Favorite Hotels on Best of England Tour

Surfdog, are you assuming that RS always uses the same hotels for each tour?

You should leave he London hotel in as I would rate it last. The rooms were the smallest and there was a lack of a friendly atmosphere in the breakfast room. Several times I was told stop talking and move out of the way. Also, we stayed there after the trip and the cost of their breakfast was out of site. It was 20 pounds (about $26) per person. We ate our breakfasts, after the tour, at local restaurants for much less and had better food.

For the other hotels there was nothing especially good or bad that made me remember them. All were nice, comfortable, and quiet that is except for the wedding at the Salisbury hotel. From what I heard the hotel in Bath will not be used in the future. We has a hot water failure while we were there.

Why not name the hotels if you are making factual statements about them?

To second what stan said, the tours do not always go to the same hotel in a town.

Joe32F is right; we've been on three different RS tours that stayed in Rome, and each time was a different hotel. One we liked a lot - the Aberdeen, and stay there whenever we're in Rome on our own. One - Sonya - was fine; and one - Nardizzi Americana - was our least favorite.

Edit to add:

Sorry, Surfdog. I didn't mean to hijack your thread.

I am on this tour right now. We are sitting in our hotel in Keswick today as there is a major wind and rain storm going on outside; we were supposed to have a boat ride and a walk this morning but it was cancelled due to the weather. We’re waiting to see if the hike will be happening later this afternoon; maybe the weather will break and it’ll be a go! My husband and I are actually enjoying the down time as this has been a busy tour!
All of the hotels that we’ve stayed in so far have been charming and comfortable. Henrietta House in Bath was lovely ... the staff was wonderful and you were greeted with a tiny jar of homemade cookies and some fresh fruit in your room on arrival; they were replenished daily. There was a bit of a funky smell in the bathroom in our room in the hotel in Conwy but I’m not one to complain so we tolerated it.
Really loving this tour so far and I’m taking notes as I go; I hope to post a trip report once I’m home.

No need for “hush hush secrecy.” If you are reviewing hotels, then review hotels. Name them, no one minds.

Pilatesgirl, great to know you are in Keswick right now. Favorite spot for us on our trip. So casual, so laid back, so friendly. There is a grocery store a short walk from the hotel that provides a pretty good meal if you wish. Best chicken soup I have ever had! The staff and the breakfast at the hotel are great. We, too, needed a bit of a rest by the time we got there and skipped a couple of events in order to enjoy a little down time. If you are at the Crow Park Hotel, tell the dark-haired guy working there that you heard a rumor his wife and mother are two "wee fiesty beasts". That will surprise him. That's how he described them to me and he will be shocked to hear someone else say that. It was something he said describing their temperaments since they are both Scottish.

Stan, I was assuming the Best of England tour does stay in the same hotel at each town, and I was assuming maybe RS preferred we not name names. Sounds as though I may be incorrect about that.

Here is where we stayed in each town:
1. Bath-Brooks Guesthouse.
2. Stow-on-the Wold- Sheep on Sheep
3. Conwy- The Castle Hotel
4. Keswick- The Crow Park Hotel
5. York- The Minster Hotel
6. London- Radisson Blu Edwardian Vanderbilt S. Kensington

When I took this tour in 2015, the hotels were as follows:
Bath - Brooks Guesthouse
Stow on the Wold - The Old Stocks Inn
Conwy - Castle Hotel Wales
Keswick - Crow Park Hotel
York - The Churchill Hotel
London - The Fielding Hotel

I have no complaints about any of the hotels. The Fielding Hotel does not serve breakfast. We were given vouchers to have breakfast at a cafe nearby that served full English breakfast .

Here is where we stayed in each town:
1. Bath-Brooks Guesthouse.
2. Stow-on-the Wold- Sheep on Sheep
3. Conwy- The Castle Hotel
4. Keswick- The Crow Park Hotel
5. York- The Minster Hotel
6. London- Radisson Blu Edwardian Vanderbilt S. Kensington

Thoughts on each hotel:
1. Brooks Guesthouse has very small rooms and lots of stairs. You have to go down a narrow staircase to get to the restaurant. Offsetting that is the location as respects what you want to see in Bath, the staff is great, and the kitchen offers you several breakfast options and will even cook something to order for you. Good food. But.......I would not stay here again unless they confirm they have replaced the mattresses. They are old and way too soft and very uncomfortable. They could and should fix this.

2.Sheep on Sheep is great. Small but nice rooms, comfortable beds, good bathroom, nice restaurant. What's not to like?

3.Castle Hotel was not as updated, but the view out the back is of Conwy Castle and it is breathtaking. Rooms medium sized. Comfortable bed. Breakfast excellent. Group dinner was excellent. Location is good. Easy walk to the Castle and the town wall. Would definitely stay here again.

4.Crow Park Hotel. Keswick. Overall probably the favorite. Run by friendly locals. Good breakfast, comfortable beds, stairs are manageable, some great views here. Bathroom updated. The people running the hotel are what makes this one a touch better than the other hotels we stayed at. Not that the others were bad.

5.The Minster Hotel. No complaints. Stayed in a room in the back, had to go outside to get to it but the room was large and bed comfortable, very quiet location. Nice shower stall. Close to everything on the tour.

6.Radisson Blu Edwardian Vanderbilt, South Kensington. If you must stay in South Kensington, you can do worse. But this was my least favorite hotel. So many steps to get to the 7th floor!!! Sure they have two lifts, but they are not near each other like in most buildings, so if one is full you can't just wait for the other. These lifts are so small! The large one holds 3 people, the small one 2. The service staff uses the small one in the mornings to bring their equipment up from the basement, so you cannot get on it. Most inconsiderate. The rooms and beds were OK, once you got to them. The A/C worked. The restaurant served an OK breakfast, but for some reason they wanted all the Rick Steves people to crowd together at certain tables. I would not stay here again, but I would never stay in South Kensington again. There are other, better choices in London.

" I was assuming the Best of England tour does stay in the same hotel at each town"

RS Tours are now a big operation, so they use multiple hotels in each location - as you can see from the other responses.