Twelve Reasons Why the Queensberry Hotel, Bath, is like Nowhere You’ve Stayed Before *

The Queensberry Hotel in Bath really is like no other hotel I’ve ever stayed in before and, trust me, I’ve stayed in more than I could ever care to count! Not only has the Queensberry Hotel been run by the same family for over 16 years that have over 50 years of experience between them, it means there’s no remote head office, but there’s also no CEO reporting to shareholders; it’s just them, doing what they know and love to keep the customers happy.

Having spent a very luxurious twenty-four hours in that very hotel, I’m here to share with you why it’s now my most favourite hotel in England and what makes it so different.

Perks of Booking Directly

I know when you book somewhere directly they often offer the best rates and that’s it. Well, not at the Queensberry Hotel. You most certainly get the best rates, but you also get a lovely handwritten note from the team, a box of rather lush chocolates that we bought home to perk up our nightly cups of tea through January, a Queensberry tote bag as you can never have too many of those and your valet parking in half price!

Boxing & House Rules

The original Marquis of Queensberry, after whom the hotel is named after, created the very twelve rules that we abide by in the boxing ring, then surely it makes total sense for the hotel to have their very own set of Queensberry rules, right?!

I have a few favourites from the list with the first being ‘Please remove motorcycle helmets before attempting to drink’ as it just made me chuckle with the thought of a Hells Angel style character pouring a delicate looking cocktail into their blacked out helmet!

I also enjoyed seeing the ‘No indoor horse-riding, audible obscenities or shouting into mobile phones at any time’ as I’m rather glad there’s no indoor horse-riding as that could be pretty messy and distracting, and the later parts of the rule just make for a nicer setting to have your evening dinner and meal in.

Tea & Coffee Stations

So it may come as a shock to you with there not being any tea and coffee making facilities in your bedroom in such a grand establishment, but there’s a very good reason for this! The team at Queensberry believe that you’re not able to make decent tea and coffee in your room, which when you think about it, it’s really quite true; how many times have you battled to get your kettle under the taps in the bathroom sink to have to give up and use the bath taps which is rather unhygienic and then you have nowhere to leave your soggy tea bags!

This issue is overcome by having tea and coffee stations around the hotel where you have a huge selection of pods and tea bags, ample space and no leaky tea bags left in your room. These are available from 8am through to 8pm and when they disappear any member of staff will be happy to help, they just want to keep the noise down in the hallways!

Bath Voice

Whenever I visit a new city, I make sure I do my research as to make sure I can see as much as I can in the time I have there. But at the Queensberry, the reception team have pulled together their best recommendations and it’s shared in your room. I found so many bars and places that I hadn’t found when looking online that I’ve made a list for next time I return as the recommendations all seem so good. I love this way of sharing the local area in a personal way without having to have a concierge desk.

Profits into the Hotel

As there are no shareholders all of the profits from the hotel go right back into the hotel. That’s why the refurbish a few areas at a time when they have the money to do so to the high standards they have set. In 2017, a lot of the public areas were given a makeover following on from 2015 refurb of The Olive Tree Restaurant.  This year will see work taking place on a further eight bedrooms and bathrooms, and they’re hoping that the remaining rooms will be completed in 2020 mean the owners, Laurence and Helen Beere will have invested over one million pounds in around five years!

Secret Gardens

This one is a well-kept secret, and to be honest, let’s keep it that way. All I’m going to say is next time I return a glass or two of wine will be had in this secret location away from the hustle of the city centre! If you ask the wonderful staff nicely, they might let you in on this secret too!

Keeping it Local

When it’s time for those refurbishments the Queensberry Hotel keep it local. They worked with Jane Clayton & Co on the public areas of the hotel, the beds are from Harrison Sprinks and the huge Panasonic TVs and DAB Radios were all supplied and fitted by Moss of Bath. The gardens were recently worked on by Bath’s Flowers By Passion and the newest partnership is with interior designer’s Eton’s of Bath so we both really enjoyed how the hotel supports local businesses.

Shoe Shine Service

One thing that I felt really impressed with was something quite little in the scheme of things, but after dinner, we returned to our room to have had our bed turned down, which Mike was rather shocked about thinking someone had been in our room and used our bed!! He was rather impressed when he realised that it was a service of the hotel and nothing to worry about! But during the turndown service, a little basket appeared on our bed with the offering of a complimentary shoe shine service. If we popped our shoes out before midnight they would be returned before we awoke for breakfast. Little touches like this can make such a big difference.

Massages & Beauty Therapy

If you want to make your trip a little different and a little special then the team can help you order massages and beauty therapies to your room. I think this is such a nice touch as who doesn’t love a massage on a special weekend away. I also wouldn’t say no to having my nails done in the luxurious rooms the Queensberry Hotel has on offer!

The Outstanding Staff

I know I mentioned it earlier, but I’ve stayed in a hell of a lot of hotels, ranging from £10 a night all the way through to £1,000 a night and I haven’t had service as good as we had at the Queensberry Hotel in any of them. Right from the moment we arrived every staff member couldn’t do enough for you! It was the little details like when the restaurant manager bought out Petit Fours to our room as we missed them at dinner, how our waitress had great banter over taking photos for us and how the staff, no matter what they were doing, always had time to stop and say hello.

Making Reception Informal

This may not be for everyone, but this made our stay feel that bit more personal; there’s no traditional reception area in the hotel. There’s a small desk with a PC on to the right as you walk in making up the smallest reception area I’ve ever seen but this was done to feel like you’re coming home when you arrive; you walk in the front door, grab a cuppa in front of the fire in the living room space and then head onto your bedroom as you would do at home.

Classy Tunes

The last of my collection of reasons is another little detail that made a big difference we feel. On arrival to your room, Classic FM is playing from your DAB Radio next to your bed. It gives such a luxurious feel and we really enjoyed listening to the Marvel and Lord of the Ring tunes that were playing whilst we unpacked our bag for the evening.

There are so many more reasons why the Queensberry Hotel is like no other we’ve stayed a before but I’m sure you get the idea and are now super eager to book your own stay. You can do so here.