The Ancient Gatehouse  

"Ancient" is the operative word. Forget convenient parking.

Lots of character, very quirky - truly ancient building but warm and clean. Lovely location, right in the middle of Wells, easy to walk around the whole city, which is beautiful.

The room was small (the 4 poster bed virtually filled it). However, the building is very old and wouldn't be expected to have large rooms really.

The staff were pleasant and friendly. The room was quiet and the bed comfortable. The central position was excellent. The menu for dinner was beautifully varied and the presentation of the food was excellent. A very enjoyable meal.

The television didn't work properly -

Charming small hotel with pleasant staff & good food. However, although our room (no. 3) was attractively furnished, the ceiling has obviously suffered slight dampness & requires redecoration, but it has a wonderful view of Wells Cathedral. There is a bar at the entrance, but the only place to have a drink other than in the restaurant area is in a badly decorated, poorly furnished, dull room beyond - which is not at all conducive to diners (or outsiders) having a drink; this is, we feel, probably losing them money. It wouldn't take a fortune to make the room at least look welcoming. Food in Rugatino's Restaurant is very good, but breakfast, which is served in the sister hotel opposite was basic & not very good quality. Next time, we would have aperatifs elsewhere & then dine at Rugatino - but there will definitely be a next time, it is a quaint hotel with good food (breakfast is not good!).

See above - decor in need of redoing certainly in room 3), the bar seating area is abysmal & breakfast is basic.

The building is beautiful and very comfortable

Lack of information from staff i.e. Notice left on window to inform the breakfast was being served in sister hotel opposite and hotel was not staffed in morning (Didn't know where to leave room key as reception shutter was down)!

Very useful, pleasant, and central position, and very good view of the Wells Cathedral. Very pleasant staff. Ecellent food. Our ensuite could have done with having a razor point, and a toilet roll holder. We were not too clear as to how the fire excape situation might resolve itself, if ever needed in an emergency. Certainly it looked as if fire doors etc., were in operation. and care had been taken to comply with fire precautions, it was simply the excape routes that were slightly puzzling as to how , and where they ended. The hotel is very charming, but also very old! The kitchens appeared to be well clear of the main accommodation, which is a good thing.

Close to the Cathedral

I was under the very clear impression that my booking made some two months ago was for a double room with a view of the Cathedral and I had checked on availability at the time. When we arrived we were taken up an impossibly narrow stone spiral staircase to a small room in the roof with no view. After discussion the hotel agreed to "upgrade" us to a room with a road view but a four poster bed. This sounded better until we went to bed and discovered that the bed was only 5ft long! As I am over 6ft tall we had to prop up my legs with suitcases and cushions to get a nights sleep! The hotel said that it was our mix up or booking.com. The location was good and staff were pleasant but guests really need to know these sort of details, even if they are considered to be "character". We will put it down to experience.

Charm and character

Friendliness of all staff

Room was on the front of the hotel. Noise from the road disturbed sleep - tried closing windows but room was then too hot for comfort. Hotel could do with some refurbishment - especially in bathrooms. We were happy with value for money because we got a reduced rate - but wouldn't have been at full price.

An interesting historic building, the four poster bed was roomy and comfortable. The restaurant was good as was the breakfast. The breakfast waitress was helpful and understood the needs of my coeliac wife.

The room and bathroom were very small and stuffy.The bed filled the room. The hotel services were limited, as this is really an annexe to the main hotel across the road. The traffic noise was intrusive, kept us awake and meant we were reluctant to open the windows.

The location was superb, there building was incredibly old and had some wonderful features. The view from the window was amazing. The staff were friendly and helpful. The food was good.

Very limited space for car parking, made it quite stressful when returning from a day out, not knowing if we would be able to park the car.

We decided to go to Wells for a short break and were delighted with our stay at The Ancient Gatehouse hotel. The staff were extremly helpful and couldn't do enough to make our stay enjoyable. We had three excellent meals in the hotels award winning restaurant and would highly recommend it to others who choose to stay here. Our room was beautifully decorated with stunning views of Wells Cathedral, it was well kept and very clean with adequate facilities. We couldn't of asked for a better location in Wells. We will definately be back.