You do not have to be that regular a reader to know that I am a skinflint/bargain hunter, who demands high-end luxury and service at value pricing. And to that end I have been caning the Young’s “One More Sleep” offer this year, which give a 2 night stay for the price of 1 offer for all of January and February. We had originally booked only 2 nights, but a meetup with friends was proposed for Bristol (quite coincidentally), so we ended up buying another full price night on the final Saturday. Breakfast is not included, but this unbundled pricing actually works well for us, especially as the Young’s rooms all have a fridge (Milk for me, and yoghurt for Mrs N). This also gave us the chance to sample a couple of different rooms, although that was not by choice!
Parking is the main issue – the hotel is actually just inside a pedestrian area, and the car park they suggest is down a very steep hill, inconvenient for transporting bags, especially if your luggage is more style than substance and has no wheels. However, there is a cheaper car park directly next to Hort’s, which is a public car park which looks like a private one: Use that. As it is attached to a rival hotel, this may be why Hort’s don’t advertise it.
The hotel is, of course, a pub with rooms, but does have a reception desk as you walk in, which is always a nice touch rather than having to walk up to the bar and attract someone’s attention (a problem, if like me, you can wait 10 minutes to get served in an empty pub). Service was exceptional. We were very early, as we were off to do some walking along the M5 (yes, the England Coastal Path has a mile of scenic motorway over the River Avon), but the room had not been occupied the night before, so we were able to go up to the “Feature Boutique” straightaway.
The Feature Boutique Room
The “Feature” seems to be the very large cupola in the ceiling. The feature we would have liked is a bath. It really was a very substantial room, and could easily have managed one, But everything else was perfect. There were even hooks for our coats, which has long been a bugbear in hotel rooms (along with the stupid hangers). There was even a little mouthful of port, and some chocolates (Allergy-free: Not sure if we have a regular reader out there, or they do that as a matter of course).
The bed was comfortable, and the view of the old Bank of England branch across the road is great. With a lot of light and a lot of room, this was insane value for £75 a night.
The stay in that room ended, as it always does, but the party continued, so we needed to move to our “Bigger Boutique” room, as the Feature had already been booked when we decided to extend our stay. Reception was superb about the whole thing, and told us to leave our bags in our room, and that they would move them. Absolutely 100% perfect service.
The Bigger Boutique Room
We didn’t get back to the room until late, and left pretty early, so it was a little hard to assess. It was a very decent size, for sure, and had the same comfortable amenities as the Feature, albeit with smaller windows and less light. Our only real criticisms were that it was a lot noisier (mainly other guests through connecting doors), and it was a slightly poorly designed accessible room. That meant that if you even looked at the shower, the bathroom flooded, and if you tried to get clean, the water had spread into the bedroom, which was both inconvenient and dangerous for the person drying their hair barefoot in the hallway!
So we managed to try three Young’s Rooms in January and February at bargain rates (And one full price night in March). In all of them, the accommodation was to a very high standard. We love the ones with a bath in the room, and it would be good if Young’s could update their software to allow you to pick an actual room at the time of booking, so you can select the features you want. Some people would be horrified at having a bath in a bedroom in front of their companion, and would have preferred our capacious shower room. Hilton has just implemented that across its entire estate, and that would have been a much bigger IT investment.
Young’s: The Verdict
Service-wise, Hort’s was the best. The Bell in Stow-on-the-Wold comes a close second, and the entire staff of the Fox & Anchor in Farringdon should be made to work at both of those pubs for a week. The Fox had the most character and would make a great base in London if the service improves. From a drinks point of view, the actual pub bit of Hort’s could have been a badly designed Wetherspoon’s (without the matching price tag, sadly), but if you’re in Bristol, Hort’s is the place to stay.
This is the old part of Bristol, and is worth exploring, with a covered market over the road which has a nice cafe (the niceness only extending as far as the food): But if you are staying over a weekend, the area is completely dead on Sunday morning, with a lot of brunch places not opening until almost lunchtime. So for breakfast, you could do worse than wander down to Spicer + Cole on Welsh Back, which is bright, airy and buzzy.
I think I have done Bristol for the time being, but if I feel like another weekend slice of bohemia, Hort’s will high on the list of places to stay.
Conclusion
Overall Rating: 5/5
- Accommodation: 5/5
- Drinks: 4/5
- Service: 5/5
- Value for money: 5/5
- Ambiance: 4.5/5
- Would we go back? Oh yes.
Hort’s Townhouse: https://www.hortstownhousebristol.co.uk/
