Best Western Plus Angel Hotel

The room was clean and comfortable, but it looked rather worn and could do with redecorating. Some earlier repairs were poor, especially the cheap-looking bathroom door fix. The door really should have been replaced. Breakfast was OK, though a wider choice of cereals would have been better. We picked the hotel based on its ratings and price, and the ratings had led me to expect more.

Getting checked in was quick and easy, and our room was a good size. The hotel is right in the city centre, with a bus stop behind it for trips to Castle Coombe and Lacock Abbey. There’s also a pool and gym. We didn’t use either, but they looked nice and quiet.

The room was cold from the first evening. We tried the radiator, waited an hour, then asked reception and learned it was broken. They said it would be fixed the next day and promised extra blankets, but only one was left. My friend gave it to me, so I was warm enough overnight, though I’m not sure she was. The next morning breakfast was very good, but the room was still cold when we returned from our day out. Reception gave us two small heaters and said the heating wouldn’t be repaired that day. We asked to move to the main hotel, where the heating was on, but were told it was full. A man we took to be the manager or owner offered us a free drink without introducing himself. We went to the bar for a small glass of wine after dinner elsewhere. The heaters made it impossible to sleep, so we switched them off. By then we were seriously considering going home, but stuck it out. Breakfast was very good again, with just us there. At checkout, they kindly waived our £7.50 parking charge as compensation, and we left. There were two of us, travelling as friends, and we’d initially been pleased with the room: it was large, clean and had two single beds. We’d gone out for the day and come back a bit cold, hoping to relax before dinner. Dinner felt soulless too, since we were alone apart from one man, with no music, just us chatting. The hotel could be very good, and has a great location, a good pool, gym and little garden. But the stay left a lasting, unhappy impression. With working heating and more people around, I think it could be a very nice place.

We sat in the bar wearing our coats because the heating wasn’t working properly during our stay. I got one radiator going by bleeding it, as it was full of air, but the other never worked. The room eventually warmed up. The building itself felt very worn, with sloping, creaky floors, dirty, threadbare carpets and what looked like leak holes in the ceilings. Finding your way through the old corridors was hard because there were no clear signs, which made me wonder how I’d get out in an emergency. Some bedroom doors opened straight onto stairs, so someone hurrying through could fall down a floor. That’s dangerous. Not a great experience.