Introduction:-
My partner and I have stayed at the Wayford Bridge Inn Hotel on several occasions now merely because it is somewhere local enough to stay at short notice, yet far enough away from home to feel as though we have actually been somewhere. The hotel is as the name suggests located nearby to a bridge that crosses the River Ant that is part of the Norfolk Broads in a village called Stalham. As well as being right on the Norfolk Broads it is also within 10 miles of the Norfolk coast and Norfolk's main city Norwich is an easy drive of just over 15 miles offering good shopping and leisure facilities. Another reason we choose to stay at this hotel is the fact that they are dog friendly and only charge £5 on arrival for the privilege of allowing the dog to be allowed on the premises and in the room. The only place the dog understandably is not allowed is the restaurant area however they are quite happy to serve food in the bar area if you do not want to leave the dog in the room unattended. Getting There and Checking In:-
The hotel is located on the A47 and is very easy to spot from the main road so in turn is quite easy to get to even first time round in what seems a little like the middle of nowhere. Once pulling off the main road and into the car park there is ample free parking, however later on in the evening once people who haven't booked rooms start turning up to make use of the very well thought of restaurant and bar the car park does get full with some people having to park out of the designated bays but still managing to fit within the car park which is quite important as there is no way you would get away with parking on the quick flowing A47.
Checking in is an easy process as with most places these days and I find it is more the staff that you are greeted by that make the ultimate difference after an hour and a half drive on a hot day. Luckily the staff here on the three times we've visited have been more than pleasent and perfectly polite, being able to deal with any queries we have had with regards to booking a table for both dinner and breakfast the morning afterwards. Checking in time is 2pm and kick out time is 11am however on the one occasion that we did arrive an hour early the staff were more than accomodating and we were allowed to grab our keys and go straight to our room as it had already been cleaned.
Upon arrival the hotel looks pretty modern from the outside however as soon as soon as you enter reception there are features such as beamed ceilings that give the place a cosy established feel and this are mixed well with contemporary sofas and tables in the reception area. The reception desk takes up minimal space and is purely functional with enough room for a member of staff a computer, and a cabinet for the room keys and not much else, however this area is more than adequate for the purpose it is designed for.
The Rooms:-
When we visited here we have always been given a room on the ground floor, and all of the rooms we have stayed in were pretty much the same size and layout with all of them being described as luxury 3 star accommodation which I would most definitely be inclined to agree with.
Each room has a king size bed, flat screen TV, as well as the usual tea and coffee making facilities. There was also a desk with a chair which seems to be the standard at most hotels, along with a trouser press and a hair-dryer being supplied in the rooms as standard. Wi-Fi is also available throughout the whole hotel free of charge and works at a decent speed with decent reception throughout the building. The one time we visited here in the winter and had to use the heater mounted on the wall underneath the window, we found the heater to be more than adequate being capable of heating the room pretty quickly, which I consider to be quite important as I find hotel rooms can be quite cold especially if nobody has been in them the night before.
The one thing we were mainly concerned about especially first time round was the fact that there was a busy road not far from the hotel, and we were unsure as to whether this would disturb us during our stay. However the double glazing in the modern rooms is more than adequate and we couldn’t really hear the nearby road at all, even when standing at the window looking out over the river views that all of the rooms provide. Admittedly some of the rooms provide better views than others as the car park is between the hotel and the river meaning the ground floor rooms will quite often have cars parked just outside of the window blocking some of the view. Every room also has a decent size en-suite with a large bath with shower over, heated towel rail, sink and of course toilet with more than enough room to move around before and after bathing.
Most importantly of all though the rooms we have been given have always been spotlessly clean and spacious enough with comfortable beds/pillows which made for a great nights sleep which is more than I can say for quite a few other 3 star hotels that we have stayed at. Overall top marks for the cleanliness and comfort of the rooms with absolutely nothing to fault them on, maybe it’s just me but I do tend to look for fault when paying to stay somewhere even if it’s only to get some cash off of the bill at the end of the stay.
I would recommend booking a room through somewhere such as lastminute.com as I have found this on the whole to be cheaper than booking with the Wayford Bridge Inn direct. When we have called the hotel we quoted prices around the £80 mark whereas through other websites we were quoted anywhere between £35 - £55 depending on how close to the time we booked, so needless to say this was the option we took when booking.
Restaurant, Bar and Lounge:-
There is a large lounge area with plenty of comfy seating in the way of sofas and tables, with a large wall mounted wide screen TV, with the seating being arranged in such a way the room is capable of accommodating at least 5 or 6 large groups. This lounge is for the use of people that are using the hotel facilities only which I think is a nice touch giving somewhere to sit other than just your hotel room once the bar is closed.
There is a door that leads straight from this lounge through to the hotel rooms which means that there is no need to go around the long way and through reception every time that you wish to return to your room.
The bar leads on from the lounge and looks as though it is a part of the building that has been kept very original. Again there are exposed beams in the ceiling and a large fireplace which looks old and is lovely to sit by on a winters evening. Although the bar is the smallest part of the establishment and at the times busiest we were never kept waiting here and the staff always served us promptly and politely.
The restaurant looks like it is a new addition to the building being far more modern looking than the bar, with doors opening up onto a garden with plenty of pub benches in and views of the river. The ample size of the restaurant and the spacing of the tables means that even though it does get busy at times there is always plenty of space between diners, and it never actually seems as busy as it is until it comes to leaving and you realise just how many people you walk past on the way back out.
The menu at the Wayford Bridge Inn provides decent enough variety with a selection of locally sourced sea-food dishes, as well as the more usual steak and pub style fare on offer. There were also a couple of vegetarian dishes on offer, and they claim to be able to provide for people with special dietary requirements. The starters were all around the £5 mark with soups, garlic bread and a mushroom based dish being just an example of what was available. In general the main courses were around £10 with items such as sirloin steak being up around the £15 mark. Deserts again were all priced at around £5 with cheesecake, apple pie and ice-cream amongst others being on offer. There is as with most restaurants a specials board with a starter, main and desert of the day which changes on a regular basis. Service in the restaurant has always been exceptional as has the standard of food we have received on each occasion so once again top marks here.
Overall:-
Overall this is a great family run hotel with everybody involved with the running of the place, from the receptionist through to the bar staff and waiters, striving to give an excellent level of customer service, and provide the treatment that paying guests would expect whilst staying in their premises. All of the staff that we have encountered here has been well mannered and smartly presented, and each time has made our stay as relaxing and pleasant as was humanly possible.
This hotel has been worth every penny we have spent on staying here, with the relaxed atmosphere and friendly staff being the main reason we return, rather than staying at other hotels that are just as conveniently placed for the purposes of our stays. 10/10 from me on all fronts here a great hotel in a brilliant location, with miles of walks around for those wanting to use it as a base for a day’s rambling around the Norfolk Broads and the surrounding areas especially if wanting to take the dog with you.
A Great Hotel On The Norfolk Broads 
