Top 10 The Hood Arms Hotels

OK, along with 90% of the hotel residents, I have been staying as part of Team HPC. I am eight or nine weeks in, they all blurr into one. With two-to-four weeks left. Six different rooms - so here is the low-down. The hotel and rooms are clean. Really clean. The person making up my room during my last visit even folded-up my clothes and hung them up. Unfortunately, there is the option of ”green” (no clean) and full clean. There is nothing inbetween. I would be happy to have the water, biscuits, coffee, milk etc replaced and not have new towels/ bed made - but there was not an option. All or nothing. Location: Some reviews say it is in the ”rough part of town”. Ha! That is Bridgwater. I can say that as I used to live in a one-up/ one-down on Old Taunton Road. It is not in the rough part of town, it is just in the town. Also nice to see that with £32bn being pumped into the local economy the local council have done nothing. Not even fixed the potholes. The location is great, close to town, close to the motorway exits, near restaurants (although Marco Pierre restautant in hotel is excellent). Room: Generally comfy but really bad pillows. The one where one is not enough, but two gives you neck ache. I bought my own from home and (without fail) everyone used to say that was such a good idea on check-in/ check-out. I did ask if there were any other pillow options (memory foam, feather etc) but was told ”no”. There is a fridge with complimentary carbonated and still water, but these are only replaced if you go for the full clean option (see above). Avoid (at all costs) certain 4th floor rooms (from memory it was 401-404). They are right under the gym on the 5th dloor and I was woken up with the gym-bunnies going for it really early in the morning, or struggled to get to sleep at night. The sound of the treadmill and weights being dropped were heard by the wife on the phone. Parking: Yes, you have to pay an additional £10 per day, but they tell you that in advance. You generally need to park next-door, but leaving a £50K Audi there was not problematic (apart from the sea-gulls which crap all over the car - not the hotel's fault). Gym: I went, but not at silly o'clock in the morning or late at night. It is small. To the point I couldn't use one machine for hitting the person on the next machine. It is below-par at best. Brekkie: Stand-out great. OK, I have eaten at some hotels where they had 4 different types of sausage available (six if you include vegetarian and vegan), but the brekkie here is great. Full fry-up (nice quality and tasty (eggs are a tad insepid). Continental, croissants, ham, cheeses, different breads, and all the healthy stuff as well (yoghurt, fruit, nuts etc). What is a really nice touch is that you can also make a take-away coffee if you need one. Staff: Honestly, they are what makes this hotel. All super-friendly and helpful. Even the Chef (notoriously known as the most grumpy creatures on the planet) dropped a ”good morning” (Ste

A friend and I stayed at The Castle for a girls weekend away. It was a nice treat and perfectly located for exploring Taunton centre. Bars and restaurants just a stroll away. Staff were friendly. Parking was convenient. £10 for 24 hours. Room was clean but very expensive for what it was as we upgraded but it wasn't anything special.

The hotel is situated on the busy A38 but is not affected by traffic noise. All the staff are polite and considerate and go the extra mile to provide good service The food is outstanding ; beautifully presented and prepared. And it tastes great too! Good bar too which is imp because there’s little else to find a drink in the village. Ideal for short or longer stays if you have a car. Taunton is clos for good shopping and the Somerset levels a dozen miles away. I’d stay there again anytime.