The Royal Arms Hotel

We went for our anniversary meal on 28/6/2025. The restaurant looked good, but it was very quiet, which should have been a warning. I asked about cocktails as an anniversary treat and was told they hadn’t served them since covid. They did make my wife a mocktail, which she liked, but that was the end of the positives. My prawn cocktail starter arrived after the mains, so the waitress took the main courses back and brought it out. It was pathetic for £9.50: one Lettice leaf, six small prawns and a few tiny bits of cucumber. I finished it in 60 seconds. The pork medallions were bone-dry, the mash was stiff like concrete, and the pepper sauce was thin and tasteless, though at least there wasn’t much of it. My wife’s pie and chips from the pub classic selection seemed shop-bought, not homemade, and was mostly pastry. We tried to end on a positive note with a coconut panacotta. It came in a canteen-style cup and was so small that the waitress said the chef wasn’t happy with it. They brought a complimentary cheese board instead, with two cheeses, five grapes and some celery. Poor, poor, poor. Avoid.

The service was acceptable, though nothing special. The room felt basic and tired, and the food was basic reheated bits again. It wasn’t what I’d expect from a country pub type place, more like a Wetherspoons chain.

At least 40-50 bugs came into my room that night, including the bathroom. I checked in around 7:30pm and found two beetle-like bugs, one on the floor and one on the bed. Since it was the countryside, I didn’t think much of it and put them outside. After dinner, I found another in the bathroom and a couple by the window, which backed onto a field, so I shut it in case they were coming from the crops. Around 11:30, I turned the light off. Soon I heard tapping and scuttling. I worked out bugs were coming out of the ceiling joists, falling onto the tiled floor. For the next half-hour or so, whenever I switched on the light, there were between three and seven on the floor. I took quite a few photos because I couldn’t believe how many there were. They seemed to be coming through gaps by the skirting boards and roof joists, and the holes where the radiator pipes go into the ground. It was too late to complain that night, and I left around 7am Sunday, getting home late that evening. I emailed the hotel first thing Monday and got no reply. Monday morning I noticed a small bite by my right nipple. By Monday afternoon the area was very red and sore, and my chest was massively swollen. A doctor spoke to me by phone Tuesday morning and asked me to come in. She was very concerned by the size, heat and redness, especially so close to my armpit, and prescribed penicillin. I asked what had caused it, and they said it was almost definitely an insect bite. The doctor didn’t know about the bugs in the room. I phoned the hotel Tuesday afternoon and spoke to a manager, who said they had checked the room and it seemed fine. After seeing my photos, they eventually agreed to refund me. I feel I shouldn’t have to take penicillin for an infection from a hotel stay in Leicester, not to mention the pain and discomfort. Since then, the owner has emailed asking for the photos. That’s all the contact I’ve had from them, with no apology or acceptance of fault. I’m concerned nothing has been done to fix the problem and it’s still happening.

It was a great location, nice and quiet, but the front door let in a draft. The wind made noise all night 🐒