Stayed in the Carnarvon Arms on the 21st March (room 116) and had a few negative experiences which soured what should have been a pleasant business trip.

The room itself was clean but the overpowering stench of the sewers through the drains in the bathroom was really unpleasant. When I complained about this the young man behind the reception desk had the reaction, "Oh My God! No ones ever mentioned that before"...and that was it.
Ordered two drinks (1 pint of lager and 1 glass of wine) which came to £9.50. The ovens weren't working therefore we were offered a set menu, we all opted for a crab starter which was pleasant enough. I ordered cod, tiger prawns and chorizo for my main - the portion was tiny, the chorizo was one small slice cut into 3 and we weren't offered any bread, potatoes, veg, chips etc. as a side.
In the morning we went for the full english breakfast which was decent if somewhat bland. The most disappointing aspect was the orange juice which wasn't fresh and instead was a jug of orange cordial.

Overall a poor experience for the £90 room and we won't go back.

Despite eating during a very busy time, and asking numerous questions about the new menu, the overall feel and service during my stay was "Bespoke" as the new manager highlighted to me. Bespoke is the new Brand too.

I was very happy, with the Bedroom, Wi-Fi, Food and the Shower and Freebies OOps!

If I am ever going to Winchester again, I will actually make the effort to stop at Burghclere rather than stop at Newbury or drive to Winchester in the furture.

We booked in advance at this hotel but on arrival at our room (carrying our bags through several fire doors and corridors with no help offered by staff), we could hear racing, noisy traffic. We went back down to reception (carrying our bags through several fire doors and corridors) and were given keys for another room. On arrival at this second room, we found the bed had been slept in and a dirty coffee cup was at the bedside (a tired member of staff?). We went back down to reception for the third time (carrying our bags through several fire doors and corridors) and were given keys for a third room. Again, this was noisy and by this time we were totally fed up so we left and booked in somewhere else.

We visited for dinner on a Saturday evening. Our initial impression was of pleasant, spacious surroundings. However, we gradually became aware of a casual indifference in the service. You couldn't say the service was actually bad - it just didn't seem that good. The staff seemed to be "going through the motions" rather than being genuinely interested. Drinks were a bit slow to come once ordered, for example. The food was OK, competently prepared and portions on the small side. In fact, the smoked trout starter was so small, you could have put it on a crostini and called it a canape. Overall, we felt the restuarant was trying to present (and price) itself as fine dining, but missing the mark. You have the feeling they don't quite get it.

At the end of the evening, after a brief search to find someone interested enough to take our credit card we were asked the traditional question, "Was everything OK for you this evening?" The answer, "Well... it was just OK" finally sparked an interest in the quality of the food and the level of service we'd received. This is where the Carnarvon Arms gets it wrong. That interest needs to be sparked when we walk IN the door, not as we're walking OUT.

We probably will not go back - shame.