Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
Halifax Crawl - 21 June 2024 with sheffield hatter
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
Sandford Park Alehouse, Cheltenham
Cheltenham
GL50 1DZ
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Steve of N21 left this review about Sandford Park Alehouse
I was very impressed with this new addition to Cheltenham when I first visited just after its opening some ten years ago and was eager to look this one up again to see how it was doing and was pleased to find it doing rather well.
Largely unchanged internally but has a bit more character nowadays with the addition of a lot more beer and brewery related memorabilia, especially in the snug and the bar billiards room. There is now an upstairs section up the staircase which I don’t remember from before. In two sections the larger hand side has a large rectangular table and the other has additional seating. It’s worth popping up here to take a look at the really impressive Courage and Charrington mirrors that are hung over the fireplaces.
The garden is now a smart external space, but then it had been a building site when I first visited. What I couldn’t tell, as I visited at lunchtime was whether the pub is too brightly lit at night, which was my biggest gripe with the place on my first visit.
The bar is largely unchanged, still with ten pumps in five groups of 2 and 16 taps behind the bar for lagers and craft beers. The big screen that was behind the bar when it opened is gone though, meaning you have to squint at the small keg tap labels or presumably read the daily beer sheet of what’s on them. Easier to see the ales, and in this respect there were 9 on for my visit in the shape of North Cotswold Brewery Green Man IPA, Oakham Citra,Purity Jimbo Best Bitter, Wye Valley Butty Bach,Bespoke Brewing Co Half-Cocked IPA, Redwillow Brewery Weightless Session IPA, Salopian Lemon Dream, Bespoke Brewing Co. Beware the Bear and Bridge Stout. I went for the Salopian and Bespoke Brewing beers and they were both in good condition.
On 11th May 2023
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2111 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Sandford Park Alehouse
Looks quite grand from outside, an old Regency house I presume. Inside isn’t exactly an Alehouse vibe and perhaps is a little clinical for me, fairly stark and ordered over a long narrow bar and two side rooms. Eight pumps drawing six cask and a cider. My Oakham Citra was good (NBSS 4) though my partner's Purity Jimbo was a bit pump tired (NBSS 2.5) which indicates at least one pump too many as it was pretty busy. Six Nations on the telly and – sadly spotted on the way out! - bar billiards. Whilst it wouldn’t be top of the list for a revisit, I’d pop back in for a game of BB for sure. Former CAMRA National Pub of the Year (!) and GBG’23 listed. 6.5
On 15th April 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5099 recommendations about 5082 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Boots left this review about Sandford Park Alehouse
Not too much like an Alehouse, a bit of restaurant crossed with middle class pub I would say. In the GBG2022, unsurprisingly with ten pulls admittedly with a fairly good mix of smaller breweries if not of styles. 16 keg taps on the bar back and a bunch of wines and spirits. It does have a bar billiards table to the right as you enter. Basically it’s one open room with the remains of a spine wall and some separate back rooms, the counter is rear left. There’s a fairly big garden to the rear. I suspect it was was an expensive Regency home at one time.
On 11th September 2022
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3269 recommendations about 2978 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about Sandford Park Alehouse
2nd visit - where they are running an Oktoberfest for the next couple of weeks. Autentic food and beer. I'll try and remember to return next year - it was excellent.
On 20th September 2021
- rating: 10
[User has posted 1338 recommendations about 1324 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
hondo . left this review about Sandford Park Alehouse
Camra award winning pub that well deserves its awards. 9 real ales,16 keg and an extensive bottle selection. Quite a plain interior(didn't visit upstairs) with an outside area to the rear.
On 9th March 2020
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2883 recommendations about 2820 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Peter Jillings left this review about Sandford Park Alehouse
Sandford Park Alehouse, offering a large range of real ale and tap beers and lagers. Clean modern lines, make this attractive to the younger drinker.
On 15th April 2018
- rating: 9
[User has posted 59 recommendations about 54 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about Sandford Park Alehouse
Ten handpumps across the bar counter and 16 keg taps served along the back bar. Pieces of coloured paper sellotaped to each handpump indicated the type of beer. So we went for the Titanic Plum Porter and the Salopian Hop Twister, both of which were in good condition. I do agree with Hondo below as I also thought the interior was plain and uninspiring and the choice of piped music that was playing was also drab and boring.
On 3rd March 2018
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about Sandford Park Alehouse
A former gay nightclub, this was converted in to a pub a few years back and went on to win Camra’s 2015 Pub of the Year award. Clearly quite some achievement, and consequently I felt obligated to check it out whilst in the area.
It’s a fair sized pub internally, divided in to a few different areas, but with the bulk of the space being an L-shaped room with the bar counter on the left and some doors leading out to a garden area. Flooring was a mixture of carpet and laminate, whilst the colour scheme was a mixture of salmon and cream. Other than a good selection of good beer guides on a shelf in the corner, the décor and accessories were fairly minimalist. A second room off to one side housed a billiards table, and a smaller snug at the front included a brick fireplace and wood burning stove. The barman was helpful and friendly, and quite willing to chat about our preferred ale styles and offer samples to try.
Beers on this occasion were Church End Stout Coffin, Brass Castle Invisible Ink, Wye Valley Butty Bach, Mad Goose Purity, Church End Red Shirt Blues, North Cotswold Tumbling Jack, Oakham Citra, Roosters Italian Job and Saltaire Decennium Pale Ale. Ciders meanwhile were Ross-on-Wye Medium Dry, Devon Mist and Devon Gold. There were a further 16 keg taps behind the bar, although these included cider and lager as well as beer. I didn’t make a note of these, although I did spot a couple from Bristol’s Arbor Ales.
On 28th October 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1949 recommendations about 1862 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about Sandford Park Alehouse
I came, like many others, to see if it was worthy of the prize.
National pub of the year 2015. I'm sure it was the Salutation in Ham, so we can only assume that the panel live in Gloucestershire.
Thriving, much beer choice but far to brightly lit for my liking.
Exceptional beer. Excellent Purity Ubu was chosen.
Photos at my blog - http://bit.ly/2d1vJ0u
On 25th September 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 277 recommendations about 276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Oggwyn Great left this review about Sandford Park Alehouse
My favorite pub on my short visit to Cheltenham , very friendly staff and locals with a huge selection of bottled beers , 16 craft kegs taps and 10 hand pulls with a good selection of ales , i tried Glouster Citra , Severn Vale Gold , Glastonbury Sour Power and BBF Milk Stout all in great shape .
Well worth a visit and reasonably priced for the area
On 17th October 2015
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 797 recommendations about 683 pubs]