In a surprising turn for the budget hospitality sector, the pub chain Wetherspoon has recently toppled the giant Premier Inn to claim the top spot in a Which? survey of UK chain hotels. The consumer champion hailed the offering as providing "great value" accommodation, prompting curiosity from an unlikely quarter.
A Royal Offspring's Budget Stay
Food writer and critic Tom Parker Bowles, one of Queen Camilla's two children, decided to put this praised value to the test. Known for his high-end tastes, Parker Bowles confessed to being a habitual "five star bore". Nevertheless, he booked a room at The Hatchet Inn in Newbury, Berkshire, part of Wetherspoon's expanding portfolio of 56 hotels across the country.
Paying just £58 for a night's stay, he entered with modest expectations but emerged genuinely impressed by several key aspects. In his review for the Mail on Sunday, he highlighted a "sparkling clean" bathroom, generously sized towels, a shower with excellent water pressure, and reliable Wi-Fi. His summary was telling: "I've stayed in far worse places, for three times the price."
The Not-So-Silent Night
However, the experience was not without its notable drawbacks, largely stemming from the hotel's typical location directly above a bustling pub. Parker Bowles found his bed positioned above the pub's entrance, leading to a disrupted attempt to sleep as the venue ejected customers at around 1am.
His slumber was further shattered just a few hours later by the noise of an extremely early marketing meeting taking place nearby. Additional quirks included a shower that flooded if used for too long and an extractor fan that roared like an "angry chainsaw".
Unbeatable Value and Community Spirit
Despite these niggles, the overarching verdict was one of overwhelming value for money. "But for £58, it feels churlish to complain," Parker Bowles concluded. "Astonishing value, of course, made better by its proximity to the pub."
He also observed the undeniable appeal of the pub below, where patrons enjoyed Worthington's beer for just £2 a pint and jugs of Pornstar Martini cocktails for under a tenner. "Say what you like about Wetherspoons, you can't beat those prices," he noted, adding a heartfelt tribute to the chain's role in British society.
"God, I love a Wetherspoon's, not in some trite, archly ironic way - rather for providing cheap beer, bottomless coffee, warmth and no-nonsense succour to great swathes of the British public."
The review follows another recent experience shared by YouTube travellers Ash and Kels, who stayed at The Wyndham Arms in Bridgend, Wales. They were similarly taken aback by the quiet comfort of the room, noting how the noise from the "really busy" pub below vanished upon entry.
With its recent accolade from Which? and endorsements from both seasoned travellers and a critic accustomed to luxury, Wetherspoon Hotels is firmly positioning itself as a major contender in the UK's budget accommodation market, proving that value and convenience can sometimes trump a silent night.
