Usk is a delightful, historic, small country town in the Usk valley, in Monmouthshire, South Wales…read more Whilst it is home to just a couple of thousand souls, Usk has at least 11 licensed houses, that I know of. The King's Head is the pick of the bunch. It is privately owned, and run by friendly and welcoming young staff. Whilst not the smartest or most chic establishment in town, it is certainly the quirkiest, with an astonishing array of artefacts, accumulated down the years, adorning its walls and shelfs. A labyrinth of little bars, it has comfortable sitting-room type furniture and you can relax on a sofa whilst enjoying your drink. It has en-suite rooms, its own car park, and the Chef, Jose Casas, cooks meals that are a lot more than your average pub grub. Local meat and fish feature on his menus, and you need to be very hungry if you order his 'specials'. A former Gwent Pub of the Year winner, The Kings has a choice of real ales, and a very large range of wines and spirits. An excellent spot to stop and slake your thirst (just 1 mile off the M50-A449 route), or to use as a base if touring the area.

The Angel Hotel is coining it! It must be if it can afford to have seven persons waiting on just…read moreeight people in the restaurant. More about that later. The Angel Hotel is a former Georgian coaching-inn, now rated three AA stars. It has 32 en-suite guest rooms, plus a Lodge at nearby Abergavenny Castle. The restaurant has an AA rosette, with an award-winning wine list. The Foxhunter Bar has an open fire, original wood panelling from the early 1900's, and interesting old paintings of Abergavenny.There's a good range of beers like The Reverend James and London Pride, plus guest beers, and a half-dozen wines by the glass. Special mention must be made of their superb Afternoon Teas, with scones, cakes and pastries, served from 3.00 - 5.30pm, with is proper bone china and linen. For £6.00 you may have tea or coffee with a small selection of cakes, or freshly-baked scones with jam and cream. For £9.80 you get the pastries plus a selection of sandwiches:Black Mountain smoked salmon, Marinated cucumber and cream cheese, Home-cooked ham, and Egg mayonnaise with cress. Weighing in at £14.80 is the Champagne Tea: copious amounts of all the above plus champagne. The Angel has been awarded membership of the prestigious UK Tea Guild and for 2008 an 'Award of Excellence'. The Angel is one of only six hotels outside of London to have achieved this accolade. The Tea Menu runs to about 6 pages and is a really good read, describing with great affection the wide choice of leaf teas available. The hotel claims currently to be refurbishing their bedrooms. If you intend to stay there, make absolutely certain you ask for, and get, a refurbished room, because the older ones are shabby and unkempt. And the restaurant? Some seriously good food, much of it sourced locally. For Lunch expect £20 per head, Dinner double it; plus wine, from an excellent list containing several by the glass and half-a-dozen half-bottles. The room is L-shaped and the staff, whenever I wanted them, always seemed to be 'round the corner' out of view; and I counted SEVEN of them. Perhaps they were expecting a big lunchtime, but it didn't materialise. They reminded me of the proverbial London Buses - you wait for ages and then 2 or 3 came round the corner simultaneously. But no real complaints - better to have than not to have!

My friend and her family go here for afternoon tea and champagne if someone's done well. Very Jilly…read moreCooper i always think. Anyway i'm not a fan, i went with once and thought it was filled with pretentious idiots who talk to loudly, eat too fast and behave like well, idiots. Now, to me, it's as if the Angel is desperately trying to be something it's not, much like Abergavenny itself. I'm told the rooms are lovely but expensive. I'm told the food is lovely, but expensive, I'm told the place is lovely, but...you guessed it, expensive! So, you can imagine my surprise when i found out everything was not lovely but still expensive. Right on the corner of the High Street The Angel isn't even that pretty. I'm aware many people take their vows down here and i had a sneaky peak at the wedding prices and be Jesus! it's probably cheaper and more fun to fly your whole wedding party (vicar and all) to Vegas than it is to get married here. All in all for people who like to think their posh. Not moi!

The Abbey Hotel is billed as the best in Great Malvern. It certainly looks attractive, in Malvern…read moreAbbey's shadow and covered in ivy. Our reception by the night-porter was cordial and he willingly served us to drinks because he'd sent the bar staff home. The bedroom and bathroom were modern, well fitted and had excellent views across to Bredon Hill. Breakfast, however, was a different prospect. Unclothed tables, covered in crumbs and no-one to greet or offer tea and coffee. When someone merged from the kitchen, extravagant gestures were required to fill our mugs. Whilst accepting that we'd descended for breakfast at (but not after) the end of the advertised breakfast time, this was no excuse for dehydrated bacon and sausage, rock-hard black pudding and fried eggs, swimming in oil, which were completely solid and rubbery. As if this wasn't enough, the picture window gave a panoramic view of the bins being emptied into the refuse vehicle a seemingly interminable process. We spent the day on the hills and returned to find, as before, smokers decorating the front steps an undignified sight, but probably unavoidable given the smoking ban and the apparent shortage of alternative places to indulge in tobacco. Breakfast on the following day was better inasmuch as the cooked offering was palatable, although the fruit was only partially thawed. Large chunks of frozen raspberry are not pleasant although the hot bowls straight from the dishwasher helped. It was a shame that the cooked breakfast was on cold plates. Front desk security was poor I was given an additional key card for our room on request with no suggestion of interrogation as to whether I had any entitlement. Will we be staying again? Well it certainly wouldn't be our first choice for this lovely part of Worcestershire.

Clean and lovely room, but the standout reason to stay is the staff. Everyone is friendly and warm…read moreand ready to help. Great experience!

Good service good food and clean hotel. As a golfer the…read moreputting green and course were amazing. The pool area is great also

Set in the outskirts of Tewkesbury, this hotel would be ideal for those looking to enjoy the town…read moreand nearby countryside without having to stay in the centre or next to the motorway. We were welcomed by a very helpful trainee receptionist and provided with all of the information required for amenities, meals and the location of our room. Parking was close to the hotel and ample. The hotel was extremely hot, which was somewhat stifling considering the decent outdoor temperature. We were very grateful of the complimentary upgrade to an executive double room on the top floor. The view over the golf course and towards the Malvern Hills was phenomenal, especially during the sunset. Besides the occasional hair dryer late at night and a couple arguing, the room was pleasantly quiet. The room featured ample storage facilities, a flat-screen television with the usual Freeview selection, desk and coffee table with armchairs. The bed, although not completely solid, was rather firm; achieving a decent level of comfort was quite a task. The room could have benefitted from a lamp on both bedside tables, rather than just the one. The room was largely clean and well-presented. Complimentary Wi-Fi, although temperamental, was decent enough to enjoy streaming music and video. All too often these days a hotel will save on space and water costs by installing a shower cubicle, however we were very grateful of the presence of a bath tub. In addition, the bathroom was spacious and clean. The complimentary soaps were of a decent enough quality. I would thoroughly recommend staying clear of the breakfast buffet if you are a fan of the full-English. The quality of items did not in any way match the price, particularly the questionable sausages. We did not take the opportunity to visit the Hotel's restaurant or make use of the room service, but the menu for both seemed to provide some interesting items above the usual bland hotel fare.

I stayed here with a friend just a few days ago, since we were visiting Gloucester with a view to…read morebringing a group of 40 people on a three day trip. This is one of the worst hotels I have ever stayed in for its star rating and price point. The young lady at check in was very polite and helpful, but sadly it was all downhill from there. There was some kind of function going on into the night, and it was extremely loud and carried into my room at the back of the property. Breakfast was OK but certainly nothing special, and there was an extremely limited selection of cold items in the included breakfast buffet. (You had to pay for full English, even with a breakfast inclusive rate!) The very worst part though was that the bathroom was dirty (by which I mean the toilet still had someone else's poop tracks, and there was a long black hair in the bathtub - a whole lot of ick) and the housekeeping in the room hadn't been that much better. But I was exhausted from all the driving we had done that day, so I just went to sleep, and put it down as a poorly managed and run property which is a bit of a missed opportunity given the location. When I decided to email the hotel manager to discuss this feedback with him/her, I sent an email to property asking for the GM's contact details and was told that guests are not permitted to get "higher management details without their permission"! Says it all really about what "higher management" at this hotel think of their guests.

Had a very pleasant one night stay here with family. Had dinner and breakfast. Dinner was filling…read moreand delicious, breakfast was a bit less filling, had to ask for more food. Overall the area is nice (Cotswolds) that's why we chose to stay here. Would definitely be back (loved the armchair on the corridor).

According to several sources, the Tudor House Hotel is a hive of paranormal activity. The restless…read morespirit of a maid who hung herself is said to wander from room to room, making beds and plumping pillows. A spectral black Labrador has been seen bounding up and down the central staircase. The ghost of a little boy with a drum has been responsible for disturbing guests in the darkest hours of the night with incessantly loud and unexpected drumming. Needless to say none of the aforementioned was encountered during our visit, which was on the whole quite peaceful. Having been allocated a first-floor room, directly above the hotel bar, we were concerned that our peaceful night may be disrupted by noise until the late hours. However, we were not disturbed one bit. We were equally concerned that the spotlights pointing at the hotel sign directly outside of our windows would keep us awake, but the curtains were appropriately thick enough to deal with any potential light pollution. The room in itself was spacious and took great benefit from a high ceiling. The bed was of a generous size and was one of the most comfortable we have ever had the pleasure of sleeping in. The inclusion of a sofa in our room was appreciated. Overall the bedroom and bathroom were clean and tidy. The only downsides were that we found our room to be terribly hot and the carpet had clearly seen better days. Throughout our stay we found the level of service to be exemplary and we were very grateful of a warm welcome after spending several hours in rush hour traffic. We felt as though we were engaged with on a personal level. The hotel itself is full of character, with wood-panelled walls, the occasional suit of armour and a subtle amount of antique decor. It is often a shame when a building hundreds of years old is stripped out and the interior is remodelled after the check-in lounge of an international airport. For those who do not enjoy having to spring from their slumber at the crack of dawn to attend a hotel breakfast sitting, the Tudor House benefits from a period running from 08:00 to 10:00 on a weekend. The range of options presented a noticeable difference from the usual options. My girlfriend enjoyed the continental selection (fresh croissant, cheese, ham) and my eggs benedict was just the ticket prior to a leisurely stroll around Tewkesbury town centre.

We stayed here for one night and while the four stars is a tad generous, the building is…read moreinteresting enough (and easy to get lost in) and rooms good enough to warrant it, especially considering the decent price. We had a room on the top floor that comfortably slept three, with a nice bathroom. The free Wi-Fi worked well. The pub downstairs served a nice dinner with a fine beer selection.

The Belfry Hotel Country Hotel. Features Include:…read moreLive Entertainment, Beer Garden, Children Welcome, Outdoor Play Area and Room, Disabled Access, B&B, En-Suite Accommodation, Function Rooms, Conference Facilities, Restaurant, Sky TV, Pool Table, Fruit Machine, Bar Games, Cheltenham Race Week Package Drinks: Real Ales, Cider Selection, Stout, Wine List, Cocktails, Alcopops Food: Light Meals, Traditional Food, Home-cooked, Al a Carte, Roast, Steak, Brunch, Vegetarian Accommodation ...Menu ...Buffet Menu ...Banquet Menu ...Wine List ...Functions & Weddings ...Race Week ...Attractions The Belfry is nestled on the edge of the forest and originates from early mining days. It was then known as The George and was used by local people after a hard nights work down the mines; in fact the pub was frequently full at 4.00am in the morning! The George, like many mining businesses in the forest fell on hard times and was closed by its Brewery owner. It was purchased in 1991 by the Bell family who with the help of local people have created The Belfry.

Good place for a nice breakread more

The Olway Inn is lovely hotel situated just outside Usk village, its surrounded by countryside but…read morewithin easy reach of M4,Usk itself is a small market town with a good selection of independent shops,traditional pubs and high quality restaurants. On entering the Olway you find yourselves in a traditional pub with beams,flag stone floors and open fire, you can eat in here but most people use the lovely dining room. The menu has plenty of choice with a lot of emphasis on local produce and organic ingredients,they do a superb homemade beefburger which is divine ,as is their pork sausages with cheddar mash and onion gravy.The deserts were equally good and I can recommend the caramel apple pie.I went with a group of friends who really enjoyed themselves and everyone commented on how nice the meals were