Best Western Shaftesbury The Royal Chase Hotel

We recently attended the hotel for a swim and lunch offer and were very disappointed with the food and the service we received the general opinion of the restaurant staff was they had better things to do than serve us. Also the food wasn't what I would expect from a 3 star hotel and as a result my wife was ill the rest of the day. The pool on the other hand is great for us and my son and the rest of the staff are always helpful when we have been to swim before we just will not eat there again less

Free parking on site and good size rooms, pretty decent shower, plenty of plug sockets, a fair size tv, hairdryer and kettle. My current room is dated (the bathroom appears a bit fresher) and smells ever so slightly musty with some creaky floors and doors but generally not too disturbing. The doublet cover is torn and generally there is a lack of attention to detail around the place. The remote needs to be pointed directly at the red spot on tv to work. The bed although slightly lumpy I found pretty comfy and got a fairly good nights sleep. No air con but plenty of fans about the place and the windows do open. It's just a shame people were smoking near my window (rear of building) smell filled the bathroom even with the window shut - yuck! Coffee, tea, biscuits available in the room but no hot chocolate :( Soap, shampoo/shower gel & conditioner provided. Fresh towels every day. Staff friendly enough but often disappear - I suspect this is because there appears to be only one person serving at a time so usually you have to wait a few minutes for them to appear e.g. at the bar in the evening or when waiting to be seated for breakfast. Very disappointed by the food served in the bar. On my first visit I didn't enjoy the BBQ special - they had to substitute the ribs (with gammon) as they'd run out - I thought BBQ ribs with bacon and pineapple and mash sounded yummy but hardly ate the awful monstrosity served up (see pic). On my second visit the chap next to me said some of his garlic bread was a little burnt whilst my lamb was tough as old boots the al dente veg was cold and the red wine jus flavourless - well that's two disappointing meals now on separate occasions - next time I'll give the main menu here a miss and go to the pub opposite or Tesco up the road. Breakfast is fine, cooked to order. There was a small spread of cereals, yoghurt and pastry. Warm water and a selection of fruit juice in leaky containers again demonstrate the general lack of attention to detail here. However, I am impressed with the fact they have gluten free items marked on the menu and gluten free cornflakes available - I'm told gf bread is available but you'll have to ask for it. Oh and plastic flowers in hotels/restaurants should be banned - nothing but dust traps and not nearly as nice as real flowers or a decent centre piece! They do have a pool which I enjoy using. Although not very big and has curves walls so not designed for proper swimming - no lanes. Free Wifi in my room dropped constantly and is not even worth the hassle of fetching emails, surfing web or Skype! Not great if you have work to be done online. In the bar it's not bad - 14Mbps down 4Mbps up, latency 60ms and should be able to handle multiple devices streaming. less

We thought we had booked a room for A two day stay but due to an oversight on our part found we had booked the following week!!!! The staff were very understanding and helped us find new accommodation in another hotel. The hotel looks nice and also has a pool Will definitely take care booking next time less

We stopped for lunch here as they held the blood donor session in the hotel and my husband's appointment was early afternoon. The staff were very friendly and helpful. I had a vegetarian risotto which was a creamy one which was very good. My daughter had the same but asked for a chicken portion to go with it. They obliged. My husband had sausage and mash, gravy and a portion of peas which we all shared. My only suggestion would be to add some garnish or a few green veg to the risotto as it looked bland. less

We stayed 2 nights at the Hotel. Staff are very helpful and polite. The room allocated was large and had plenty of space with an en suite. Kettle with tea, coffee, Biscuits etc in the room. Comfortable bed. Tolietries in the Bathroom. Nice large towels. Breakfast was nice. Plenty of choice too on the menu. There is a swimming pool in the Hotel for Guests to use, which is also open to non residents. No complaints about the Hotel. There was a portable fan in the room as it was a very warm day/night when we stayed. We put the fan on all night as even with the Windows open it was warm. Ironing board/iron/hairdryer in the room. less