One morning, I was on the phone to my cousin who was sad as she was saying that before she lost her husband, they'd have gone to the seaside on such a lovely day. As soon as I put the phone down, I spotted a bargain break to the Royal Hotel - and was pretty sure she'd never been to Weston, so thought it was a great birthday present for her.
We kept it as a surprise and were joking about taking her glamping for the weekend. She knew full well that wasn't our style, but when we walked into the hotel, she was rather overwhelmed with what a lovely place it was. And that was before we showed her the room we'd got - a four poster bed with seaview which was lovely. As was the shower, if only the water pressure had been good enough - we also had problems in our room, so presume it's a hotel wide problem.
Our room was at the back, and overlooked a couple of late night bars, which made us very grateful to have brought ear plugs - there were no such problems at the front of the hotel, though - even with a wedding in full swing!!
We also liked the fact there was plenty of trouble free parking for residents.
On our first night, we left it quite late to eat, so were grateful that the hotel restaurant was still open until 10. We were the only ones in, which is a huge shame as the food was delightful and even though the prices were quite steep for Weston, the quality made the food value for money.
I started with the beetroot cured gravlax bellini, as did my husband, which was beautifully presented - my cousin had the wild mushrooms - a huge portion! Both my husband and cousin wanted to try the veggie savoury bread and butter pudding, however, there wasn't any, so they both plumped for the stuffed acorn squash and said it was really lovely. I went for the pan friend ostrich fillet which was slightly chewy, but very flavoursome - and went especially well with the nutmeg creamed spinach.
We were too full for a dessert - we weren't rushed to make a decision, but as soon as we did, the kitchen staff all left to go home!
There's enough to do in Weston for a weekend break - and it's only down the road from some other lovely touristy spots such as Bristol, Bath, Glastonbury, Cheddar Gorge etc.
The hotel and restaurant are both delightful - a real gem for Weston and I look forward to a return visit. read more