The Talbot Inn, Ripley

I shoud make it clear I have been asked to write a review of this property,
I called in for a drink a few times this week and stayed over on one night, I also visited several pubs in Ripley, as im moving to the area, when chatting to the staff, they commented that they think a competitor is deliberatley telling lies about them on this site, so even though id never used this site before i thought id have a look at it, I thought id sign up and see what the fuss was about, I suppose you could say I was encouraged by the staff to write a review, as when I said how great it was one of the staff said unfortunatley everyone does not think so , someone is being awful about us, so staff did tell me about this site, but the review is my own

Im AMAZED by some of the other reviews iv just read,having used this property 4 times in the past 7 days I have seen it busy quiet and overflowing so feel able to write about it as iv seen it in varying states
a comment has been made about a pint of peroni costing �5, yes it does BUT! there is a great big sign next to it saying we are soon to remove this product as suppliers have increased the cost, we do have to sell this at �5 at present but it is about to be discontinued, if you would like something less expensive why not try fosters at only just over �3, the talbot could not make it any clearer, they are also asking locals and are running a vote system at present, so locals can vote what they would like to have on the bar instead of peroni, this seems to me to be very proactive, asking customers what they would like is a great idea! sorry to go on, but im trying to balance views posted on this site,
I had lunch in the pub and dinner in the restaurant on different days both were great, to be honest the pub is small, so your best to eat in the restaurant, I did here some locals complain that residents took over the place, this is sort of true, when the hotel is full the bar is not big enough to cope.
Im not sure why anyone would write bad reports about the talbot, but I tend to agree with the staff,
It could be bacause ts the best pub in the village and another pub is not happy about it, it could be becaues its a hotel that has just had millions spent on it, it could be because, the pub is secondary to the hotel, and at times locals may not feel valued, but as someone who is about to move into the next village I can confirm the talbot will be my new local, its great, if it slips or if I find other reviews are true i will let you know but for now I agree with the bar staff at the talbot, some of the reviews posted on here could be someone with a ulteria motive, the other pubs were not as good, and one was awful, I will add their reviews soon

11 Feb 2010 19:21