This is a lovely hotel just a few minutes walk from the town centre. It has lots of character, being made up of several Georgian houses knocked into each other. It is a bit of a rabbit warren inside with long corridors and steps everywhere. I spent four nights here on a coach tour. There is an air of old fashioned hospitality and this is one of the few hotels which doesn’t make coach tours feel like second class citizens.
I had a pleasant room, a small double, at the end of a corridor overlooking the car park at the back of the hotel. It was quiet, warm and clean. It might have been a bit snug for two but there was plenty of room for me. It had pleasant decor with cream beige walls and carpet and rust and brown curtains. There was a small flat scree TV, hospitality tray with biscuits, trouser press, ironing board and safe. It also provided an arm chair as well as a chair for the working area. The bed was comfortable and lighting reasonable.
I had a small shower room off with an excellent shower and good towels. There was a rubber shower mat AND a towelling bath mat too. My only comment would be that the only place for my sponge bag was above the toilet.
We had our own small dining room laid out with small tables seating 4 with crisp white table cloths and beautifully folded deep red linen serviettes. There was a good choice on the menu with three choices of starter, mains and deserts. Vegetarians were catered for. Service was attentive but not intrusive. Meals were attractively presented, well cooked and generous. The beef was particularly good. The only problem was deciding what to choose.
Breakfasts were in the main dining room overlooking the front of the hotel. They were equally generous, especially the cooked breakfast with black pudding and fried bread along with the usual bacon, sausage, mushroom, tomato and baked beans. There was plenty of toast as well as croissants and a selection of Danish pastries. I didn’t need any lunch. If busy, service could be slow as there was only one member of staff taking orders and the breakfast was cooked to order. My only criticism was the sausage was slightly underdone for me and there was no fresh fruit, although there were prunes and tinned grapefruit. I collected an apple from the bowl at reception.
