The Royal Hotel

The room window faced right onto the road, with people walking past, so the view wasn’t what I’d hoped for. The hallway also seemed to have no ventilation and smelled of human sweat whenever I walked between my room and reception. The furniture in the room felt cheap. The staff were lovely, and breakfast was nice, but I had to tell reception that the bath hadn’t been cleaned since the previous guest. There were hairs all over the bottom. They cleaned it after I pointed it out, but I expected a fully clean room from a 4 star hotel.

The table and venue were lovely, and the scones were fresh while the sandwiches tasted good. The cakes, though, were a bit underwhelming, so the afternoon tea was disappointing overall. We came back after visiting last Christmas because we’d enjoyed it then, but this time it didn’t meet our expectations. I also had to chase the waitress a couple of times, which was disappointing.

The Sunday roast was just perfect, and all the food was superb. The staff were well presented, polite and friendly, and the dining hall was large with plenty of seating and tables. It made for a lively but relaxed lunch. I’d always wanted to visit the royal, and it didn’t disappoint, with its lovely old fashioned feel. We had a perfect afternoon and will return.

The food was excellent, five stars, but the service was poor and our complaints weren’t dealt with. The room felt very dated and tired, and this definitely didn’t seem like a 4 star hotel. We chose it because it was dog friendly, but although they say dogs can join you at meal time in the conservatory, we were actually seated in reception. There’s nowhere in the hotel grounds to dispose of poo bags after walking your dog. As a smoker, I also had to go outside, but there was nowhere to put cigarette ends. Parking was an issue too.