Sleeps: 2 people
Price: from £110 / night for bed & breakfast
Location: Copthorne, West Sussex
The Old House Inn is a pretty, period pub with guest rooms on the outskirts of Copthorne in West Sussex. The historical pub looks as though it belongs in the heart of the countryside, but in actual fact it’s easily accessible to Gatwick and the M23 in minutes.
I spent a night at the Old House Inn during the August holidays and discovered a warm and friendly little pub with smart, contemporary rooms and great food.
Walking from the car park to the rear entrance guests are greeted by the pub’s stunning gardens. Bright borders bursting with colourful flowers make a welcome first impression. There are long, rustic benches for outside dining and a play area with a slide and tree house for children. Most importantly the garden looks tidy, well maintained and an inviting place to sit with a sundowner.
Sadly, on the day we visited the weather was threatening to down pour so we moved straight indoors. The downstairs bar is your typical Olde English pub. Low beams and wonky floor, intimate and cosy. We were greeted by a member of staff who showed us to our room to settle in before dinner.
The Rooms
Out of the six rooms at Old House Inn four are on the ground floor level with large wet room style showers and two are upstairs with a roll top bath. We were given one of the ground floor rooms which looked out onto the garden. The room, although quite simple had some quirky touches like an old fashioned dial up phone, Union Jack pillows and period lighting fixtures.
The king size bed is extremely comfortable and the built in cupboard provided plenty of storage. Unfortunately despite retuning the TV we could only receive a couple of channels so we were fairly limited in our choice of what to watch. The bathroom is smart and contemporary with a wet room style shower and some great complementary products including cotton wool, cotton buds and a range of Bramley toiletries.
Dinner
Our evening meal was the absolute highlight of our stay. The restaurant area was laid out with pretty flowers on each table and a gentle dose of Northern Soul playing in the back ground. The menu offers a good balance of traditional pub food and some refreshing alternatives such as Chalk Stream Trout and Spiced Falafel. There also seemed a good variety of meat, fish and veggie based dishes. I chose a warm crispy duck salad with hoisin sauce and crispy seaweed to start…and it was incredible!
It’s a dish I often choose if we’re eating Chinese but this was more fresh and zesty with a generous serving of crispy duck. I went for the Spiced Falafels as my main which again were very good bringing genuine Middle Eastern flavours to this corner of Sussex with roasted vegetables and mint yoghurt to moisten. Overall I was very impressed by the service, menu and quality of food and would definitely return to try a few more of their dishes.
Breakfast
Breakfast was another positive culinary experience. A continental selection of pastries, cereals and juices was available on a buffet table whilst a selection of cooked breakfasts was offered on a small menu. I opted for a full English which was cooked specific to my requirements and really was just the ticket! Sausages, fried eggs, crispy bacon…and even black pudding (which I usually shy away from) all served exactly how I like…my only complaint being the difficulty I had in moving after such a sumptuous start to the day!
Verdict
The Old House Inn is a friendly traditional English pub with friendly service and great food. The six guest rooms are a great option for couples or as an inviting alternative to a typical airport hotel offering an intimate and welcoming pit stop. It’s certainly a place we’ll keep in mind next time we have an early flight from Gatwick and in the meantime it’ll be another addition to our regular eateries!
I received a one night complementary stay with dinner and breakfast at the Old House Inn in exchange for this honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.