The Monsal

Location and food

Comfort of room

This is a really great place to stay and if you are a Walker or countryside Explorer, then this is really the perfect place to stay. There are a few caveats that I will cover in a minute but, the views from rooms one, two, three and four are absolutely stunning. The pub and canteen are first class and the food is acceptable. (Portions too large honestly). The decor and vibe of the stables bar is really very cool and it’s a rare place in that they seem to play decent music rather than a durge of modern computer creations. You can really feel the history of the place in the stables bar. In terms of location as well, that is a massive plus for the hotel because it’s right at the start of multiple walks that are really varied and interesting. The hotel itself is a large old stone building and is impressive as a structure. The rooms are large and certainly - from room one and room four - you have the added advantage of windows on two sides of the main room. The caveat is that it is pretty rundown generally in terms of the room facilities. If you are a person that needs executive luxury than this is definitely not the place for you but, if you like us, prefer places that are spirited but with certain flaws then you will be very happy here. I would say that if you go in incredibly cold weather or incredibly hot weather, the rooms could be pretty uncomfortable. The insulation is virtually non-existent and the heater is a somewhat overpowering giant wall fan heater. The settings on it seem to be broken and difficult to control but when it’s working it pumps a lot of heat out. If the weather was very cold though I don’t think even this heater would be able to compete with the amount of cold air that would come through the badly insulated windows. Similarly, in very hot weather you would have the opposite problem because the sun would bake the rooms and there is not a lot of ventilation. The paintwork and finish of the rooms is definitely well passed it’s renewal date.

See above

The location is obviously fabulous. Our room (room 1) had a gorgeous view and a lovely place to sit with a brew overlooking it. The room was clean and had everything we needed for the night with a nice bath too. Yes, the building on the outside needs TLC, and some parts of the room, it is an old building so you need to be open minded about certain things. The current owners are doing great work in renovating it. Nothing ruined our stay. The staff were so lovely and the welcoming was warm. Great food in the Stables Bar next door too. We managed to get free parking which is a bonus. Straight onto the Monsal Trail which is why we booked. We slept well and we loved our time here. We hope that we will return in the future.

The location is great The Stables is cool - but couldn’t get in as book only. We had our complimentary drink sat outside, the dog was shivering. Would have been helpful to put brollies up in the garden or kept the canteen open for guests to sit and have a drink. Went to the Packhorse Inn which is affiliated to the owner - very nice - great food, great staff and service within walkable distance.

The room was very damp which they warned us off and offered complimentary drink (thank you). The rain was coming in the windows, however water damage looked apparent for some time. The bed was comfortable, the rest of the room was pretty - the views from the room were very stunning. Value for money was for me was not the best at £150 with no breakfast. Hence the 6/10