Henrietta House, Bath

I took this tour in April. Henrietta House was a major disappointment. Our guide said she had noticed a decline in service with a change in management that took place. I had insects in my room and on my bed (not bedbugs). Guide helped me get a room change. There was literally no place in my room to open my suitcase. I asked at the front desk for a luggage rack and was quickly told this hotel didn’t have any. Surprisingly, when I entered my new room there was a luggage rack in a hotel that doesn’t have any……

I would count my lucky stars that they didn’t have room for you and move to a different hotel for those days.

The tour itself was wonderful and I know you will have a great time. Canterbury Cathedral Lodge is amazing!!!

That’s weird. 3 nights is a long time. Some hotels will say minimum 2 for weekends. Online booking is not open for next summer yet but I’ve just put a random Saturday in booking.com for august this year and it accepted 1 night so I don’t think you’ll have a problem.

The reviews for the hotel generally are ok so I think you’ll probably be fine there.

last summer we were able to stay just one night after the Best of South England tour but policies may have changed. Anyway if I was doing it again I would stay somewhere else with A/C. England had heat waves last year and all they could do was pass out a few fans (but didn't have enough for every room).

I had a disappointing experience with this hotel at which I booked 2 additional nights after the Southern England tour ended. Unfortunately I injured my knee midway on the tour while in Devon and had to leave the tour and fly home early. I duly cancelled my 2 nights and the reservations folks responded and said my booking would be cancelled. Well, two days after I returned home, a charge came through to my credit card from Henrietta House. I disputed it and my CC company credited my account. The hotel has 60 days to produce more information, etc. so the charge may reappear on my account.
This tour is one of my favorites! I loved every minute and am now pondering how to return to Devon and Cornwall in the future.

Sorry you were injured while on the tour, Judy. I hope the charge does not reappear on your credit card statement. I have not had a reply from Henrietta House. I wrote asking about the possibility of booking one night at the end of the South England tour. If they don't reply within the next week, I will start looking for another hotel in Bath.

I was on this tour May 15-27 and booked one extra night at the end of the tour. I was not able to keep my same room but was given a windowless “closet” at an unbelievable cost of $328!! If. I were, you I’d look for another hotel.

Terry,
I stayed in a wonderful B&B in Bath a few years ago and would recommend them again. Great breakfast, Victorian room decor. I could not find their direct email address but there is an 1-888-325-6373 for reservations. I hope this number helps you contact the hotel directly.
Cranleigh Hotel
159 Newbridge Hill
Bath

I just looked them up online and they are still in business. From what others have written, I would avoid extra nights in the tour hotel.
Enjoy this special tour!

Thanks for the information, Judy and Vanessa. I will try booking the Cranleigh Hotel. I certainly don't want to pay $328 for a "closet."

According to Google Maps that address (159 Newbridge Hill) is 1.8 miles from the Roman baths in downtown Bath so it isn't easy walking distance to downtown Bath.

No, it’s not within walking distance. We took the bus to the center. Taxis are also readily available. I recommend this place from personal experience. You might look for Rick Steves England guidebook for his recs which will usually be in the city center.

When I was on the Best of England tour last September, I stayed 2 nights pre tour at the Brooks Guesthouse, which was the tour hotel. It’s a great place. Central, and a nice (small) single room. The staff were lovely.and the rooms clean. Didn’t need to use any public transportation. Everywhere was walkable.

Thanks for the recommendation, Susie. The Brooks Guesthouse looks lovely. You were lucky to have it as the last hotel of your Best of England tour in September of 2022. I might decide to move from the Henrietta House at the end of our tour next May to The Brooks and spend two nights at the end of the tour there before catching a train to Heathrow.

Oh dear. It's a little distressing to read this thread! In February I booked a room for Sept. 18, before the tour begins on the 19th, and the tour stays there for three nights. Since my reservation's non-refundable, I'm hoping things are in good shape by that time.

And for what it's worth... I went back to the Henrietta House website and plugged in my single night just to see what came up, and there was no 3-night minimum. So, maybe try again?!

I checked the website that Rick Steves lists and the message is : "To select this hotel, please select a minimum of 3 nights." Maybe I am getting this message because I am trying to book a date next year (June 8, 2024). I will try sending them another email requesting information. Thanks for the messages, drumminwoman.

Terry- you have an opportunity to move to a better hotel. Why determined for this substandard one?

Hi Carol. I don't want to move to a second Bath hotel after our one night during the tour. It seems like a lot of trouble for only one additional night.

Terry, I took this tour last September. The Henrietta House was my least favorite. The staff are not welcoming or friendly and the shutters in my room had missing slats so I had to dress in the bathroom or turn off the lights to get ready for bed. The room was small, but adequate and the bathroom was very nice. However, I will never choose this hotel again. When I couldn't get an answer from them before my tour I booked into the Premier Inn which was very satisfactory for 1 night. My sister's tour stayed at the Brooks
Guest House on her tour and loved it.

Thanks for the information, Laurie Beth. I finally heard back from Henrietta House and they said they could not book any rooms until January 2024 because they are not sure what the price will be. I had no problem booking a room at the Canterbury Cathedral Lodge. They were so nice in their reply and said I did not have to put down a deposit because I was on a Rick Steves tour. They did confirm the price we will pay when we check in for the May 27 tour. My husband, two relatives, and I had booked the Canterbury Cathedral Lodge for a Rick Steves Best of South England tour in September 2020. Since all tours were cancelled, due to Covid, I wrote the hotel and told them the situation. They immediately gave us a refund for the two rooms we had booked. They also wrote and said they hoped that someday we would be able to stay at their hotel. I will be excited to finally get to stay there. I have already started looking for a different Bath Hotel for the end of our tour on June 8. Thanks for the recommendations.

I just finished the South England tour and I’m currently staying at this hotel, Henrietta House. All of us on the tour that had booked extra nights had to check out of our tour rooms, store our luggage in the lobby for the day then check back in with our own reservations later in the afternoon. While I usually go for convenience and stay at the tour hotels after tour. This is one I’d recommend looking around for other options. The location is convenient, however the room price I thought was very expensive for the room I got. And given that I had to pack up and move my luggage anyway, I wish I would have found a better value for my money. I didn’t find the staff overly helpful, often needed to ask multiple times because I got different answers from different people. Also be aware that while some of the rooms say they have AC .. the hotel didn’t have them on. Windows, If they opened, only an inch and some rooms like many of the singles didn’t have windows.

Thanks for the reply, Erin. I have already started looking for alternate hotels for our extra stay in Bath.

We did the Best of England tour in May 2023, the Henrietta House was the worst Rick Steves hotel we've ever experienced. Our room was tiny, not very clean , and the very dim lights flickered on and off the entire time. I would never waste my money to stay there. Fortunately we stayed at the lovely Ayrlington B&B (recommended in the RS book) pre-tour. It was beautiful, our room was huge and nicely decorated, and all of the staff were extremely helpful and friendly. The price was less than the Henrietta House and the location was great, only a few short blocks away. I would highly recommend it, and would happily stay there again!

We were at the Brooks Guesthouse on the BOE tour. We did not like it at all. No elevator which meant many stairs to navigate with luggage, tiny dusty room with very small uncomfortable bed, only one outlet…and we did not find it to be a great location. It was about a 20 minute walk to anything along a fairly busy road.