George And Dragon Place.

This wasn’t a nice three-day break. We booked three nights and arrived two hours early because I had appointments. A young woman answered the door and let me sit in a big, stark room that looked new while she said the manager would be down in two minutes. I’d rung the bell and tried calling too, but the call wouldn’t connect. We waited half an hour. From the kitchen, I could hear someone being shouted at and sworn at, with the manager saying he paid them using horrible swear words. When he came in, I asked whether we could park early and whether the room was ready. He said it wasn’t, but we could park if we entered the registration on the computer screen. We went for a walk, came back at 3, and got a card for the building and room. We were told it was on the first floor, but had to ask how to find it. The handrail on the stairs was dirty, and cleaners were on the floor where our room was. Inside, the toilet seat was broken. I reported it to a cleaner, who said he’d fix it, but on day two we were told there was no handyman. I had to report it again on day three, and it was finally fixed. The room had little attention to detail: a step down from the toilet into the room, edges that needed vacuuming, and leaded windows too dirty to see through, with stickers on the windows and walls. There was just a laminated A4 sheet with hotel information, no guest book about Chester or recommendations. It had a double bed, desk chair and a single-marked wardrobe, but barely enough room to get around the bed. I had to sit on the bed to relax. One small bedside shelf, two flat pillows without protectors, a stained mattress protector, and one horrible cushion. The bathroom had no plastic beakers, non-slip shower mat or shampoo. There were two wall-mounted hand soap dispensers, very cheap toilet paper, and a bin labelled for sanitary items only. A box of nappy sacks might have been more suitable. Tiles were missing or broken at the bottom edge as you step into the shower. On day three I also had to ask for tea bags, milk and the bin to be dealt with. A man offered to come and change everything, but we declined because we were leaving the next morning. The hotel is between two very busy roads, and the noise was awful. A broken manhole cover made it worse as cars drove over it, which wasn’t the hotel’s fault, but the secondary glazing didn’t keep the noise out. To walk into town, you have to go through a dirty subway.

Dinner was pub food, and I liked the Cajun Pasta and the good choice of ciders at the George and Dragon. I had a pleasant evening there, though the pub itself has very basic furniture and little comfort. There are plenty of comfier bars in the city centre if that matters to you. The small car park beside the hotel isn’t part of it, and costs £6 overnight. It’s very central, less than a ten-minute walk to the city wall and medieval centre, and you can also go out to eat. There’s nothing to eat in the morning, so bear that in mind if you want breakfast. The rooms are small but have what you need, with a comfortable bed and a decent enough shower. The decor is very dated, but I don’t notice that while sleeping. It’s close to a major junction, yet the room did a surprisingly good job of blocking traffic noise. It felt more like a pub with rooms than a hotel, which was fine for me since I don’t usually bother with breakfast.

We left after one drink. The prices were extortionate, and the bar staff member refused to serve food because she was on her own, even though there were only four other people in the pub and they supposedly serve all day. She also wouldn’t make a pitcher, only a glass, without giving a reason. Her attitude was rude and uncalled for. We felt unwelcome and uncomfortable in our local pub.

I was really unhappy with the stay and wouldn’t come back. £77.50 for a single room over the bank holiday seemed like a good deal until I saw it. It was so tiny I had to move the bed just to get around it, and the main road made it very noisy. Although it’s above a pub, nobody offered breakfast. There were no staff around when I checked out, and nobody had told me to leave the key in the room, so I had to phone the pub to ask what to do.