We had an overnight stay at the Royal Chase and booked it on the basis of it being a Best Western, which should have guaranteed a certain standard. £129 for the night B&B is not that cheap an option (should have been more - see below), but the hotel did not meet the standard expected for this price, although it was adequate. Having stayed in equivalent Best Westerns and other chains before, there was a noticeable difference.

To be fair, we were upgraded to a higher standard room - probably due to only staying the night. The room was large, comfortable, well furnished, and clean. However, the room and the parts of the hotel we saw, had that feeling of being in need of a good spruce up - I suppose it just felt tired. The building certainly has the style and potential. The setting, although just off a roundabout, was nice and quite quiet enough with large and sheltered parking areas.

Breakfast was a bit "corporate" and limited in choice, also the cooked part was not that warm. But it was edible and we didn't starve.

This hotel gave me the overall impression that, if it was given some TLC, together with a sympathetic, appropriate, and competent redecoration, and a little injection of inspiration, it could be a real cracker. The basics are there, together with what seemed a good team of staff; those who we saw were really polite and helpful.

All that said, I would stay there again but I think, if it stays as it is, I would leave feeling a bit short changed.

I stayed at the Royal (I would doubt that any royalty would ever stay here.) during the second week of November and found the whole experience a little strange.

I arrived and found a grand entrance to the hotel blocked with a locked door only to discover that you needed to walk round to a side entrance.

The whole hotel had a bad colour scheme and that unique smell that only fading uk hotels have, I call it the hotel smell, you know the one of old ciggratte smoke, soap, soup, and bad perfume mixed together.

My room was ok, but I expected better. The door was horrible it didnt have a handle on it from the inside so you opened it from the chase lock. Two of my lights one above the bed and another in the bathroom did not work, now come on this is basic.

During the night I was woken a few times by noise in the corriders, I also stayed in a non smoking room but I think the room next door must have been smoking becasue my room stank of smoke.

I bought internet access but this did not work, the poor staff tried hard but could not get it to work (lack of training). I used the pool which was nice and also the steam room but when I went into the jacquzzi it was cold!!! Its November the Jacquzzi should be baking!

I had dinner in the restaurant and the staff were friendly. The food was good but the tastes were bizzare and over priced. A lamb Wellington was nice but you couldnt cut the lamb as it was surrounded by pastry and it was a little tough. It amused me to see a poor American girl two tables away having the same problem.

Would I stay here again, simple answer no. Its over priced, it smells and the whole place is very dated. I dont mind paying for quality but this place does not have it for the prices they are charging. The staff try very hard to make it a pleasent stay but the hotel lets them down.

Richard

Stayed here for one night as a treat. Well...........it looked nice from a distance but on arriving in the car park our hearts sank. The building is painted white but the majority of it is chipped off. The reception is small but the staff were friendly enough. My partner had booked the Thomas Hardy Suite as a surprise and it certainly was a surprise. It has a four poster bed, a seating area, tv, dvd player and sterio. The bathroom had a shower and small corner bath. This all sounds very nice but it was all decorated and furnished very cheaply. The wooden furniture was all pine from a well known high street catalogue shop. Tacky to say the least. The one nice touch in the room was a decanter of sherry and two glasses.
Next we went downstairs to use the indoor pool, jacuzzi and steam room. It was dark and dingy with most lights not working. The pool was freezing, the jacuzzi was turned off which when we found the switch to turn it on smelt disgusting. The pool changing rooms stank and the showers were covered in rust.
We booked a table in the restaurant for dinner. You'd think we were in a different hotel. It was fantastic. There was only one other couple dining so nice and quiet. The waitress was lovely and the food great. We had a fantastic meal. I'd give the restaurant 9 out of ten.
In the morning I went to have a shower and all the power in the room went off so we had to shower and dress in the dark. The shower head kept sliding down so I had to wash My hair with one hand as the other had to hold the shower head. When we told the staff about the power we were told we should expect that in a large old building!
All in all our stay was a hige dissapointment. I'd use the restaurant again but never ever tstay there again.

The Royal Chase is one of those rare examples of a hotel that is as good or even better than it's wesite claims. Friendly and efficient staff, a good (upgrade) room and a comfortable restaurant make for a relaxing stay.