers has nothing on the Buck Inn at the present time. There was a selection of 4 very mediocre cereals and some cheap fruit juice. The waiter (the same Portugese boy) arrived with one menu and eventually took our order. The full English breakfasts duly arrived, lukewarm. I had ordered just bacon which I sat and waited for and waited for. I eventually had to write down what I wanted for him. Tea and toast arrived eventually with my bacon. When we asked for butter and jam/marmalade he looked at us completely mistified, however some Flora type material scraped into a small dish and 2 individual portions of marmalade arrived for 4 of us. We were lucky compared with other guests though. One couple sat and waited for an hour before they were even asked what they wanted. One of another couple asked for 2 poached eggs, and they arrived on 2 separate plates. The list of misfortunes could go on forever, but in true British style we all sat and laughed about it. The manager eventually came along and told us that he had 3 peolple working in the kitchen - 1 German, 1 Italian and the Portugeses waiter. The other staff consisted of an Eastern European 'housekeeper' and a South African assistant manager. The hotel manager was good at only one thing - complaining about the owner and expecting us to feel sorry for him. He said that he had been there 6 weeks and got through 16 members of staff - not his fault, but the owners who had managed to alienate every single person in the village, and not one of them would go into the place. At first we did feel sorry for him, but he seemed quite incapable of actually doing anything but moan. After a quick conference we decided that enough was enough - we should have been enjoying the weekend and were not there as some kind of penance. We spent the next 2 hours looking for alternative accomodation which we eventually found in Aysgarth. It was a pleasure to leave the Buck Inn with at least some discount on our bill. Until the Buck Inn finds a new owner and manager who can work together to give it back its' former glory and fulfill its potential then stay well away!!

Date visited: 16.09.2005

- Write a Review

Brit Quote:
People to whom nothing has ever happened cannot understand the unimportance of events. - T S Eliot
More Quotes

On this day:
Battle of Berwick - 1296, Fire Claims 19 Glasgow Firefighters - 1960
More dates from British history

click here to view all the British counties

County Pages