Bear Hotel by Greene King Inns

Wasn’t told what time breakfast was by the person who booked us in . So missed breakfast.

nothing really. Great location for what we were doing that weekend with plenty of parking.

Room, no bedside lamp, no draws fot clothes, no t.v..no chair.

The bathroom and some furnishings are a bit tired but it was a good price for 1 night.

everything was all ok and had a nice break

So this was my 2nd trip to the Bear Hotel and I think I was far too generous in my first review.

So this is an old hotel and it's on the lower end of the price scale. Everyone expects it to be a bit tatty and tired in places.

But this hotel is so unloved that it hurts. There is no pride here.

Take, for example, the TVs. In both rooms that I have had, the TVs have been in the corner of the room - not opposite the bed as you would expect. The TVs are in a fixed position - you can't even adjust the angle for a better view. They have not been placed there for the comfort of the customer. They have been put there so they can add "TV" to their listing. Also, there is no soundproofing behind these TVs so you can clearly hear whatever next door is watching.

Talking of sounds, the walls are extremely thin. I might as well have invited next door to sleep in our room because we could hear every noise.

Internet is shocking. Don't even bother with it. You're better off hotspotting from a phone. I went there to work. Basic functioning internet is a pretty standard thing for most hotels. There's not even an opportunity to pay for a better connection.

These are all things that have been mentioned in other people's reviews - and the management have ignored. Greene King should be ashamed to have their name above the door here.

Now for a more individual problem, the main light kept flickering and was in clear need of a new bulb. I left a written note for the cleaners (the cleaners are very definitely English, judging by the accents and colourful language that I heard through the wall when they were working. No foreigners to blame here.). The note was were I left it and the light was still flickering despite my room being cleaned. Was it inattentiveness or turning a blind eye? Who knows.

Also, a minor irritation - the cups are far too small for a decent brew.

I stayed in Room 18 at the top of the hotel. Reached by a series of doors, narrow steps and connecting doors. Not a problem for me as I am reasonably fit and agile but would be a serious problem evacuating the building in an emergency esp in the dark.

The room itself had features that made moving around unsafe due to a low sloping ceiling especially over the tea area, TV and dressing table. I am average height and banged by head several times during my short stay.

The Bear is potentially a beautiful hotel but it is in desperate need of a multi-million pound refit which I recognise is difficult in these times of economic pressures on the battered hospitality sector. I also appreciate that such an investment would inevitably push up room rates.

Room 34 sited over kitchen so aroma of chips was evident in the room when we returned after dinner. Also 7.30am rave music again eminating from the kitchen was not the most comfortable even with secondatu glazing closed.

The toilet didn't flush properly, there was no extraction fan and the towel rail kept falling off the wall. We had trouble finding the car park as access was not at the front of the hotel. Being notified of this in advance and being given the post code of the car park would have helped.

The carpets need to be changed. Grubby looking.

The whole building was in need of an upgrade. The decor was shabby, and many fitments were in need of repair or replacement.