Wessex Hotel

I wouldn't stay here again. It's not as good as a Premier Inn / Travelodge. To us, the amount of posireports look suspicious as others staying here reported similar experiences to ours, and worse. The building is very tired. Corridors look run down, old fire doors look abused and dated. Nothing in the room was quite right ... floor of the bathroom incredibly hot (the water pipes are to blame, apparently). Plugs in bath and sink didntbfit. The rail holding the bath mat fell apart as I lifted the mat. Shower powerful but small. Bed uncomfortable (pillows were replaced - but I do wonder why the really terrible ones were even there). Bits of linen had marks of mould on them. The picture on the TV kept scrambling. Curtains were rubbish at keeping out the morning sunlight. Toilet cistern took ages to fill, and was very noisy. Room incredibly hot so needed a noisy fan on all night .... Car park was OK One member of staff (manager on Friday night) was oddly defensive and inadvertently dismissive of disability. The lift didn't work, but that was soak as he could move us to the first floor into a twin room (we like sharing a bed, we're married, it's a feature we like!) and he could carry our cases up the 2 floors.... but I'd still have to climb them... The restaurant wasn't open, but that didn't matter as we could walk into town for food (we book hotels with restaurants as I can get pain when walking after a long car journey...) I'm sure he didn't mean to be so dismissive, but there was clearly a lack of conce. Otherwise, staff were friendly and attentive. We didn't eat breakfast there. Everything else was not quite right, so we didn't see any wisdom in risking the food!

All in all I had a relaxed 2 night stay. The bed was comfortable, the room quiet. The staff friendly but unobtrusive. The slight let down was the fabric of the place which is ‘tired’ and in need of a revamp. Paint peeling and scuffed, tape on rips in carpets and a cracked cistern on the toilet in my room. However. All was clean and the price reflected the tired bits. Only real downfall was the lift which was out of action which is a pain when you’re on the 2nd floor

I find that I feel at home in this Hotel, the staff are so engaging you feel like an individual not just another guest.The Manager who checked us in served our breakfast on Sunday it was clear there is a more of a family/team structure than most hotels. Our room was perfectly clean and maintained and good value, the underfloor heating in the bathroom and toilet was a winner with my wife. Being on an organised break you cannot expect an a la carte menu, but the food we had was well cooked and presented the portions we found more than adequate.

Absolutely dreadful.our rooms were damp smelling with an overtone of air freshener to .. I assume .. disguise the odour. Our rooms .. Strong unpleasant odour , Toilet pan not attached to floor properly. Condensation running down windows even on a 25 degree day! Rotten window sill and frames. Tiles off in bathroom. Hard lumpy beds. Rust around fittings, Wallpaper patched, peeling and coming off. The list could go on but … you get the gist I’m sure. We stayed in two rooms .. pics shown from 2nd room we were upgraded to! Apparently a superior room?! Staff very hard working, friendly and helpful. Issues are entirely environment based. Housekeeping are obviously trying to provide clean rooms but the general dilapidation makes that impossible. It is my opinion that is NOT ACCEPTABLE to tell guests that the hotel is being upgraded. Until the below standard rooms are refurbished they SHOULD NOT be taking bookings. Damp and mould are a danger to health. We would obviously not return and our recommendation … as frequent and easy going hotel guests .. would be to book elsewhere.

Such a lovely area to visit staff are so helpful nothing is to much trouble for any of them all so friendly and welcoming we were made to feel so special we will definitely be returning and are really looking forward to our next visit here already looking at coming back

Great hotel - very friendly staff Bed Very comfortable! Breakfast was excellent Parking easy and plenty ! Great value hotel Central location for shopping and food Bar and restaurant were closed but wasn’t a problem (breakfast cooked to perfection) Would definitely use again

Where were these people staying? Staff working very hard. Christmas meal half undercooked, and half overcooked. Entertainers worked hard but very dated. Music from the Youth Club I never wanted, or expected to hear again. Oldsters expected to be old !!! Did anyone check their pillows. We asked for new ones, at reception, but the 'manager' hadn't, or didn't 'want', to hear about pillow case liners as said he didn't know about them being necessary and it would cost him a fortune. From friends who rent self catering, plus 4 in a bed, and The hotel inspector, understand that pillow and mattress covers a necessity. Christmas coach trip of oldsters and bedrooms, and bathrooms, totally NOT set up for their convenience or safety. Overhead bath shower impossible as bracket broken and couldn't regulate water, either boiling or cold. Slippery bathroom floor and no bathmat, only tatty hand towel. Don't start me on towels... terrible and small. Beds....didn't investigate after checking pillows because would have walked out. I had 2 blood spots on duvet cover, didn't put anywhere near face. Blankets left on top of dusty wardrobe, not in sealed cover. Bedding 'has' been white. Water inside the 'patio' door style windows and flapping electric cable crossing window and banging on window ledge. We have stayed in 6 hotel rooms, including self catering, this year and no comparison to these bad conditions. I was warned about this hotel and shouldn't have booked. Tour company doesn't want to know and neither does hotel. Room 210. Something has to be done. The staff are lovely and trying to cope. Too much food, especially meats, if you want to save money. Pitiful to see carried away.

We were with a coach trip from S Wales. On the Sunday we visited the Clark’s Village and on the Monday we went to The Festival of Light in Longleat. The trip itself was only spoilt by this shockingly awful hotel. The bedrooms were actually not too bad except for our room, a non smoking room, smelt of cigarette smoke. The food was just awful. In the evening I had the vegetable soup. I took one spoonful of it and put the spoon down and left it. It tasted like all the left over veg from a previous meal had been blended together and heated up. Just awful. My main course was the chicken - like rubber ! With watery gravy. I ate some of tte carrots and cubed potatoes. Breakfast was the smallest cooked breakfast I had ever seen. One fried egg, one rasher of bacon, one cheap, small sausage, 1/2 a small tomato and a dessert spoonful of cheap baked beans. During the evening I’d twice had to ask to exchange my glass for a clean one for my drink. Where we were sitting there was a thin layer of dust across the table. As for the staff. I don’t know as not one of them spoke to me or my family!

Stayed 2 nights here as part of a trip with Majestic Coaches. The hotel does need a bit of updating in some areas but our room had new windows and a new carpet so this is probably in progress. Very clean, comfortable bed, TV in the room as well as tea & coffee tray. Shower was rather weak. The staff were extremely helpful and pleasant especially with regard to my dietary requirements. As a coeliac, I had asked for gluten free options and there was no problem with that. All the sauces at dinner were gluten free so the only thing off limits for me was the pasta. Plenty of choice at breakfast. We rather liked this hotel and would definitely stay there again.