I booked into the Royal Hotel to attend a function in the local area. Upon investigation, the Royal Hotel seemed to be suitably located and within budget.

I phoned a week in advance to secure the room which was painless- the lady on the phone was helpful and friendly. I soon discovered that they do not accept American Express credit cards though.

On arrival to the hotel, we found it impossible to find anywhere to park. The entire car park was packed solid- and we're talking about a substantially sized car park. This was because the hotel doubles up as a bar and a night club and they were showing a football match & the hotel car park was full from people watching the game. Whilst this is Okay, I think priority should be given to people who are booked in to stay over night and not just people who are dropping by to visit the bar.

We did eventually find a parking space but it took about 20 minutes of circling and waiting for the odd car to go.

The reception was extremely helpful and efficient. She explained the location of the room, how to operate the keycard doors & where breakfast was in the morning.

The room itself has been nicely decorated- I was pleasantly surprised. It was elegant and well laid out with a flat screen television, quality curtains, carpets and desk, console and bed side cabinets. The bathroom was of a good size with a large mirror and complimentary soaps, shampoo & conditioner.

However, the room was incredibly hot when we arrived- the radiator was on max & the sashcord windows were very difficult to keep open. It took a few hours for the room to cool down.

There was a selection of tea and coffee with biscuits on the console- a great touch.
Oddly, however, was a cafetiere , which would have been wonderful if fresh coffee had been provided but there was just a Rombout, which is fine but in a room for 2 people, there should have been 2 rombouts. And the cafetiere should be removed if you're not providing coffee to go in!

In the morning I went for a shower. The water pressure was terrible. The slightest spray came out of the shower head & it was difficult to get wet! To make it worse, the shower was either freezing cold or boiling hot. It was impossible to find anything in between.
The red button which allows you to move the temperature gauge on the tap was actually broken so you could only move the tap a fraction. I did not enjoy the shower at all- quite a let down.

We then went for breakfast in the "lounge". We arrived at a room with no staff present.
The tables and stools were not made up & nobody greeted us. We went around and collected clean crockery from other tables that were half made .
There was one glass for orange juice so we had to share. The self service coffee machine was a good idea apart from the fact that the pre measured servings of coffee exceed the capacity of the cups provided and about 50ml of coffee cascades down the sides of the cups. The person behind us failed to get any coffee because the machine that gave up the ghost. The coffee was okay, though, once you cleaned the sides.

We had to walk around to find somebody and a lady popped out of a door and asked us if we were ready for breakfast, which we were.
It was cooked quickly and to a good standard, apart from the sausage which I don't think had seen a pig in its life. The bacon was good and the egg too. Thick toast was also provided.

Breakfast was a disappointment. Somebody should be greeting people, clearing the tables and restocking glasses and mugs. The "lounge" area should also be maintained properly. Signs of use as a nightclub were visible- marks on the walls, scuffed furniture, stained curtains and threadbare cushions. In fact, the paint work through the entire building could do with an overhaul. The green paint in our bedroom needed another coat- it was patchy and the paintbrush had caught skirting boards and door frames- quite messy.

This hotel has got potential. The rooms are fitted out to a boutique standard and the building itself is very attractive. The staff are very friendly - always smiling and saying hello as they pass you in the corridors, particularly the receptionist, who I think is an asset to the hotel. Some more care needs to be thought out to the breakfast dining experience- it needs to be better staffed and tables need to be cleared after people leave.
Some people were going behind the bar and into the store room to find glasses , cups and side plates for their breakfast. This is not ideal.