Bath: Royal Cresent or East of the river?

There are many B&Bs just outside of the city on farms etc. well worth staying at if you have a car.

The Royal Crescent can be a little pricey and has the bustle of a town. Once you are east of the town you are where people live, so it is quieter but a little distance to get to the attractions.

We stayed at the Henry B&B in Bath a few years ago, it was under renovation then but last year I checked on it and now looks lovely. Maybe five minute walk to the abbey as it is right in town. There is a car park across the street but I seem to remember we got free parking at night after say seven and had to move it by maybe eight am but was no problem for us. I think you can pay for all day but don't remember price. We loved being able to walk all over in just minutes from it.

We stayed at the Parkside Guest House B&B near the Royal Crescent and loved it. We found it in the RS guide book and it was quite reasonable. There's only one parking spot, though, so reserve it if you need it. From there, we walked everywhere.

I would recommend the Apsley House Hotel, rated #1 on tripadvisor, and with good reason. It is luxurious and a great value. It has ample parking. It is about a 20 minute walk from downtown, so either be prepared to walk or drive into the central area.

A second vote for Parkside Guest house - beautiful house and nice accommodations. There is limited parking but it worked for us after we picked up the rental car. It's a little walk into town but if you walk uphill from there that walk is through the park. Easy walkable to Royal Crescent, Circus, park etc. =Tod

We stayed at The Georgian Stables at Small Combe House which was just across the canal from Bath. It was about 5 to 7 minutes to get to the Abbey. We were given a parking pass to park on very congested, small alley sized street. It was officially two way traffic but two cars couldn't pass each other with the parking full which it usually was. We never moved our car once we arrived until we were leaving Bath. We were there at the tail end of the Jane Austen festival. Bath was very crowded but I don't know if it was more crowded because of the festival. If I was to go back I think I'd look for a place out of the town that would possibly be on a bus route. There are several places south of town that are about a 20 minute walk or a ~5 GBP taxi ride. I was also in Wells. I know there is a ~45 minute bus ride that connects Wells to Bath. You can't depend on this for late evening travel. Our Wells B&B was just over half of what we paid in Bath. I don't know what the parking situation is around Bath. There wasn't anyway to park around where we were staying without a pass.