Hotel Review

The UK has so many attractions and places to visit it is really very difficult to decide where to go first, but one place that is truly worth a visit is Bath, the largest town in Somerset.

Bath has so much history dating back to the Roman times that there is enough for both couples and families to do for a few days, or at least a weekend, and finding the right place to stay to enjoy all Bath has to offer is critical.

Bath boasts hundreds of hotels, but few with as much history as the Francis Hotel, and even fewer with such a perfect location right in the heart of Bath itself, a stone’s throw away from many of the sights, including the Roman Baths, The Pump Room, The Thermae Bath Spa and the main High Street.

Bath is renown for its stunning honey coloured Georgian architecture, which is straight out of a Jane Austen novel, and the Francis Hotel occupies seven of the original 18th Century townhouses which occupy the south side of Queens Square, right in the heart of Bath.

Although these townhouses are now cleverly joined to create 98 individually styled bedrooms, there is still the odd throwback to when they were individual houses, namely a fireplace just outside the lift on the first floor, or the many winding corridors to take you to your room, which provides period character.

The Francis Hotel is part of the unique MGallery collection, a group which promotes all that is special about their hotels by retaining the character and features of each of their properties, and the Francis Hotel is an eclectic mixture of modern and period features. It’s General Manager, James McDevitt, is a fellow American from Boston, and has great plans for the hotel this year, so we are already looking forward to returning in the near future.

The hotel was developed from a boarding house, and in 1884 the townhouses were all knocked into one and the Francis Private Hotel was born, named after Mrs Emily Francis, the boarding house owner. The Grade 1 listed building has had a number of transformations since those early days, none more dramatic than in 1942, when it was blitzed by a 500kg bomb! But despite all these changes, it has always retained its 18th century Georgian style and the current owners have started a number of projects to bring this more to the fore. Indeed, at the boundaries of each of the houses there are blue plaques celebrating some of each of the house’s more notable residents, including John Wood the Elder, who originally built the façade of townhouses in 1736.

Stepping through the doors of the Francis Hotel transports you back to a bygone age, with a parlour to the left which is decorated in the same style as it would have been around the time of the courtship of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy.

Our room was on the first floor, and although it had been renovated recently, it still retained its oldy, worldy charm. The large bed was really comfortable and the finest Egyptian cotton linen ensured a great night’s sleep after a long day enjoying the sights Bath has to offer.

What makes a hotel special is the little extra touches, and here the Francis Hotel excels. The first touch is the heated bathroom floor, which as we visited in December was a God-send and very welcome. Other nice touches are the hotel’s plans to create special events and experiences for its guests to make their stay more special, the most recent being a Bridgerton Afternoon Tea and walk, which provides a printed guide around Bath showing you where the Netflix programme, Bridgerton, was filmed, along with many of

Francis Hotel, Bath

Stepping through the doors of the Francis Hotel transports you back to a bygone age, with a parlour to the left which is decorated in the same style as it would have been around the time of the courtship of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy

the sights of Bath, and then ending with an opulent Afternoon Tea.

Bath is one of the most visited city’s in the UK, and it is not hard to see why, as there is so much to see there. The Francis Hotel provides a wonderful option of where to stay, as its location is second to none, it has lots of history, and staff who want to make your stay special.

Website: www.francishotel.com Telephone: 01225 424105