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Royal Hotel: Traveler Reviews

Royal Hotel
Average price*: $142 (£82) (year-round)

TripAdvisor Traveler Reviews

Reviews of Royal Hotel

( 6-10 of 29 )
“What a disapointment”

Royal Hotel

May 15, 2008

My wife has for years has wanted to visit Bath. At last we arranged a weekend away, Bath was great but sadly the Royal Hotel was an enormous disappointment.

We upgraded to a four poster room which may have been a mistake although the upgrade was at no extra charge.It was a warm weekend but not a heatwave. The room was hot and airless and there was no air-conditioning. In order to get any air into the room we were forced to open the windows. The first night we suffered in silence but the second night we requested, and got, a fan although still we had to sleep with the windows wide open. What we did not know that this hotel is a) less that 50 yards from the main railway station, b) immediately next door to a pub and c) 100yards away from a hostel for the homeless. What we were also unaware of is that Bath seems to be something of a magent for "Stag" and "Hen" parties. The least disturbing of these was the train noise which was almost non existent. What was disturbing was the noise of drunks at 3.00 sitting outside the station awaiting the early train having missed the last train home the previous evening and putting the world to rights at the tops of their voices. The walk up Manvers street into Bath was a gauntlet run past various members of the local wine society littered over the steps outside the hostel. Admittedly they di not barrack us as we passed by but my wife found them rather intimidating and insisted that we cross the street to avoid them.
Te restaurant was a disaster. To quote from the letter I wrote to the hotel following our visit; "The standard of food in the restaurant was well below that we had been led to believe would be the case from your brochure and web-site. We had booked for dinner both nights; however, after our Friday night experience we felt it would be more enjoyable to eat elsewhere on Saturday. On the Friday night the ‘amuse bouche’ that was offered to us consisted of a ‘bought in’ pastry case filled with a mixture of what I think was a mayonnaise and vegetable mixture that must have come straight from a tin. I ordered the local pan fried field mushrooms as a starter. They arrived leathery and covered in what appeared to be a melted slice of processed cheese. This was followed by the honey glazed breast of duck which was rather overcooked and very far from tender. You claim to have something of a reputation for your steaks. Perhaps we should have chosen from these however neither my wife nor myself a particular fans of steak so this was not really an option.

Breakfast from my point of view was rather less than appetising on both occasions. The first morning I had your full English breakfast which arrived luke warm having, quite clearly, been kept hot under lights rather than being cooked to order. Nor was I offered the choice of how I wished my accompanying egg to be cooked. It arrived looking rather small and greasy having been liberally doused with oil whilst frying. The following morning I ordered smoked salmon and scrambled egg. Here again the egg arrived quite clearly having been cooked some time previously, kept warm under lights and surrounding by a liberal amount of liquid. I know you do not claim to be a Michelin starred restaurant but the food we were served fell well below what I feel could be considered a satisfactory standard in any hostelry."

In short, I could not possibly recommend this hotel to anyone. We were charged £180 per night for our weekend stay. This was exorbitant.

I am currently awaiting a response to my letter of complaint.

On a positive note however we ate on the Saturday night in Martini Restaurant in George Street. here we had excellent Italian food, hot and well cooked and with first class service despite it being very busy. it was not expensive and my wife and I felt it represented excelletnvalue for money

  • This TripAdvisor Member:
    • Liked — Nothing
    • Disliked — Everything
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
TimRCranleigh's Summary
Date of Stay: May 2006
Traveled with: Spouse / significant other
Visit was for: Personal event (wedding, ...)
Age group: 50-64
Member since: May 15, 2008
  • My ratings for this hotel are:
    • 1 of 5 stars Value
    • 1 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 2 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend?
no way!
I do not recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Great pool scene, Pet owners, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
I selected this hotel as a top choice for:
Museums / Cultural / Historical sites, Spa
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“No negative comments from me”

Royal Hotel

4 of 5 stars
north east
Apr 25, 2008

Having read the "disappointed" reviews after booking the hotel we were a little wary.
However, our fears were completely unfounded; the hotel was comfortable, the staff very welcoming and friendly, there was never a noise problem.
The choice at breakfast was wonderful; much better than most hotels I've stayed in and the cooked options were well-prepared using good quality ingredients.
The hotel is perfectly situated within easy walking distance of the city centre.
All-in-all we were very pleased with our choice of hotel and will be happy to stay there again.

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
xyz63's Summary
Date of Stay: April 2008
Traveled with: Friends
Visit was for: Quality time with friends
Age group: 35-49
Member since: April 25, 2008
  • My ratings for this hotel are:
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend?
absolutely!
I recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, Girlfriend getaway, Older travelers, Pet owners, Families with teenagers, Tourists
I do not recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Great pool scene, Pet owners, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
I selected this hotel as a top choice for:
Museums / Cultural / Historical sites, Shopping, Other
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“Huge Disappointment”

Royal Hotel

Mar 2, 2008

I have debated whether or not to post a negative review as it's not something I have ever done before but I was so disappointed by my experience here that I felt I should.
I visited Bath for the first time last year and decided to stay at The Royal based on its star rating and website. It looked like it was in a good location and would be comfortable and welcoming. The service I received over the phone was good so it all seemed rather promising.
When I got there however, I was hugely disappointed. I had booked a single room and for the price was expecting something much more inviting than what I received which was a sloping box room, I wasn't allowed to open the windows and I just didn't feel secure. It was constantly noisy and I was very unhappy. Later that evening I requested to be upgraded - I was willing to pay any extra costs- but the staff were extremely unhelpful and I was told that there was nothing available. So I took them at their word and had a very disturbed night's sleep.
At breakfast the next morning (which was as unimpressive as the room - the service was cold and unfriendly) the restaurant seemed empty for a supposedly full hotel, so I got someone to call and make a room enquiry. Surprise, surprise there had been other rooms available despite what I had been told so I requested a move again, this time they had to accommodate me and I was subsequently moved to a bigger and slightly more comfortable room but I was made to feel very uncomfortable about the whole thing even though I was paying for the upgrade. The next morning, the breakfast was worse than the day before, I had a poached egg with half a shell still on the plate when I tried to ask for a replacement I was ignored and then it was taken away before I was finished.
I was too disheartened at the time to complain but the whole experience left me feeling very upset and ruined what was otherwise a very pleasant holiday.

I shall not be returning to the Royal and would not reccommend it to anybody else either. I think that there are other places in Bath which offer much better value for money and understand the principal of good customer service.

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
OxfordBlueEyes's Summary
Date of Stay: September 2006
Traveled with: Solo traveller
Visit was for: Hobbies / interest / culture
Age group: 25-34
Member since: July 27, 2007
  • My ratings for this hotel are:
    • 1 of 5 stars Value
    • 1 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 2 of 5 stars Location
    • 2 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 1 of 5 stars Service
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“Average Food, Very Loud”

Royal Hotel

Feb 24, 2008

I took my girlfriend here for the weekend to see the wonderful sites of bath. The location was literally a 10metre walk from the train station which meant there was a lot of traffic outside and thus was very hard to get any sleep at all as the windows were not double glazed and you could hear everyhting outside. I wouldn't recommend this place if you want piece and quiet. We woke up to one of the worst breakfasts we've ever had. Bacon and eggs were barley cooked and the service was terrible - then again the breakfast was included so I guess that puts meaning to the saying - 'theres no such thing as a free lunch'. If I went to Bath again I would stay a little closer to the restaurants where you can enjoy a very nice breakfast or dinner for half the price than the Royal hotel was offering. To add to the nightware we paid £130 for the night - the worst £130 I've ever spent. Theres plenty of really nice and affordable places to stay in Bath. This isn't one of them.

  • This TripAdvisor Member:
    • Liked — The distance to the station
    • Disliked — The distance to the station
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
TheHoss's Summary
Date of Stay: February 2008
Traveled with: Spouse / significant other
Visit was for: Romantic getaway
Age group: 25-34
Member since: February 24, 2008
  • My ratings for this hotel are:
    • 2 of 5 stars Value
    • 2 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 2 of 5 stars Location
    • 2 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 1 of 5 stars Service
    • 1 of 5 stars Business service
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend?
no way!
I recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, Girlfriend getaway, Older travelers, Pet owners, Families with teenagers, Tourists
I do not recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Great pool scene, Pet owners, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
I selected this hotel as a top choice for:
Spa
Was this review helpful? Yes No
“Over rated & Penny pinching”

Royal Hotel

Feb 24, 2008
1/1 found this review helpful

Let me start by saying I am not a complainer and fortunately have never felt the need to place a negative entry onto Trip Advisor

We have just returned from a 'two night special spa break 'at this hotel and were very disappointed with the whole experience. I spent some time on the phone with a receptionist prior to booking, she was very friendly and helpful and she recommended I upgrade to a "Superior" room as she could not guarantee the normal rooms would be up to my requirements as I was looking for somewhere special to take my husband to celebrate a special birthday.
The "Superior" room was very noisy with constant rattling of pipes , creaking of floorboards in the corridors and the noise of a door slamming down below which we later realised was the service door between the restaurant and the kitchen. This banging reverberated up through the room until late at night and early in the morning.
I reported this to the General Manager and she was not even prepared to come and listen. I asked to check out as we did not want to spend another night here . She insisted I would have to pay the whole price of £400.00 but would deduct £10.00 each off our bill for that evening's meal and also the price of the room may be refunded should she let it but could not predict if she would as there was not a rugby match that day. I said that I was happy to pay for what we had had but wanted to check out . She replied that as she had my credit card details she would just take the whole amount of £400 anyway. I got upset at this point and said I was so disappointed as I had wanted my husband to have a special time on his birthday , she then grudgingly offered me another room which we took as it seemed better than the room we had occupied initially and we found that this was indeed the case, the room was smaller but at least quiet.
The problem really was her attitude and unwillingness to accept that there was a genuine problem. I asked if she had heard of Trip Advisor and she replied that I would not be allowed to put my comments on it.
My husband is a qualified surveyor and immediately recognised that the constant banging of the service door could be rectified by adjusting the door closer to prevent the door from slamming agaist the door stop. Better still to install double hinges to allow the door to swing both ways unimpeded. The General Manager was unwilling to listen to what was a genuine complaint. and a desire to help.

With regard to the menu . We were only allowed to have food on the menu indicated by an asterisk . This was not mentioned when I booked ,although I was sent a sample , As the hotel claimed it served the best steaks in town we wanted to try one but found we were only allowed the rump steak ( the cheapest) as part of our £200 a night package and not the Fillet, T bone, or Sirloin therefore as we had fillet we incurred an extra charge of £30.00. Both of these were burnt despite us requesting one medium rare and one medium. They also tasted very stringy and tough. the rest of the meal was fine though, if uninspired. The scrambled egg my husband had for breakfast was very poor
The refurbished bar was modern and attractive but the actual retaurant was time warped with peeling damp stained wallpaper where we sat ,as far away from the banging service door as we could.
All the restaurant staff were competent and friendly. Also both of the receptionists we met were very helpful.
Every cloud has a silver lining though and by choosing to eat elsewhere on Saturday night we had a fantastic meal at Tilleys Bistro and then we felt we could start to celebrate!
To summarise, this break at this old fashioned red drayloned hotel was a very expensive mistake but one we shall learn from!

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
EssexEnglandCaroline's Summary
Date of Stay: February 2008
Member since: February 24, 2008
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Reviews of Royal Hotel

( 6-10 of 29 )
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Manvers Street, Bath BA1 1JP, England