We were recommended this hotel by the owners of The George, as that establishment was full for the weekend. We paid £100 for a double room. The room was fine, with reasonable space and a (smallish) wall-hung TV. The bathroom was fine, with a good bath, although many of the furnishings were a bit cheap.

The main problem was noise. It's right in the centre of town and thus feels the full effects of small-town Britain's drunken yob culture. From about midnight to 2 we were serenaded by delightful youths screaming obscenities at the top of their voices, with occasional smashing glass and general aggressive yelling. And the trouble was this wasn't restricted to outside - staying opposite us in one room were three twentysomething males. Predictably they arrived back in the
small hours to swear, shout and bang doors. (Big thanks once again to strong lager manufacturers.) I'm not sure what it says about the hotel
that they take these sorts of bookings.

So by the time Sunday morning came we were not rested at all and wearily tramped down to breakfast where we had the dubious pleasure of hearing at great volume and great length how the weekend had so far
gone for the young waiting staff - except for our own miserable waitress. It was quite surreal: silent diners sitting there while the staff rabbited on without a care.

When I booked out I wasn't asked how the night was. Maybe she was afraid to. The bar the night before had been unbelievably crowded and wasn't a good start to our evening of rest, and then there was the cacophony later. This is not a place to go to relax.

We had tried to book a room at the George, where we have stayed before. They told us they were full so we called the Crown who offered us "a room in the cottage". As we drove into town past the George we were surprised to discover that they had a sign hanging out saying they had rooms. Their loss was our gain.

We had a lovely room on the ground floor of the annex, which was not more than two yards away from reception across a paved passageway, spacious, well equipped and with a large and pleasant bathroom with a super bath and powerful shower. It was separated from the main room by a short corridor - so no light-spil on the sleeping one when the other goes to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

Our favourite restaurant in town had shut down, so we asked in one of the pubs for a recommendation. The Crown came top of the list, and justifiably so. Dinner and breakfast were both first rate and the service friendly and efficient. Both the B+B and the dinner were vert good value. We have always previously used the George travelling on the`A1, either overnight or for lunch. On the basis of this experience of the Crown, never again. This was cheaper, more modern, more comfortable and provided excellent food at a very reasonable rate.

I booked their town house for 1 night - the 18th August for my family to stay together for a family wedding .

I didn't want to stay in a hotel so i booked months in advance and checked several times with their manager that all was in order.

I was disgusted to find on arrival our booking could'nt be found - i produced their letter with credit card details etc - to be told we had 3 rooms in the busy hotel - and guess what ? - the town house had a 2 week booking running over our weekend ! So they had just pushed us out !

The manager nocked £25 off our room price - very small room - bathroom tiny - but we wouldn't have stayed there if they hadn't misled us - breach of contract etc

Dont trust this hotel!

We stayed on a Friday & Saturday in August and experienced the same problems as some of the other clients who posted their reviews. The room we booked was described as deluxe however the decor would only appeal to the minority ... turquoise and silver wallpaper, red velvet curtains with silver chains! All too hectic and strident - not restful. The bath was freestanding in the bedroom in front of the large bay window with a screen for modesty - most peculiar. The basin was in the bedroom and the loo fortunately behind a closed door. The screen blocked the light from the window and also the view of the church.

The biggest problem was the noise levels on both nights. The bar was very popular with local twentysomethings and was modern with neon lighting. It didn't seem to match the middle aged / family clientele of the hotel. The two bouncers outside were a reminder that this delightful georgian market town had been dragged into the 21st century! During the day, the town was beautiful and genteel but at night it changes character. We were kept awake both nights by the noise and the detritus was visible on the pavements outside in the morning.

We dined in the hotel on the first night but the dining room was adjacent to the noisy bar, separated only by a curtain. There was a quieter dining room in the back but this was unused. The food itself was overpriced for the standard. The dishes were unappetising and my husband's steak was dry and tasteless.

Breakfast service was good and the food was hot. They should serve coffee in pots rather than rushing backwards and forwards to the bar with individual cups.

A word about the staff - although young, they were cheerful and helpful.

This Hotel is on the one hand trying to be an upmarket boutique establishment but on the other hand its main source of income must be from the heaving bar. It needs to make up its mind in which direction it's going. Although we plan to return to Stamford we won't stay at this hotel again.