The Cross Keys

We were provided with a free upgrade, but to be honest we would rather have been in the room booked. The room was away from the main building, accessed by a steep fire escape, which was very poorly lit at night. Lights had been strung around the handrail, but only half were working. The first room we were given had a bath and shower in the room, which may be romantic, but to be honest offers no privacy. The toilet was also in the room, bit behind a smoked glass screen, which offered very little privacy and meat we were able to watch each other on the toilet! The toilet in the first room we were given had no light. ,and wouldn't flush. We were moved, without a fuss, I have to say. Our main complaint was about breakfast. Banging house music, accompanied by the waitress singing along was not in keeping with the age of the property, or the time of day! Also the waitress was on her phone, booking a garage to mend her car, meaning that she was late picking up our food from the kitchen when called, resulting in my husband's poached egg being hard from sitting under the heat lamp. Such a pity. I grew up in Saffron Walden and had always wanted to stay there. We won't stay againn Our

The room was very comfortable and we had a lovely meal in the restaurant.

Very clean spacious room. We were in room 8 in the barn. I'm not a fan of the open bathroom with opaque door to the toilet butva screen was a desirable addition. Most staff were very friendly.

The staff were all very good and helpful. We changed rooms as the first one was at the front and the road noise was horrendous! The second room was a bit quieter but the bed wasn’t as comfortable. Not sure I would stay again.

Good selection of spirits, staff very friendly and lovely breakfast. Room 6 is lovely just let down by renovations needed in the bathroom i.e. shower curtain required and as per photos.

Fabulous room with a roll top bath that I took full advantage of! Sunday roast dinner and full English breakfast were great.

Room was spacious and clean. Staff in the pub were lovely and very welcoming. A great place to stay. Would highly recommend.

Greeted on arrival, shown to room, Gentleman was Friendly and courteous, Room was lovely, nice warm shower and loved the TV housed behind the wall panelling!! Breakfast was amazing and once again the lady overseeing was really attentive. Great attitude to customer service by all...Amazing

Had a fantastic welcome from Jim on the bar. Who showed us to our rooms and went out of his way to see if one of the rooms could have a bath. Room was a great size and very clean and nice and warm. We had to go early so were unable to thank anybody for a lovely stay but really enjoyed our night before a flight out of Stansted.

I love the Cross Keys. This was my third time staying here... room 2 is my go-to room. I could hear the traffic late and early- but I knew that before I requested room 2. The room has old charm and a comfy bed. The breakfast is excellent- I get the "full English breakfast" of course. The host or hostess always had a smile or laugh- a good way to start the day. The background music seems to fit the personality of whichever employee was there that day... the young man who I gifted a bottle of hot sauce or the more mature hostess who liked music from my era (60's and 70's) ... she would sing from one end of the pub to the other. Made me smile. I absolutely recommend the Cross Keys for any overnight stays. Clean, inviting, and happy!!! Of course the pub aspect is an added plus! CHEERS... I will be back.

I've always wanted to stay here and it didn't disappoint. Really friendly service, comfortable room and had a great vegan option for breakfast which is usually very difficult to find! Thank you!

A return visit to this lovely old Inn. A different and larger room with a very comfortable bed, decent sized shower unit and good complimentary tray and toiletries. Great choices for breakfast and the evening menu was also varied with 'specials' evenings. Friendly and welcoming. Pretty town to explore with good architecture. Car parking a short walk but not extortionate. Have MiPark as your app so no need to get up before 8 am to feed the parking meter. Excellent value

Room clean & comfortable. Had problem with tea & coffee facilities but soon sort by evening staff. Lovely room in front of hotel.Good evening meal& breakfast in morning.Nothing to much problem.

Excellent all over. Fabulous food Fabulous room Spot on.

Nice welcome by friendly team member. Imaginatively restored historic pub with a lovely room with a comfy bed, well furnished with a claw bath. Generous breakfast served by an equally friendly server. So enjoyed our stay. The town has a lot to offer with lovely buildings and shops. Quite a find.

Everything was great. The place was built in 1569, so don't expect air cond but the place is great. Park in Swan meadows car park and walk up the lane. Parking cheap, and machines easy to use (no dumb apps that don't work). The single thing that let it down was poor wifi... not the signal, but the free service being offered by some third party that mines your data, and is chronically bad a t connections, they vanish, then won't connect, then keep restarting. All our 4 devices were a pain to connect to it. Get a dedicated decent service, this one does you a real disservice. Please note though, that the staff were great, the place fab if you're looking for authentic olde UK. The brekky was great... choosing off menu was no trouble for them... Thx , but really... sort the wifi !!

Fabulous stay , friendly staff , nothing was too much trouble. Food was beautiful at reasonable prices. Room was warm and very comfortable bed. Facilities good , the only thing that would improve is maybe a little redecoration , not to take the originality out of this historic building but just to freshen up a bit and a mirror on the wall under the television for ease when styling hair etc whilst sat at the desk. This would not stop us staying again though - perfect stay

Great 1 nighter Very quirky pub hotel with bags of character

Amazing and great value lunch, a fabulous breakfast, staff were all lovely and helpful, car park not on site but this was not a problem as the nearest is a few minutes walk away and not too expensive ( download the app for ease) free WiFi and a comfortable bed with a lovely room.

Very old hotel, room was ok, bed really comfortable, very small TV, hot water for the sink took ages to come through. My room was at the front of the hotel very noisy with the traffic and people and the road sweeper at 6am. Food was average, no fish & chips as the fish was defrosting 😂, only had all day to sort that, had the burger and asked without sauce and came with sauce. Finally, chargeable car park which is a 5 minute walk away.