Cross Hands Hotel Old Sodbury by Greene King Inns

The people working here were lovely and did their best, but I wouldn’t pay these room prices to stay again. The cleaning team especially helped us move rooms quickly, and the staff were friendly throughout. It feels like they’re stretched thin, though, and the place needs refurbishing and a website update. Dinner was a letdown. My vegan burger seemed like an expensive McDonald’s one, and my husband’s pasta sauce was so watery it looked as if someone had poured in a cup of water. Breakfast was disappointing too, especially the cooked vegetarian option. The continental spread looked better, although my husband spotted a fly in the apple juice on our first morning. We waited at reception when we arrived, which wasn’t a great welcome after a long, tiring journey. We were first put in an accessible room because no others were available. It smelled damp, and the shower drained so slowly that water built up across the wet room and seeped under the door onto the carpet. We had to keep turning off the shower, and some of the floor was still wet in the morning. The door also wouldn’t lock from inside. Our second booking was for a Deluxe room, but it looked nothing like the rooms shown on the website. We were surprised to learn this particular room had apparently been used by late Queen Elizabeth, since it wasn’t pictured there. It was clean and warm, but the bathroom had more problems: the bath panel was badly swollen, the narrow bath was slippery, and water got onto the floor with the curtain closed. The bath screen and fixtures needed sealing, and the toilet roll holder was loose.