Best Western Walworth Castle Hotel

Stayed in Hansard Suite, room 30. Top floor, castle building. 3 flights stairs, no lift. No offer to assist with luggage. Open door into what I can only describe as a room styled like a council flat. Large room, high ceiling cobbled together styles of furniture and not in keeping with age or style of building. Bedroom, large round, in turret but sparsely furnished again. Worst bed ever I've slept in. Ended up on sofa in lounge. Only saving grace about this room was the bathroom was spotless and plenty of hot water. No bottled water in room, no complimentary slippers to go with ?? clean robes. Friends stayed and had Jennison suite which looked much better with spa bath, clean carpet and only one flight of stairs. Both paid same price. Food was good, and staff where friendly. Unfortunately would not consider this place again. less

What a spectacular (historical) hotel ... together with lovely rooms, tasty food and attentive staff. In particular, Susan Head warm warmly welcoming, professional and helpful. This is a great place which i can recommend to all travellers. less

We needed a hotel in/near Darlington for just 1 night and were both wowed when this property came up in the search results. I have stayed at a few Best Western hotels on business in my time but none that looked like this. We booked directly via the BW website; as could not see any price benefits going through 3rd parties like Booking.com. Our check in was smooth and quick. The room, in the West Wing (#11) was small, very small, but as we were only staying a night - with most of the afternoon/evening to be spent out at a family do - that was fine. After dropping our bags in the room and taking a brief walk around the grounds we were peckish so took in some afternoon tea (tea/coffee and scones to die for), however it took an age to find someone afterwards to settle the bill with. When we returned in the evening we tried to settle down but frankly the bed was one of the worst we have ever experienced. Not only very soft but we both sank in towards the middle. The OH was up about 4am and went to sit in the car, I continued to toss and turn to find a comfortable position but when the alarm went off at 0730 I felt I had not had a great Knights sleep. Breakfast was typical BW fayre, though the "traditional" Black Pudding was a bit too traditional for my (southerner) liking. Otherwise, it was well cooked, plus there was a good selection of cereals and juices. Though again staff were rarely seen as the kitchen was so far away. We cannot fault the location and ambiance, and cannot state whether the rooms in the main building suffer the same problems, but won't be booking again when ever back up that way less

I'm a little bit torn with this hotel and review .I have stayed in a few Best Westerns now so I am becoming used to their quirks . I believe I could have given it 5 stars but you have to get the basics right and treat your clientele like adults . This Hotel is impressive as you drive in . It looks imposing and grand and the grounds are extremely well manicured . The reception staff are very friendly , efficient and welcoming.The reception area is nice bright and clean . We stayed in room 30 .This is a suite and has a lounge with Flat screen TV , bedroom with flat screen TV and separate Bathroom that has a both a bath and shower over it . It's located in one of the turrets and has some nice views of the grounds and surrounding countryside. The decor is slightly eclectic with a mixture of modern furniture and an imposing four poster bed but its still a very nice suite of rooms . The water was hot and the shower adequate for our needs and the room was spotlessly clean . We stayed two nights and there was no noise to keep us awake .( although sleep was not pleasant and I'll explain why later) .There were two couples and our friends had room 16 which was equally as impressive . We all had four excellent meals in the Farmers restaurant , service was good and price reasonable. Breakfast on the first morning was very good with an excellent full English and variations served to all four of us .The second morning was more hit and miss as we had to practically clear our own table to sit down in what was not a busy time . The Food however was again excellent .Free Wifi is also a bit hit and miss but I guess Castle walls will do that for you . The reason I have given this hotel an average rating is two fold . Firstly , this was a 60th birthday treat and we had brought a bottle of expensive champagne to drink in the room with our friends . I asked at reception if I could have a bucket of ice to chill it down a bit and was very politely told I could not consume food or drink not bought at the hotel in the rooms . It is written on your check in form but I was unaware . This is a petty, money grabbing rip off by Best western and quite frankly cheapens the whole franchise . I am sure it is in place to stop people ordering in Pizza or Chinese to their room but surely there can be some discretion . We bought a £20 bottle of wine with our meal so its not like you can avoid the exorbitant prices is it . Then there was the bed . This four poster bed may well be from the 18th century but did I really have to have an 18th Century mattress . This was the most uncomfortable bed me and my wife have ever slept in . It was lumpy , you could feel the springs and it sunk in the middle . ( It's no Hypnos I can tell you ) . Shamefully I perhaps didn't notice it as much on the first night due to alcohol ( otherwise I would have complained ) but on the second night I certainly did. I was going to mention this at reception as we checked out but no one asked me how our stay was so quite frankly I couldn't be bothered . Shame really as I said , this hotel could be so much better . less

I booked this last minute and wasn't expecting much as I was staying in the west wing and had read some negative comments regarding the rooms. I have to say was very happy with the room and thought the bed and breakfast rate was excellent value. The staff were also lovely and apologies to the young boy I gave a hard time to when my request for a couple of wine glasses was refused. I have never encountered this before. We planned to have a glass of wine in the room before heading to the bar but the hotel has a policy of no outside food or beverages to be consumed on the premises. I understand this for the bar and restaurant but not in your room. I didn't realise until the next morning I had signed that agreement on arrival - always read the fine print! All in all good value and we did enjoy a bottle of wine in the bar, would stay again. less