Bath, United Kingdom

Queensberry Hotel

Rates from (inc tax)$135.06

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 21 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (21GBP), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Queensberry Hotel - Bath - United Kingdom Photos

Style

Quartet of Georgian townhouses

Setting

Heart of historic Bath

A welcoming blend of its historic Bath Stone exterior and clean-lined modern décor, Bath's Queensberry Hotel pleasantly updates the restorative tradition of this famous spa city. A combination of four impressive 18th-century houses, this charmer includes an excellent restaurant with an easy-to-navigate wine list and an eager staff happy to offer whisky tasting tips.

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

A bottle of prosecco

Facilities

Photos Queensberry Hotel - Bath - United Kingdom

Need to know

Rooms

29, including two Junior Suites and one Four-poster Suite.

Check–Out

11.30am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 2pm.

Rates

Double rooms from $135.06 (£104), excluding tax at 20 per cent.

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 21 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (GBP125.00), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

More details

Continental breakfast is an extra £10 a person, £17.50 for full English. An optional five per cent service charge can be paid at check-out.

Also

Owner Laurence Beere is a big whisky fan – and happy to share his taste. There’s a mighty selection of artisan brands in the lounge and all staff are brimming with connoisseur’s tips.

At the hotel

Terrace gardens, free WiFi throughout. In-room amenities: flatscreen TV, CD player and DAB radio, Vi-Spring beds, Mrs White's toiletries.

Our favourite rooms

The spacious Junior Suites (rooms 7 and 8) were originally the townhouses’ drawing rooms and have original Georgian plasterwork and ornate fireplaces. We also like rooms 20 and 21. Numbers 22 and 24 have inspiring views of bath’s rooftops and room 6 has a lovely high ceiling.

Packing tips

No trip to Bath could be complete without dabbling in Jane Austen. Settle into one of the Queensberry’s many nooks and niches with a copy of Mansfield Park.

Also

Valet parking is available for £12.50 a car, for each night. There's a two-night minimum stay at weekends.

Children

Welcome. Activity packs, child-sized bathrobes and free baby listening is available for youngsters. Cots can be provided free and extra beds cost an extra £25 a night. Babysitting should be booked a day in advance and costs from £10 an hour.

Food and Drink

Photos Queensberry Hotel - Bath - United Kingdom

At the hotel

At the Olive Tree restaurant, head chef Chris Cleghorn (protégé of Heston Blumenthal, Michael Caines and Adam Simmonds) sources seasonal and local ingredients to create a mouthwatering dinner menu. Starters such as duck liver with toffee apple purée, and truffled confit chicken with sweetcorn and chicory, seem particularly inventive. Weekend lunches are served Friday–Sunday; the restaurant is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

At the bar

Drinks are available throughout the hotel’s lounges and there’s a selection of spirits available on an honesty basis.

Last orders

Breakfast is served from 7.30am (8am on Sundays) to 10am; lunch from 12 noon (12.30pm on Sundays) to 2pm; dinner from 7pm to 9.30pm (6.30pm to 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays).

Room service

A variety of dishes from the restaurant menu are available between 12pm and 10pm. Sandwiches and drinks are available at other times.

Location

Photos Queensberry Hotel - Bath - United Kingdom
Address
Queensberry Hotel
4–7 Russel Street
BA1 2QF
Bath
United Kingdom

Planes

The nearest airport is Bristol International, which is a 40-minute drive from the hotel. London Heathrow is an hour and a half away and Gatwick is three hours.

Trains

Trains from London Paddington head directly to Bath Spa and take an hour and 20 minutes. From the station, the distance is under a mile.

Automobiles

The nearest motorway is the M4, which will deliver you all the way to and from London, and connect you to the M40.

Worth getting out of bed for

Pack a picnic and head to the green in front of Bath's Royal Crescent – or at the sprawling Royal Victoria Park nearby. On a sunny afternoon, the Parade Gardens are ideal for some river-side mooching; £1 gets you entry, a stripy deckchair and a patch of green green grass by the river. Open 10am–8pm on a summer's evening (or until 4pm during the winter months). Call 01225 394 041 for information on concerts at the bandstand. For a dose of the heebie-jeebies, tread the ancient Roman Bath streets on a Ghost Walks of Bath tour or for something a bit sweeter, visit the oldest sweet shop in Britain: The Bath Sweet Shop (01225 428 040) on North Parade Passage. Sherbet pips and aniseed balls in huge jars? What's not to love?

Local restaurants

Bath city centre is stuffed with eateries. Vaults Restaurant & Bar (01225 442 265) underneath the Theatre Royal on Sawclose is great for a piece of afternoon amaretti chocolate cake, or for a supper of steamed mussels. The lemongrass fragrance wafting from Panasia Oriental Restaurant (01225 338 200) on George Street is too tempting to pass by. For a mod-Med menu and views across 'green Bath' beyond Pulteney Bridge, book a table at Browns Restaurant & Bar (01225 461 199) on Orange Grove. Afternoon tea is served 2pm–5pm.

 

Local cafés

When in Bath, an afternoon visit to The Pump Room (01225 444 477) in the Roman Baths on Stall Street is obligatory. To complete the Jane Austen experience of live strings, chandaliers, foxgloves and imperial columns, order the three tiers of afternoon tea for two. (Bookings are only taken Monday–Friday). For great coffee and rows and rows of handmade chocolates to pick from, Bar Chocolate next to Bang & Olufsen on Argyle Street is open 09h–18h (11h–17h Sunday). Try their choc-coated, sun-dried banana. Riverside Cafe (01225 480 532) below Pulteney Bridge is a great watery spot for lunch or a coffee overlooking the river. The House of Minerva (01225 464 999) on Abbey Church Yard is the only licensed chocolate shop in the UK; they make chocolates in front of you, then serve it to you with champagne. Open 10.30pm–6pm. Click www.chocolatemaster.co.uk to find out about chocolate and champagne tastings. The pavement tables of Le Flamma (01225 443 900) on George Street catch the last rays of evening sun, before the party moves inside to its leather and suede bar until 11pm (5pm on Sunday).

Local bars

A precious rarity in Bath, Bamboo Bar (01225 462 276 on Barton Court, Upper Borough Walls boasts a courtyard treasure. Hidden from the main street, it doesn't get too busy – offering lunchtime noodles under umbrellas, or evening tipples under heaters. Inside is an Oriental-themed bar. The Raven (01225 425 045) on Queen Street is a messy, cosy pub chocka with rambling book shelves and old mismatched chairs. Food is served 12pm–2.30pm and 6pm–8.30pm (Saturday: 12pm–8.30pm, Sunday: 12.30pm–4pm). The Salamander (01225 428 889) on John Street, Queens Square, is a little pub with wood-panelled booths at the back, just perfect for fish and chips or a lunchtime steak sandwich. For a Manhatten or a Mint Julep, Central Bar (01225 333 939) on Upper Borough Walls is a chilled cocktailerie, also offering paninis, salads and lashings of tagliatelle.

Reviews

Photos Queensberry Hotel - Bath - United Kingdom

Anonymous review

‘You’ve missed a vista,’ mentioned my Mr Smith as we sank into the green bowl within which Bath squats. Spinning round, I captured another rare, precious moment on camera. Having abandoned our three children, we were intent on celebrating our twentieth wedding anniversary – with the first child-free weekend in ten of those years. Drawing up outside the honey-stone terrace, where this boutique hotel in Bath cunningly occupies three of the golden, flat-fronted Georgian houses, he suggested that in true Smith style we should really be arriving separately – and that having a single suitcase with our clothes pressed together was a bit, well, married and uncool. Frankly after all these years, we probably share a single immune system – never mind luggage.

The adaptation for intrigue at this lovely Bath hotel was immediately apparent. The décor is pale and discreet, with original features in the public areas. There are sitting rooms, notably unoccupied, but no bumping-into-hello-how-are-you-embarrassment zones. There’s no pressure to be sociable, no bar to make chums in – and everyone is ever so slightly evasive; eyes are lowered as you creep past. The reception area is so squirreled away that you could check in alone, whilst your partner in marital crime rushed past up the stairs, no problem. Even if the most famous illicit couple rocked up here, no one would take the slightest bit of notice. This is a hotel where doors close softly.

We scuttled furtively up the pretty double staircase to our room on the first floor feeling happy and anonymous – and slightly wicked; you don’t go away on a child-free weekend for nothing. The room, a perfect cube having been lightly trimmed to accommodate a bathroom, was painted the kind of grey you get when a storm is coming; modern, but not out of place with the period of the room. The cornice, thick with ancient whitewash, had been replaced along the top of the new wall with a crisp copy. Technology was discreet – a flatscreen television hovering on the wall and a digital radio blended into the background of polished period-furniture pieces.

We didn’t loiter at the hotel for long as we had an appointment at the Thermae Bath Spa. But before immersing ourselves in Bath’s famous hot waters, we stopped for lunch at Same, Same But Different – a little tapas café we discovered lurking in a passage just off George Street. Fuelling us with frosted San Miguel, a delicious goats cheese salad and what they claim is the best freshly-brewed Java in Bath, we drifted on down the hill to the spa – full, but ready to float.

Bath’s naturally hot springs bubble over several floors of a modern building built within an ancient one. Designed by Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, the New Royal Bath is made of glass and reflects the golden sandstone of the surrounding buildings. For about £20 you can spend several blissful hours, starting in the open roof-top pool, bathing in healthful minerals to your heart’s content. Maybe it was an illusion, but the minerals seemed to make us float effortlessly – perhaps the tensions of 18 years of child-rearing had simply been soaked out of us. Mr Smith carried me around through the water from bubbling spa to bubbling spa, like a plank under his arm. Shutting my eyes and letting him hold me up in the water was terribly romantic, like the kind of trust game you try on management courses – only without the worry of being ‘caught’ by Gareth from Accounts.

Stepping into a Calvin Klein black linen dress from my honeymoon, that evening we headed down to the Olive Tree restaurant in the hotel’s basement. There, in a room occupied by a desperately young – but highly civilized – hen party, dressed in a mixed metaphor of red feathery wings and halos, we settled down to eat asparagus and ravioli of chicken and mushroom, red mullet and some small fillets of brill. All good and rather delicate. We drank wine by the glass so we could try several bottles, I had a fresh mint tea – and then came the highlight of the gustatory experience: the best fudge I have ever eaten, rendered even more divine after a dipping in sea-salt crystals. Then we simply had to go upstairs to our sheets with a thread-count so high that you couldn’t see the threads – we suspect White Company’s finest, as that’s where the delicious toiletries hailed from.

The novelty of a small tousled person not appearing at 5am was even more relaxing and romantic than flopping around in hot mineral water. This is not a hotel where you breakfast in the dining room – I imagine you’d catch staff on the hop, they must be so used to couples making the most of their room. Croissants with butter, jam, coffee and fruit were delivered to our bed, whereupon we almost felt moved to re-enact the seminal scene from Richard Curtis’ first film, The Tall Guy – where Emma Thompson gets her shapely behind plastered with butter while having riotous sex with the divine Jeff Goldblum… Only, it was their first time – and our – oh goodness I don’t know. So we promptly moved the butter to one side in our tidy, irritating, married sort of way.

Packing up and checking out later that morning, we were back to being parents again – infinitely refreshed by being Mr & Mrs Smith just for one night at this Bath boutique hotel. So are we tempted to get another adults-only break in the diary? Absolutely. Only we're determined not to leave it another ten years before escaping again, that’s for sure.

The Guestbook

Whenever you book a stay at a Smith Hotel with us, we’ll invite you to review it when you get back. Read what other Smith members had to say in Queensberry Hotel’s Guestbook below.

We loved

Location is perfect, nice gastro pubs close by and access to the city is easy. Lovely gastro pub around the corner that does a wonderful Sunday roast, very welcoming lady there too.... really worth a visit!

Don’t expect

Coffee or tea in room....

Rating

Stayed on 11 Sep 2016

We loved

The cosy bar with an amazing selection of whiskies, the thoughtful touches in stylishly decorated rooms (mineral water, robes etc.) and the peace and quiet. Recommend Chequers pub for a great Sunday roast.

Don’t expect

Tea and coffee in your room.

Rating

Stayed on 29 Jul 2016

We loved

The friendly staff and good position, close to Royal crescent and restaurants.

Don’t expect

Tea or coffee making facilities in your room.

Rating

Stayed on 6 Jul 2016

We loved

Convenient position, and friendly helpful staff. Comfortable rooms and traditional charm of the building. Quiet and tasteful setting and ideal for short break. Walking distance of shops, and town centre, although uphill walking back. Many restaurants to chose from locally, and the city offers excellent shopping and places of interest.

Don’t expect

Tea and coffee in rooms. Lively evenings. Parking.

Rating

Stayed on 6 Jul 2016

We loved

Location, laid back atmosphere, cocktails in the garden. The small restaurant near the Royal Circus is a gem, away from the crowds with very good food.

Don’t expect

.

Rating

Stayed on 30 May 2016

We loved

Nice decor, massive bed and very good customer service. Every enquiry/ request was promptly met. Lovely prosecco! Excellent food at Clayton's kitchen

Don’t expect

To be able to stand straight upright in the shower in the top floor rooms if you're taller than 5ft 8"!

Rating

Stayed on 30 May 2016

We loved

The staff - so helpful And the Olive Tree food! - yummy. The Wild cafe and the Boston Tea Party are great for breakfast, the latter for lunch too.

Don’t expect

A lift, tea or coffee facilities in your room, air conditioning

Rating

Stayed on 27 May 2016

We loved

Location and relaxed atmosphere. Try the Gin bar in town. 

Don’t expect

I found the room was a let down

Rating

Stayed on 20 May 2016

We loved

The peace quiet even though hotel is at the top of the town. The food was superb, the staff friendly service was efficient. Not to be missed: A visit to The Abbey the Roman Baths. The Olive Tree (tasting menu) a culinary delight! Sotto Sotto - Italian restaurant (underground) Allium restaurant - again superb dining experience.

Don’t expect

Spa, swimming pool. So not needed!

Rating

Stayed on 31 Mar 2016

We loved

The rooftop view from our top floor room, the hospitality, the decor, the laid back feel. Recommend a visit to Gordon Jones! It's a bit of a trek to get to, but well worth the hike. Delicious and surprising food for a very reasonable price. Must do!

Don’t expect

A formal lobby or a buzzy reception.

Rating

Stayed on 19 Feb 2016

We loved

The location, but moreover the modern furnishings in a beautiful Georgian townhouse.

Don’t expect

A particularly good night's sleep if it's windy (which it was during our stay) as the sash windows rattled dreadfully.

Rating

Stayed on 19 Feb 2016

We loved

The incredibly comfortable bed!

Don’t expect

To be disappointed.

Rating

Stayed on 7 Feb 2016

We loved

Personal touch: staff were exceptionally caring and efficient at all times; loved the coat hangers, a complete change from all other hotels I have stayed in!

Don’t expect

A plush exterior, but inside furnishings more than make up for that!

Rating

Stayed on 14 Jan 2016

We loved

The feel of the hotel was farm, friendly and the service was impeccable.

Don’t expect

Anything that feels corporate!

Rating

Stayed on 29 Dec 2015

We loved

The room and the valet parking.

Don’t expect

Good value breakfast, in my opinion.

Rating

Stayed on 7 Dec 2015

We loved

The service, the friendly and very helpful staff, the look and feel of the room, the cleanliness, the central position, the valet parking service. It centrally located, so you can easily walk to all the main attractions of Bath.

Don’t expect

It's NOT a big, bulky, corporate hotel like a Hilton/Holiday Inn.

Rating

Stayed on 16 Oct 2015

We loved

Fantastic location, gorgeous room.

Don’t expect

Cheap parking!

Rating

Stayed on 27 Aug 2015

We loved

The service was excellent. Breakfast was delicious too. Fantastic location in Bath.

Don’t expect

Such a large and luxurious bathroom.

Rating

Stayed on 24 Aug 2015

We loved

Proximity to Bath - a stroll down the hill. Valet parking.

Don’t expect

Not to pay for the valet parking. Quiet lie ins - rubbish men seem to collect something almost every day.

Rating

Stayed on 5 Aug 2015

We loved

The queen size bed.

Don’t expect

Noise.

Rating

Stayed on 3 Aug 2015

We loved

Helpful staff, beautiful period interiors, quiet location, lovely room. Staff go the extra mile in helping us with all our needs it was the best service we had ever received.

Rating

Stayed on 2 Aug 2015

We loved

The Olive Tree restaurant - premium prices but well worth it The folder of recommended places to visit. A good night's sleep The large bathtub in perfect for relaxing

Don’t expect

Tea or coffee in your room - Complementary tea and coffee are in the guest lounge at the front of the hotel. Service in the bar. Both night we went in it was unattended. To park without the Valet parking

Rating

Stayed on 26 Jul 2015

We loved

The staff were so friendly and helpful. The room was comfortable and the bathroom was superb.

Don’t expect

Air conditioning in the room as the hotel is listed.

Rating

Stayed on 4 Jul 2015

We loved

The Olive Tree restaurant, the courtyard garden, service.

Don’t expect

It is a charming hotel in a Georgian townhouse so there is some difference in the quality of the rooms, try and avoid the top floor rooms in summer!

Rating

Stayed on 1 Jul 2015

We loved

The olive tree restaurant, great food.

Don’t expect

To park easily, valet parking is a must.

Rating

Stayed on 10 Jun 2015

We loved

The amazing bathroom, clawfoot bath and space. Try the Circus Cafe for a great dinner. Don't miss the Bath Spa for a pampering dip and sauna.

Don’t expect

A late checkout.

Rating

Stayed on 5 Jun 2015

We loved

The location and size of the room. It's a very relaxed hotel.

Rating

Stayed on 22 Feb 2015

We loved

Comfortable and quirky room (stair case down to bathroom), with view of setting sun. Very friendly staff.

Don’t expect

Breakfast could be included.

Rating

Stayed on 7 Feb 2015

We loved

Treated very kindly by the excellent reception staff and porters. They helped make our break really special and i was very grateful. Hotel itself is very pleasant and in the perfect part of town... seconds from the most beautiful architecture in England quite probably, and in the most historic and fascinating corner of the city.

Don’t expect

Breakfast was expensive and very average.

Rating

Stayed on 7 Feb 2015

We loved

A luxurious, spacious room. Extremely friendly, welcoming and helpful staff. The excellent restaurant.

Don’t expect

To be cold - it was very well heated, almost too hot at times.

Rating

Stayed on 6 Feb 2015

We loved

Nice hotel in great location - short walk from town centre with The Circus, Royal Crescent, shops, museum and other sights close by; staff were welcoming and helpful; our room (23?) had a lovely view over the rooftops of Bath; small but well stocked cocktail bar and the Olive Tree restaurant downstairs was excellent; interesting building and decor.

Don’t expect

Carpets and decor were a little tired in places

Rating

Stayed on 2 Jan 2015

We loved

We were made to feel very welcome by lovely staff. Arriving at our room, we opened the door to find classical music playing and a bottle of prosecco on ice (the Smith extra). A superb start to a great break in beautiful Bath. Food and drink were fab - and our shoes were shined free of charge while we slept. What more can you ask for?!

Don’t expect

We dined in the hotel restaurant on New Year's Eve and were seated at a table next to the bar. The bar area is small and up a few steps away from the main restaurant area. It does not have the same atmosphere as the restaurant (there are only two tables here) and it felt a bit isolated. The food and service were great - just make sure you insist on a table in the main restaurant area!

Rating

Stayed on 30 Dec 2014

We loved

The hotel was splendid, the rooms were very spacious with really high ceilings. The staff were extremely attentive and helpful.

Don’t expect

It would be nice to have tea making facilities in the room.

Rating

Stayed on 21 Dec 2014

We loved

Another excellent stay at the Queensberry, this time in a larger suite. Nothing is too much trouble for the hotel staff and everything you could want is provided with a smile and at speed. As we were at a wedding the following day I particularly appreciated the complimentary shoe-shining service!

Don’t expect

I thought on this occasion that the waiting staff in the Olive Tree were a little flustered - probably because there were too few of them to cope with the breakfast rush. They dealt with it reasonably well but it was not entirely stress-free.

Rating

Stayed on 21 Nov 2014

We loved

The room we were given was great. Always nice to be upgraded.

Don’t expect

There was no tea and coffee in rooms.

Rating

Stayed on 5 Nov 2014

We loved

Amazing views over Bath. Lovely staff. Quiet rooms and communal areas. Great cocktail bar with skilled bartenders.

Don’t expect

Was sad to have two beds pushed together to make one on a romantic weekend! It was done well but not ideal.

Rating

Stayed on 30 Oct 2014

We loved

The staff were wonderful and so welcoming.

Don’t expect

Trying to take the stairs all the time after spending a day walking round Bath was difficult… there is a lift, but I decided to take stairs and there are a lot of them!

Rating

Stayed on 5 Oct 2014

We loved

The hotel was sophisticated and beautifully decorated. The sheets were wonderfully soft and the bed very comfortable.

Don’t expect

Sleeping at the front was quite noisy as we were there during Freshers Week. If we come again, which I hope we will, we would chose a room at the back.

Rating

Stayed on 30 Sep 2014

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