Overall the stay was OK but not value for money. Let downs were the breakfast buffet where most of the hot selections were luke warm at best, if not cold. Also smoked salmon was off the breakfast menu even though available at other times of the day. Cost cutting I presume. Jake the barman was excellent however his stand in was totally the opposite, surly, unsociable and almost rude at times. The parking arrangements are less than ideal and although pictures of The Abbey on- line appear to present the hotel as being "on the flat", in fact it is on a steep hill from the car park, not ideal in any way, particularly when having suitcases to haul up from the distant car park. Overall not the best experience of our holiday.

This hotel has lots going for it, including the lovely old features, the setting and the proximity to town, the Priory and, actually, the theatre too. The hotel staff were very friendly and helpful The main part of the hotel is a beautiful old building, however, there were a couple of issues. Not seen on the photographs, is a brick build addition that looks like a 1960s/70s school. Not at all attractive .... and surprising that planning permission was gained to add this to such a lovely old property. I think that the bedrooms inside this are perfectly acceptable though. There is quite a steep walk up from the car park to the reception at the front of the hotel - better to stop and unload your luggage if you are not very fit, or are wearing high heels! The reception area is very nice. We were given bedroom 323. Two things, one being that the shower is over the bath .... and not really suitable for a 70+ year old, a bit dodgy on the old pins. In addition, this bedroom is very much overlooked by a neighbouring room and it overlooks flat roof tops which are not very nice - but it does have a great view of the Priory. We asked to be moved to a room with a walk in shower and was surprised to be asked if we had requested this on booking - uhhhhmmmm - no - sorry we were not aware that we needed to do this as we haven't been offered a shower over the bath in a four star hotel previously. Perhaps we didn't do our research as well as we should have done. The young lady on reception was, however, very helpful and tried to locate a room for two nights with a walk in shower. Could not find one, in the end, we agreed with her and her manager that we would gratefully accept an upgrade for the first night and a down grade room for the second. Room 426 on the second floor in the old part of the hotel was lovely. Fab bedroom, fab bathroom, fab views. Wonderful. The second night, we arrived back late (about 11.30 pm, after a great evening seeing the Merry Wives of Windsor in Stratford (you must go - it is a great production!)). On going to the bedroom, (room 406), ok it was small - no worries - we had done a trade off - the shower was minute - would be a little tight for a portly old couple, but, ok, however, what was not OK was the horrendous noise of machinery .... we note that others have mentioned this in reviews and assume that they are referring to this room as, when we spoke to the night duty manager, he commented that they do try not to use that room. To be fair, it was, no doubt, because we requested a walk in shower. There was absolutely no chance of sleeping in there, so .... we were moved to room 331 - without a walk in shower...... provided that we did not mind the scaffolding outside. Nope - no worries re that. one of us struggled a little, (whilst the other had a nice luxurious bath)! The room was very nice - and was in the old part of the hotel facing the hotel's small but perfectly formed gardens on the opposite side of the road. One small problem - guests from the wedding reception (held in the school like part of the hotel) walking past outside were shouting to each other until about 3 am, the music having been turned off at around midnight. Never mind, it was way better than machinery noises all night. As far as breakfast is concerned, it was acceptable, but not really much more than that. We were surprised that there were no freshly cooked rolls/ rustic bread, just some sliced bread for toasting. The cheese and ham was quite restricted. Apart from melon, the available fruit was either from tins or defrosted frozen food, although, put alongside the rather nice Llaeth y Llan yoghurt (from our native area) it was quite acceptable. The mini pastries were fresh (but not still warm) and were very nice. Unfortunately, the cooked breakfast was a little on the cool side (we were there at 8 am, so not due to us being late or any such thing), and so not as good as it could have been. Be aware that most rooms (including the Elgar King rooms), do not have a fridge, only the top spec ones do so. Lastly, just to note that I think the bells on the Priory (which is right next door to the hotel) ring out until midnight and then start again at 5 am (unless I fell asleep in the middle! ) I quite liked them, but suspect not everyone would. Would I stay again? Yes probably, but with some caveats. Sorry - I have taken you at your word and been very critical. I hope that this is what you wanted as I assume that this is for improvement purposes, not for publication! Staff very pleasant and helpful and a credit to you. Final room on first night was superb. Final room on second night was excellent. The other two rooms offered initially were not good rooms - especially 406 - absolutely no chance of sleeping in there. Basically, I would stay again but only in specified rooms. Great position. Cold breakfast. No nice breads/rolls for continental breakfast. Little choice of cheese and ham. Fruit, in the main, tinned or frozen, rather than fresh fruit. I feel that the breakfast lets the rest of the hotel down. Generally clean but cleaners need to review plug holes and areas around taps and pipes. In final room, whilst having a bath, you can see that the underside of some of the fittings is not as clean as it might be.

As expected

lovely stay. liked the lounge areas downstairs, and very comfortable bed,. perfect for theatre visits with theatre across the road and the ease of parking.

Very enjoyable stay, staff helpful, room excellent, very clean and comfortable, very good breakfast. Will be back

Nice, scenic, hotel with modern features in an historic package.

Good wifi. Good overall. Good service throughout our stay. Bed and pillows were uncomfortable. Good location. Excellent range of food. Pleased with cleanliness of the hotel. Nice bar but a better range of draught beers needed.

We stayed at the Abbey for 2 nights. Staff were very friendly. Rooms were very clean with everything you could need. Very close to the theatre and shops. Free parking. Would definitely stay there again. Decor a bit old fashioned but this is an old building. Easily accessible wifi. Service at the bar and the breakfast room was excellent. Everything you need was available. Decor bit old fashioned but very clean. Excellent for the theatre, shops, park and Abbey. Breakfast had a good selection of food both cold and cooked. Was kept well stocked up. Very clean. Rooms very clean. Dirty glasses/plates cleared away quickly. Excellent and friendly service

We enjoyed our stay at the Abbey. The room was excellant, and very clean.. Breakfast was excellant, everything you wanted. The staff were all very friendly. We will be back soon, to see another show. Very good Very clean, and lovely bed. Very well located for the theatre We only had breakfast, it was excellant, good choices Could not fault it in any way Excellant service

Overall our visit was very comfortable, staff are very accommodating nothing was too much trouble our room was first class thank you all Very good Nothing to complain about Excellent Very clean Beautiful views Enjoyable Excellent Very good

First time to UK. Stay was excellent. Staff was very helpful.

A fantastic stay! The staff were all very welcoming and clearly liked working at the hotel as they had a good rapport. On check in, I couldn't get into my room but the duty manager was passing, let me in and went to fetch a replacement key card, great service! The food at breakfast was delicious and the car parking excellent. Perfect for exploring and parking was a great help. Excellent breakfast! Spotless in my room

Friendly staff . Alway somebody around to ask for information. Brilliant overall. Although very warm but was a very warm day Really lovely meal Very good Very good