Reviews of Victoria Hotel, Bamburgh
Review by Anonymous on 4th September, 2008
Add your review Date visited: 2008-09-04
Good Points: Room lay out / decor comfort
Bad Points: Room to Hot !
General review: Very enjoyable
Review by Christine on 3rd June, 2008
Add your review Date visited: 2008-06-03
General review: The standard of accomodation was very good. We paid for a superior room and it certainly met our expectations. Not the cheapest but the service and standard of accomadation reflected this. It was nice to have a choice of eating places (pub grub or Bistro)and the breakfast was lovely.
Review by Caroline on 18th December, 2006
Add your review Date visited: 18th-21st July
We arrived in Bamburgh during the heatwave. It was 5 pm in the evening. We booked into the first B+B we could find (OK for one night).
We walked out to find a restaurant for later, in the direction of the castle. We passed a "local" butchers, a deli, and a small newsagents. A little ways down the road, we passed the Victoria Hotel. Through the open window, there were some customers in the very comfy looking bar-lounge, sitting, in a booth-like setting, on large settees and armchairs, supping on their drinks. It looked lovely. The Brasserie restaurant menu looked superb. However, as there were several fine restaurants in Bamburgh, we booked dinner elsewhere. On the way back from booking, we stopped in at the Victoria for a pint of the local real ale... "Black Sheep". Superb pint! The bar-tender was a local Northumbrian lad, and we had a friendly chat, which set the scene for the next stage. I decided that THIS was THE place to stay in Bamburgh. Very recently refurbished, I asked about availability of rooms for two nights on their B, B/evening meal tariff They had a very large middle aged coach party in but could give us the next two nights in an "Executive" room. We had a peek...yes please!! After a wee bit of negotiation, I got a 10% discount on the advertised rate.
The room (Room 16) was large and newly refurbished with two original sash windows giving views across to the wooded park in the centre of this village. The bathroom was adequately sized, though not huge. Spotlessly clean and very stylish with a polished slate floor and solid red granite counter around the sink. We even had a clothes hook on the back of the door.. one of my bugbears with so many hotels is a lack of hooks on bathroom doors. The bath was wide, deep and comfortable, with a shower at one end. TWO showers in fact! My hubby loves being head-pummelled by hot water. I hate it. I like a detachable shower head so I decide EXACTLY where the water lands!
This bath had both types of shower head :^)
The bed was a 4 poster (well.. it had 4 posts,and was of the no-canopy type, so no worry about dust and spiders! . The bed was tall and the mattress thick and incredibly comfortable. Supportive yet soft and forgiving. The covers and supplied bed cushions were gorgeous.. embroidered and beaded silk. The curtains were in a matching fabric. The carpet was thick and coochy underfoot.. virtually brand new in fact.
There was a large, flat-screen, wall mounted TV, opoosite the bed. The full range of digital Freeview channels was provided.
Next morning, we checked in. The staff were incredibly friendly. Everyone has name badges on, which I like very much. Nothing was too much trouble. By the time we left, we really felt like one of the family. A sign of a good hotel that treats its staff well is when the staff are telling us what great employers they have... and they all profererd their praise when asked if they enjoyed their work. The evening meals were simply superb. The Brasserie offers a very wide range of food, concentrating on locally produced, seasonal ingredients. It doesn't matter whether you are a carnivore, a vegan, a veggie, a fishitarian... we're fans of fresh fish and game.. everyone is catered for. The food was freshly prepared and delicious. We ate late as the coach party were all secheduled for an early dinner. On the second night, the restaurant was really busy. We had to wait longer to be served. It transpired that the large coach party turned up half an hour late for their (early) dinner, which, of course, then threw all the subsequent dinner bookings off schedule. The staff apologised to us about the delays in service, but it clearly was not their fault.
We gave our starters and main courses 10/10. We gave our desserts (so spectacularly delicious!) 12/10. The wine was excellent. We had a couple of bottles of a 14% Sauvignon-Blanc for a paltry £11.75 per bottle.
We were tired on that first night, so, after getting the email in (work follows us everywhere!) we hit the sack. With the deliciously cool sea breezes wafting in, we slept soundly until 08.30. A leisurely bath/shower later, we arrived just in time for the end of breakfast. Fresh fruit, locally produced yogurts, cereals, juices and dried fruit were on offer in the Brasserie. The coffee was freshly brewed.. the tea was yummy and amply supplied. The breakfasts were freshly cooked to order, with local bacon, local sausage, and local free range eggs, although, given the ample nature of the previous evening's meal, I couldn't do breakfast justice!
This hotel was so good that we have booked in for their Christmas break (3 days plus a freebie extra night's B+B.. you just look after your own evening meal on the 26th). We got Room 15 (about 50% bigger than than Room 16), and got another Executive room for my mum and dad. This Room 14 is as big as Room 15 :^) Mum and Dad were really chuffed that, for an extra £7.50 per night, they can take their dog away with them.
We took piccies, emailed them to the relatives back in Worcestershire/Herefordshire, and the Victoria Hotel will now accommodate seven of us in 4 rooms over the Christmas period. We managed to get Superior or Executive rooms for everyone, including my single, elderly aunt. We took a look at a standard double. for future reference. It was very well appointed, but was quite a bit smaller than we are used to.
A fridge in the room would have been handy for keeping bottled water etc cool, but I don't think they like you bringing your own drinks in..fair enough I guess.
We look forward to re-visiting Bamburgh Castle, the Farne Islands, and hopefully gettijng to see Alnwick Castle (home of the Harry Potter movies) but will probably spend a lot of teh time cooching up on one of the settees in front of the log-burning fireplaces that can be found in the hotel's public rooms :^)
We are really looking forward to staying in our our "home from home" again..
Incidentally, when I commented that the hotel was way above 2 star status, I was told, by one of tne owners, that the hotel is in the process for applying for an upgraded rating from the AA etc. Three stars has already been agreed. Their main obstructions to 4 Star hotel status is:
1. No lift. Installing a lift would require some scary alterations to a historic property. Anyway, the staff were more than willing to help us with luggage.
and
2. No (employed) night porter (even though the owners are there to cover reception 24 hours a day!)
So... I can guarantee you that this is a 4 Star hotel in my books, and, if "I" were rating it on quality, I wouldn't hesitate to give it 5 stars :^) Then again, I'm only a tourist...
Review by STUART, FRODSHAM on 13th July, 2006
Add your review Date visited: 2006-07-13
Good Points: good sized room excellent views
Bad Points: on a matter of safety there was no anti slip mat in shower
General Review: overall our stay in the hotel was good I did feel that perhaps it is a little over priced .The meals in general were of a good standard although we only ate in the Brassiere once as we found the bar meals much better value.
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