Drapers Hotel

Had a roast at Drapers today and it was delicious. Generous portions at a fair price, and the staff were friendly and really helpful. I’ll definitely be back.

For four days at the Drapers, we never saw anyone around to ask for help. There was a fridge in the room, but it was switched off and had someone else’s old beer cans in it. The room didn’t seem very clean to begin with, and it wasn’t cleaned at all during our stay. Apparently they don’t do housekeeping for short stays, and four days counts as short. We left a request on the door for cleaning and fresh towels, but nothing happened. The shampoo, shower gel and hand soap left in the room were leftovers from other guests. When we asked for new ones, they had none and gave us bottles that were already half used. Hot water for the shower was difficult to get, and the toilet sometimes wouldn’t flush, as if there was no water in the system. I ended up pouring water down it with the bin bucket. The front bar on the street is quite nice, but was mostly locked and never open. The back bar felt uninviting, with a few young people hanging around. To top it off, we had to walk around a rubbish truck to get to the accommodation door.

The main reason I won’t return is what happened with the hot plates. A waitress put very hot plates of vegetables right in front of my one-year-old daughter and only said they were hot. She could have put them elsewhere, away from her. There were drinks on the table, but she could have asked us to move them first. If anything had fallen on my daughter, I’d have been furious. We booked Mother’s Day lunch a month ahead, pre-ordered and brought a group to treat my mother-in-law. Our table booking was for 1:45, but we weren’t seated until 2 and didn’t get food until after 2:30. The table setup was awful, with one table considerably taller than the other. If they can’t accommodate a large group, they shouldn’t book one in. Two waitresses were rude and made us feel unwelcome. The food wasn’t great either. The roast potatoes were burned outside and rock hard inside, the parsnips were thin and burnt to a crisp, and the Yorkshire was nasty. The beef was okay and the stuffing was delicious. This is about the restaurant only, as I didn’t stay here. I can’t recommend it. The staff and food were awful, and I feel conned out of £70.

Belle was great fun and really helpful, and the service was lovely. We had burgers and stayed in a room on one occasion, and enjoyed both.