Bath, United Kingdom

Francis Hotel

Francis Hotel Photos

Style

Georgian peach

Setting

Quintessential Queen Square

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Set in Bath’s Georgian heart, Francis Hotel delivers period drama with a honey-hued façade and stately townhouse proportions. Calming rooms come with sumptuous beds and quiet corners to rest in. Providing further pause, a recently added spa pays homage to the city’s famed healing waters with a raft of thermal rituals. Heat also stars at Emberwood, the hotel’s brasserie, where seasonal produce is cooked over fire and served in a buzzy dining spot that feels appropriately genteel.  

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A drink each at the bar

Facilities

Photos Francis Hotel facilities

Need to know

Rooms

98, including one suite.

Check–Out

11am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.

Also

There are two wheelchair-accessible rooms at Francis Hotel, set on the ground floor, with space to manoeuvre and adapted bathrooms with roll-in showers. Reception, the bar and restaurant are also wheelchair-friendly and there are accessible public bathrooms. The hotel has safety devices for those with impaired vision and hearing, including bed shakers and strobe fire alarms. Please note that one side of the hotel and the first floor feature internal stairs.

At the hotel

Free WiFi throughout. In rooms: smart TV, Roberts DAB radio, air-conditioning, Nespresso coffee machine, tea-making kit, free bottled water, GHD hairdryer and Gaia bath products.

Our favourite rooms

The John Wood Suite is the best in the house, with grand proportions and a view of storied Queen Square. But even Francis Hotel’s smallest rooms are enticingly dressed in heritage shades with luxurious linens and mattresses, and all are dog-friendly.

Spa

The new-for-2026 Francis Hotel Spa takes Bath’s centuries-old reputation as a centre of healing as its inspiration. A private thermal ritual suite will deliver 45 minutes of cleansing, either with rasul mud or a pleasurable cascade of bubbles. Massage treatments and facials by Gaia and QMS Medicosmetics broaden its restorative box of tricks, and a relaxing garden lounge is a welcome recovery spot.

Packing tips

Swimwear for the spa; trainers for the cobbles; a tote bag for the farmer’s market; and an Austen paperback to tuck under your arm.

Also

Bath’s storied architecture and the Francis Hotel are interwoven through John Wood, an architect who lived in one of the townhouses and designed the city’s famed Circus; the top-of-house suite is named after him, too.

Pet‐friendly

Four-legged friends are treated to the same high-end service as their owners at Francis Hotel. Up to two well-trained dogs can stay in any room for £30 each a night. The hotel also supplies feeding bowls, dog beds and treats. See more pet-friendly hotels in Bath.

Children

Welcome; under-12s are charged as children; some rooms have a sofa-bed for one or two juniors (made up on request for free), and a free baby cot can be added to Comfy or Generous Rooms.

Sustainability efforts

Francis Hotel prioritises local suppliers, sustainable products and ingredients, and has taken steps to reduce single-use plastics on-site. A long-term plan around waste management and water conservation is also underway.

Food and Drink

Photos Francis Hotel food and drink

Top Table

Any seat suits in this stylish brasserie, but grab one at the window to pair your plates with some prime people-watching.

Dress Code

No need to stand on ceremony — Emberwood aims to be the relaxed neighbourhood haunt you want to linger in.

Hotel restaurant

Emberwood at Francis Hotel is a classic brasserie set in a window-lined dining room of marble-top tables, long leather banquettes and greenery dotted around. Its menu, however, leans a little more modern, focusing on locally sourced Somerset produce cooked over coals. Perfectly aged sirloin, fat Cornish mussels, and tender slow-cooked lamb are all generously portioned and crafted with care in the open kitchen. 

Hotel bar

Emberwood’s bartenders take as much care over their cocktails as their cheffing compadres do over the plates. The menu pays homage to its setting – Somerset cider brandy infuses a Solomon’s Spritz, or the Green Goddess spotlights British Pod pea vodka. The wine list skews Old World, with a whole section also highlighting British rising stars. Pick a perch at the marble-topped bar to chat all things drinkable with the knowledgeable staff.  

Last orders

Breakfast is served in Emberwood from 7am to 10am. Lunch is served from noon to 3.45pm, and dinner is 5pm to 9.30pm, Sunday to Thursday, and 5pm to 9.45pm, Friday and Saturday.

Room service

You can order from Emberwood's menu for delivery to your room during the kitchen's lunch and dinner hours.

Location

Photos Francis Hotel location
Address
Francis Hotel
5-11 Queen Square Somerset
Bath
BA1 2HH
United Kingdom

Set across seven Georgian townhouses on one side of Queen Square, Francis Hotel is in Bath’s stately centre — within strolling distance of the main sights, and rolling-home distance of the bars.

Planes

Bristol Airport is nearest, served by international flights from major European destinations. It’s around a 45-minute drive from there to the hotel. Pre-booked taxis cost around £50. The hotel can arrange private transfers in advance.

Trains

Bath Spa station is in the city centre, a 15-minute walk or five-minute taxi ride from Francis Hotel. Regular trains run from London, Bristol and Cardiff.

Automobiles

The hotel’s private carpark is just beyond the hotel, with paid spots from £20 a night.

Worth getting out of bed for

The well-trodden streets of Bath’s tourist sights are steps away from Francis Hotel. But if you’ve already taken the waters at the Thermae Spa, dipped a toe in the Roman baths, toured the Gothic arches of Bath Abbey and ticked off the Bridgerton filming locations, you might be up for something away from the Austenian promenading routes. 

The Little Theatre cinema courts culture vultures with arthouse films in surroundings that celebrate its 1930s inauguration. Or catch an author appearance at Mr B’s Emporium, a quirky independent bookseller’s – you could easily lose several hours browsing its aisles.  

At Roseberry Road Studios, you’ll find exhibitions from up-and-coming artists as well as life-drawing and ‘print and sip’ workshops. The Herschel Museum of Astronomy houses assembled curios behind an unassuming facade, featuring a seven-foot telescope, astronomy exhibitions and 16th-century musical instruments. And at The Museum of East Asian Art, steps from The Circus, you can learn about traditional Japanese tea ceremonies over your own cup of matcha. 

Local restaurants

For easy breezy eats in a light-filled dining room, Solina Pasta puts an Italian spin on West Country produce: line up for their famed tiramisu – it’s walk-ins only. Take a seat in the courtyard at Beckford Canteen, from the team behind the famous bottle shop, and try their elevated mod-Med plates. Or if it’s grandeur you’re after, it has to be The Elder: dress up and settle in for the tasting menu, including British classics such as wood pigeon, venison, and Cornish bream, then head to their secret bar The Jib Door for digestifs.  

 

Local cafés

Milk Bun Deli on Queen Street is your go-to for deftly filled sandwiches assembled with thick slices of soft milk bread. Colonna & Small’s on Chapel Row has been a magnet for Bath’s bean fiends since 2009, starred for excellent flat whites and house-roasted beans to take home.  

Local bars

There’s no shortage of vintners in Bath, with staples like Beckford Bottle Shop and Corkage drawing in oenophiles for a glass or five. Try new kid on the block 18 Green Street for curated sips and staff who know their natural wines. For late night revels, Dark Horse serves up inventive cocktails, such as a pink-peppercorn-infused Scaramanga and banana bourbon-laced Dime Store Cowboy, in a moodily lit basement. 

Reviews

Photos Francis Hotel reviews

Anonymous review

By Mr & Mrs Smith

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this Georgian townhouse stay in Somerset and unpacked their Austen paperbacks and souvenir spa products, a full account of their step-back-in-time break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Francis Hotel in Bath… 

One of the most soothing things about Francis Hotel is its Georgian-encased refinement. It’s what you expect from a stay in Bath, with its Austenian associations and centuries-standing layer cake of history. Miss Jane herself couldn’t fail to be enticed by the sumptuous rooms, a graceful balance of heritage hues and 21st century comforts (luxury linens and Hypnos mattresses are at hand to soothe any passing lovestruck heroine). And a desk overlooking Queen Square could tempt even the most word-shy of guests to pen their own reflections.  

The spa's allure would certainly be a stretch for our modest author, but a spell in its thermal suite, cleansed by mud and steam, will leave you ready to promenade with the best of them. At dinnertime, Emberwood’s banquettes beckon. Plates of locally sourced British classics are matched in appeal by expert mixology and a laidback atmosphere. It is a truth universally acknowledged that Francis Hotel is a beguiling mix of historical grandeur and modern hospitality. 

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