This is really difficult to rate, because with a little more attention to detail this could be a gem of a boutique hotel - but at the moment to be honest it really isn't there. I'd probably have given 4/5 normally, but I think this hotel promises and obviously aspires to be better.

The good points:

* The room, as with the hotel in general, looks very stylish, with good quality fittings (eg the B&O televisions);
* The staff were, without exception, very friendly and welcoming;
* The first floor rooms at the back (we were in 101) have good spacious wood-decked balconies (not so the second floor rooms). The view's not great, looking out over an alleyway towards the hotel function and staff rooms opposite, but then this is a town centre hotel and it's a nice extension of the room;
* The food is REALLY good. Every part of the full English breakfast was delicious, and even with the singular mushroom another reviewer mentioned (it turned out to be a large Portobello, so not as bad as it sounds!) the quantity was plentiful, and requests for extras/top-ups were no trouble at all. A special mention also for the 28-day aged sirloin steak I had for dinner - gorgeous, and perfectly cooked medium rare.

By comparison the bad points are pretty minor - but why are they there when they're all so easy to fix?

* One of the bathroom "smart glass" panels was badly cracked and permanently opaque, while another only turned partially opaque. Perhaps they're not easy to replace, but this kind of maintenance issue detracts for the "wow" factor they're obviously meant to impart;
* The blinds fitted are pretty hopeless at stopping light entering in the morning (see the picture). Not a problem in mid January but not what I'd like at 4:30am in the summer;
* Maintenance work upstairs (aka loud banging on our ceiling) commenced at 8:00am. I don't do 8:00am during a weekend away, and I suspect I'm not alone;
* The most annoying thing - the restaurant Bar Menu, listed in the room information pack, turned out not to exist just when we needed it most, on Sunday evening. The staff were apologetic and said that they'd asked for bar snacks to be made available for some time, but the only choice they could offer was the full dinner menu or for us to try somewhere else local. A Sunday evening in January turns out not to be a good time to find anywhere serving light meals near the hotel. At least it gave us a little laugh when reading the hotel's motto - "Where Everything is Always Possible". Uh, apparently not!

All in all a very nice individual hotel, but let down by some niggling problems.

Friendly and helpful staff. Great cocktails in funky bar area with colour changing glass etc. Modern design features that somehow blend in with old style building rather nicely. Room was clean and well presented - greatly amused by clear to opaque (at the flick of a switch) glass walls around en suite. Central location which was convenient for shopping too. Perfectly adequate cooked breakfast in the morning - nice to see smiling staff!

We stayed at the brew house on sat 21 january2012... We paid £199 for the one night. When we arrived there appeared to be no car park! When we enquired with the reception they said they had a few spaces at a car park 100 yards, but that there were no spaces available! That upset is as we had lots of luggage to carry. Failing that we were told to find a space along the busy road!(there were no spaces) When we checked in we were given a room key and told that it was on the fourth floor out of the adjacent lift. When we got out of the lift we were faced with a security door which was locked( so we had to go back downstairs to ask how we get through. The receptionist told us we have to pass our room key over it. It would have been nice if she explained this at the time! When we got to our room we were very disappointed to find that the lighting was very poor! We tried to turn them up, but they were those tiny trendy receded bulbs which were useless! The bathroom had a fancy glass door which changed colour, but we would have preferred better lighting in the bathroom. The shower (no bath) was open plan with no door and looked very exciting; however the pressure was useless! We felt like everything was for show, but not practical. We will not stay there again. Very poor value for money.

As good as it claims to be. Room luxuriously equipped and very clean. Excellent breakfast served in light airy room by efficient and friendly staff. Only very minor downside was number of notices in room advising of charges made for misdemeanours - did make us feel a bit less like guests and more like potential source of additional income but still had a very pleasant stay. Good location in Tunbridge Wells, more or less in The Pantiles and adjacent to the more characterful shopping area.