Ross-on-Wye The Royal Hotel

Ross is a charming little provincial town in it self and nestles among a pretty unspoilt part of the country. It is a short drive to equally visitable spots including Chepstow Castle, Monmouth, and Herefordshire's wide array of Cider farms, as well as the well-documented Wye valley, Tintern Abbey, Symonds Yat et al.

The hotel does good value weekend breaks with the breakfast thrown in and is an excellent spot to stay for a tour as listed above. The official rating is 3 star I think but I'd say its a superior example and is probably banging on the door of a 4 star in many ways.

The restaurant looks good but we ate in the newly refurbed bar area which was a more convivial experience - good food, reasonable wine and unbeatable views of the Wye river, meandering idly hundreds of feet below. The bar got pretty busy later on and is probably the envy of many local Ross pubs given the number of punters.

The staff were pleasant, attentive, helpful throughout.

The facilities were perfectly adequate, the rooms clean, the hotel itself extremely charming in a fairly rustic, slightly dated way. The bar refurb is excellent, however, so perhaps other changes may be expected... either way I'd happily go back; it's a good example of the sort of old-school provincial hotel that seems to be all but disappearing these days, but which you would take over a Hilton or Holiday inn every time.