The Royal Oak

The room felt like a time trip to the 1970s. The property has character in its old wattle walls and timber framing, but it needs more careful, extensive upgrading. The furnishing was dated, the shower controls were outside the cubicle, the sink was cracked and the mattress springs were noisy. Even so, my wife and I both slept well. We didn’t use the bar or eat at the Royal Oak. We chose it for the price and because we couldn’t find beds in Malvern. £80 isn’t cheap for what we got, but I’m sure the (?new) owners can bring the hotel back to what it could and should be.

The full English breakfast was scrumptious, and the hotel has a nice bar. Staff were very friendly, and the owners or managers made an honest effort to set expectations clearly. There’s free parking beside the hotel. Some rooms don’t have en suites, but the shared facilities were clean and suitable. The one drawback was that wi-fi didn’t work in our room at the far corner of the building, though it was accessible nearer the middle. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.

The breakfast was good, and once it was ordered the food arrived quickly. There was only one person cooking and serving, though, so it took a while to place the order. The room was OK apart from the shower being in the bedroom, which meant no privacy. It was above the bar, where a band played until midnight. We could hear them clearly through the floor and couldn’t sleep.

The room was clean and the price was OK. I didn’t eat there, so I can’t comment on the food, though it smelled good. There were several problems. When we arrived, the landlady’s manner felt unprofessional, and she made inappropriate conversation despite my visible discomfort. The communal shower was clogged and not very clean. I had to unblock it myself to keep the bathroom from overflowing. She said it was unclogged regularly, but the drain cover was so gummed up it took me five minutes to remove, and the hair was badly rotted. When I raised it, she rolled her eyes and blamed her cleaners instead of apologising. One bed was broken too. The divan top near my feet had caved in, so it felt like I was slowly sliding down the bed.