The Cathedral Hotel

The Christmas meal was awful. We paid £95 each for it, and the turkey came in thin slices from a roll instead of being cut from the bone. The roast potatoes and small amount of vegetables tasted like frozen food with no flavour, all under thick, very salty dark gravy. The Christmas pudding was tiny, from a catering pack, with barely any custard. It didn't come close to the best school meals. The room was so cold I had to eat in my coat, and my husband and I were very disappointed with the stay. We had booked three days over Christmas and paid separately for dinner. The public lounges and dining rooms were cold, with only one fire lit, and it was barely going. Decorations were sparse, just a couple of small decorated trees and a few bowls of plastic flowers. The hotel itself is old but nice. Our room was spacious, very clean and comfortable, with a large bathroom.

The shower was good and the food was pretty nice. But the small rooms felt like ovens, with one tiny window that barely opened. There's no air conditioning. Maybe that's fine in winter, but I wouldn't recommend staying here in summer.

We had a lovely night at this place right in the centre of Town. The building is old, and it has the atmosphere you'd expect from a proper British hotel, with a cosy fireplace and welcoming dining hall. The rooms were nice and felt special, and the whole place was clean and in excellent condition. A magical spot, highly recommended.

I expected the usual Best Western standard, but the Red Lion hotel in Salisbury felt tired and didn't meet it. Booking.com showed parking, but on arrival I was told they had only 5 spaces. I ended up paying £12 per day at a nearby public car park. The website also said good evening meals were available, but I found out they no longer served dinner.