Evesham Hotel

I would love to be able to review this hotel - but despite the promise that it would be available it is still being used by the home office. It used to be such as asset to the people of Evesham as well as those visiting for major events such as The Battle of Evesham, the River Festival , Fishing Festival and shows at out local independent theatre and cinema.

It’s hard to sum up just how much the Evesham Hotel has changed – for the worse. We paid £115 for a “Deluxe Plus” room described on their website as “recently refurbished” and, when I queried that, the receptionist insisted it had been. I don’t think that’s true. I can’t remember the last time I saw a toilet with a wall-mounted cistern and pull chain which flushed poorly and took ages to refill. Likewise, an old-fashioned shower with poor waterflow and a plastic curtain which had to be draped inside the bath. The room wasn’t much better: it was small; the furniture old; the bed way past it’s best; some power sockets dead; and the min-fridge on the floor so you had to kneel down to use it. If that’s a refurbished “Deluxe Plus” room, I dread to think what the others are like. We have visited the EH numerous times over many years, initially when I stayed with work colleagues, then the first night of our honeymoon, subsequently with our children and to celebrate anniversaries and for the then-legendary Christmas dinners. It used to combine quirkiness, a sense of fun and good food/service. That has all gone, as have the teddy-bear key rings, gorilla lifeguard at the pool, Sinclair C5 and the visitors book in the gent’s toilet! The public areas have been refurbished and are now drab and boring with a corporate feel. If you want corporate book a Marriott; they do bland much better. The EH’s wine and spirits list was also previously famous; they didn’t stock French or German wines but had an amazing range of varieties from interesting places (e.g Lebanon & Eastern Europe) and a spirits list as long as your arm (literally: it was printed on till-roll paper). The wine list is now as short and uninteresting. We didn’t have the willpower to look at the spirits on offer. Very sad to see what was once a lovely hotel in such a poor state.