The Staff Of Life

Hotel

Absolutely fantastic meal Home cooked chips Lovely, cozy, reasonably priced food would 100% recommend Great hosts John& Jayne.

Had a lovely NYE afternoon meal here. Felt very welcomed by Jane and other staff who chatted to our little boy. We sat in the snug with our dogs which was very comfortable. Fish pie was yum.

19/12/21 Had a great meal, friendly staff. Thank you! 🙂

Unplanned meal tonight, and the Staff of Life did not disappoint — good food, friendly staff and nice atmosphere. We will be back! Thank you x.

We stayed here on a Saturday night. The room was beautiful very peaceful nights sleep and excellent breakfast. Staff are very friendly. Lovely setting.

Absolutely lovely food today. The staff are great. Surroundings are great. Will definitely be returning.

Wow… what a great lunch. We went for the Homemade Steak pie and poppa home made chips… then the very best Treacle sponge ive had since a child for desert. Thanks again for Awesome food, Friendly service and a great pint.

Absolutely stunning food been here twice now had steak pie first time and chicken pie today, husband had ploughman’s first time and gammon today, proper home cooked food also home cooked chips, can’t recommend enough, drinks and staff also brilliant, also value for money ❤️❤️❤️ Thankyou xXx.

Just had a lovely birthday lunch today! Fabulous food and service was excellent as always! Really appreciated the surprise birthday balloons and Christmas cracker! Grumpy says thanks X.

Great atmosphere, lovely food with great service from friendly staff. Always made welcome by John and Jayne.
I've been many times both just myself and with family and each time has been great 😁😁 👏👏👍👍

Lovely food. Fish was amazing, home made proper chips 😊everyone’s meal was brilliant 😊 very good service, very helpful will definitely be going back.

Great lunch today. Staff were fantastic in the circumstances of new Covid rules coming into effect today. Would highly recommend.

Very helpful and friendly staff and a great location.

Great food and friendly staff, nice atmosphere. Will definitely recommend it.

Attentive landlord good hot food.

We stayed for a night here! Great location for various walks! Room was fabulously stylish, immaculately clean and bed so comfy! Had a steak pie and chips that was to die for! The best ever! We will definitely be back — with the dog next time as saw the “doggy room” which has a wet room to shower your muddy dog in!

Great food and wonderful service. They catered for a large group well and made us feel very welcome.

Fabulous staff, wonderful food, love taking family here. See you all again soon.

Nigel and Sue are a fantastic duo managing the pub now! Sue is a fabulous chef! Her homemade pies are gorgeous, as are lots of other options… Desserts to die for… Nigel is the perfect host and makes you feel so at home. There Sunday roasts are Uber popular and you need to book!

Really great food, great room and lovely atmosphere. We will be back!

Just gorgeous food and lovely staff!

Great stay at the Staff of Life. Room was very comfortable and excellent breakfast in the morning. Had the chicken and mushroom pie for dinner which was very tasty and accompanied by a couple of well kept pints of Timothy Taylor Landlord.

The hotel is lovely with decent sized rooms. The food was unbelievably good, and you got a good portion of food. The staff were lovely and interested in us, rather than just as customers but as people.

First time here and was well worth the wait.
Food was gorgeous!

Lovely pint and a great meal, friendly staff,

Excellent food and service well enjoyed. Good value for the money. Its like going back in time properly served Loved it will be back.

Came on a quiet night but the service was great and the food was amazing. GREAT FOOD! If like us you are visiting the local countryside, Calke Manor and abbey nearby this place definitely worth a visit for lunch or dinner.

Lovely home cooked food and large portions.

Visited this lovely country pub last night for an evening meal and was not disappointed! Welcomed by very friendly staff and landlady, fantastic range of ale’s. Will definitely be revisiting for another Steak and Ale pie!

Great pub, lovely garden! Well kept and tidy with no problem eating outside if you want to. Will be coming back again soon!

Great range of beers, nice to see with bed & breakfast. CCTV in place makes you feel your car is safe and secure. Food fantastic also.

Popped in last night for a cheeky pint. Oh dear. Wasn't made very welcome. Went to order our drinks at the bar to be greeted by frosty staff and a full on vacuum cleaner! The beer was in very poor condition and Guinness was undrinkable. Outside wasn't much better. The garden needs some attention and the CCTV signs didn't make you want to stay. Lord knows what the Bulmers giant parasols are all about. Won't be going back in a hurry.

Had fish and chips, fish was small and seemed like frozen fish in batter (looked a real symmetrical shape) wouldn’t have minded if it wasn’t £10.50 I would expect gastric pub meals for this price. 1 lad on the bar who seemed out of his depth. Waited in a queue to order desert to be told to sit down and he would come over, ordered a drink that never appeared and no one around when we tried to pay I actually had to go to the corridor and call out for someone so that we could pay and go! Seems a nice place I think a little bit expensive but worth it if the staffing was better?

Fantastic pub. The staff are always very friendly and nothing it to much trouble. Food is a fair price for what you receive, as it is fresh and cooked well. I would highly recommend this pub to anyone.

Decent pub with Timothy Tailors Landlord on tap along with other choices. Pub food menu looks expensive to me but I'm probably a cheapskate. Pleasant staff.

Lovely village pub, great food. Walking and dog friendly.

Lovely warm welcome from owners. Had lunch and although the menu was a bit all over the place, the cottage pie was lovely,, really tasty and home made. My friend had the steak pie and scored it higher than her own!

A lovely evening meal served by friendly courteous staff, nothing was too much trouble. I would definitely recommend a visit.

Had a lovely Christmas meal and stayed over night in the B&b. Possibly the best steak we’ve ever had. Friendly and welcoming staff. We will call in again.

Very happy with the staff of life been to eat there a number of times over the years now. A simple (on the whole) English menu very well done. The chicken, pork and beef today were very well seasoned. The vegetables, potatoes and Yorkshire pudding were nicely cooked. Children are well catered for with a hearty menu for them too. They do not a highchairs but are very accommodating if you want to bring your own. Booking is easy and someone picks up the phone straight away. Good choice of beers and they do a nice hot chocolate ☕ Would recommend a visit.

Great location for finishing a walk and good food. This pub also haunted.

Food was very good and plenty of it. The staff provided an excellent service. Note pub closes 15:00hrs to 17:00hrs during the week.

Seemed rather quiet for a Saturday night but the food was very nice and good value. Staff also friendly.

Stayed for two nights and would recommend to anyone, great food, friendly and lovely room … great stay thank you.

3 of us all had pies, the beef, the fish and the special duck and cranberry. Meals were lovely home made pies and served so hot it had to cool a bit before eating which was great. Service with a smile from lovely staff. 2 stayed overnight in a stunning 'cow shed' room.
Will definitely go again.
Well done to a small out the way place!

Update 25/08/17 Stayed in the B&B two weeks ago before heading to East Mids airport for 10 nights in Menorca… Very comfy bed and a much needed peaceful nights sleep. The breakfast (full English :) ) was just what we needed before heading off the next morning! Excellent food — I had the sizzling chicken. Staff were nice and helpful. A real family atmosphere inside with all ages catered for!

This Country Inn is in a lovely location and we received a friendly welcome from the owners and staff for our one night stay. Room 5 with the 4-poster bed was amazing, very clean and bed linen, towels and toiletries plus the refreshment tray were all first class. The food and drink in the evenings was of an excellent quality and good value together with the choice of breakfast – all the waiters we met were very friendly and efficient. The tables were set nicely and the food presented and cooked very well. We would definitely visit the Staff of Life again for a lovely relaxing break with a great selection of Real Ales!

Fantastic rural village pub. I went for a ramble around Calke Abbey grounds and had quite a thirst so I called into this establishment for a fine pint of Cider. I believe the Landlady served me and she was very friendly. Going to definitely try this pub again and next time I'm going to sample the food.

Good Friday late lunch. Ceasar salad was delicious. Several of the group had pies which seemed to all have burned pastry but they all loved them anyway! Wasn't busy and the service was good. Very reasonably priced.

Fantastic place in a really great countryside location. Really like the interior and ambience inside. A good choice of well kept real ales and great wine list. We have eaten here several times now and found the meals to be excellent on every occasion. Really friendly and caring staff complete the experience. We will be going back for more.

Very nice rooms. Clean and smart. Restaurant food was tasty too. I had the lamb.

Great little pub with lovely rooms. Staff very friendly and very happy to help!

B&B and food is excellent with friendly staff. Could not fault it. Paulb.

My daughter and I have had lunch here a couple of times and we were both impressed.

Friendly and very welcoming.

Fairly bad experience and we never stayed. I emailed the night before our arrival to give them an arrival time as they requested since they can only accommodate arrivals at specific hours. I got a reply late in the evening telling us that our room was being renovated and was not available. Room 4 has the view into the park and who wants to stay at a small place during renovations without any discount? I contacted them to cancel the booking and asked for a refund which they kindly replied to and agreed to but instead of posting a credit to my card they claimed unable to do this due to changing their banking details and put a cheque in the post before asking permission. It would have been more convenient for me to simply collect the cheque from them and take straight to the bank. Now I've had to find somewhere else to stay and I have to hang around in the area to pick up that cheque tomorrow morning. All in all really poor service. Turns out there are plenty of other really nice places to stay so I would avoid if you can.

Simple and tasty specials are a good choice on the evening menu. Service is fine neither too hasty or too slow. The bedroom I had was acceptable — would like to have had a duvet — rather than a sheet and then a comforter on top which seems to be the trend in some hotels. Pillows too decorative along with the comforter cover. Shower poor with periods of extreme heat followed by cold — wakes you up though. Breakfast coffee very good.

Uninviting, nothing like web site portrays. Badly cooked, overpriced every day food. Miserable atmosphere with sour looking single business people dotted in boring dining area/bar. Smell of cooking throughout. One lady on the bar trying her very best. Dont bother.

Good food and service, kacks a but if atmosphere as it's often quiet. Would recommend for a mid-range pub meal.