Emsley Guest House, Stratford-upon-Avon

...I then came across Emsley Guest House and thought it looked lovely on the photos; I also liked the fact it had its own website and a phone number supplied so I could ask questions as I do have some needs that will have to be considered when it comes to my mobility.

I rang up the hotel to find that they were fully booked for the weekend, but could offer us two nights for Thursday and Friday at £70.00 for the room per night. I mentioned ...
...is 4.

EMSLEY GUEST HOUSE
4 Arden Street (A4390)
Stratford upon Avon
CV37 6PA

Email – mel@theemsley.co.uk

Website – www.theemsley.co.uk

==By Rail== – This guest house is very close to the station, as you leave the railway station just walk up to the traffic lights and turn left you will soon see The Emsley.

==~~Overall~~==

We had a very ... more

~~Emsley Guest House~~

After deciding not to go away with the caravan, we made up our minds to have at least two nights away somewhere. So we chose to visit Stratford upon Avon, I searched the internet and looked at some hotels, but they were a little more than we wished to spend for this outing, so we opted to for a more reasonably priced alternative and started looking at Guest Houses and B & B establishments. I tried late deals but nothing appealed and to me it didn’t seem that much cheaper; I then came across Emsley Guest House and thought it looked lovely on the photos; I also liked the fact it had its own website and a phone number supplied so I could ask questions as I do have some needs that will have to be considered when it comes to my mobility.

I rang up the hotel to find that they were fully booked for the weekend, but could offer us two nights for Thursday and Friday at £70.00 for the room per night. I mentioned that I had a mobility issues and she offered us the ‘Suffolk’ room on the first floor which has approx 10 steps leading to that floor, she also went on to explain that the room was a family room with a double bed, single bed and bunk beds. The only other room available was on the second floor and the stairs to that one were very steep and much more than I could manage, I did struggle with the ones we had. This sadly is a problem with guest houses as they are manly in old Victorian buildings and they don’t have the space for a lift, so not very suitable for mobility restricted persons.

On the day we came to visit we tried to put Arden Street into our TOM TOM , but it refused to except it as a location, so we used the postcode and put in CV37 6PA and it gave us Mansell Street; that was fine as it would get us close enough to find Arden Street. It took us about 1.5 hours to get there and when we reached Mansell Street we carried on and got to the end of the road where we saw a sign post for Arden Street, we were now on the looking out for the guest house. We did find it quite easy as it has a big sign outside with the name on and it was only 10-12 yards from a busy junction and traffic lights, worse still it had double yellow lines outside as well, so not really advisable to park here to drop off your luggage and your partner off. We drove around and hubby found somewhere to stop and left me in the car whilst he went to ask about parking. There is one spot outside the guest house, but this was taken by another guest before we got there. Hubby rang the bell and the landlady Mel came to the door and told hubby to park on the hospital car park about 50yds away and gave him a 24 hour pass for free parking. We parked up and walked from there back towards the hotel with our luggage; not a good start, but it couldn’t be helped as this is a very busy historical town which has about 5 million visitors a year (so we were lucky to get somewhere so close really). When we got back to the front door Mel was there to greet us, she was very pleasant and friendly and her Golden Labrador could be heard barking from their apartment (this was the only time over the two nights we heard or saw the dog). She very kindly offered to carry my small suitcase so I could concentrate on getting myself up the stairs as she took us to our room.

She unlocked our door for us letting us into a bright and cheerful room; facing the door was a beech (or pine) bunk beds, all the bedding matched for all the four beds in the room; Mel went on to advise us that we had a small ensuite and showed us the power button on the wall in the bedroom that you need to turn on to use the shower in the ensuite, she then went on to show us the bathroom situated off the hallway next door to our room which we also had the use of, she advised us that it takes a while for the water to come through hot as it has a way to travel from the boiler to the bath. Mel then left us with a couple of sheets of paper to fill in and leave on the table downstairs at our leisure, one was for the registration and the other was a breakfast sheet.

~~The Room~~

I have already mentioned the beds, I am sitting on one of them now whilst writing this, hubby is sitting at the other end and is watching the TV, it is very firm and comfortable, he even got up and down off the bed whilst I had a cup of tea balanced on my note book and the tea never moved. The one bed is a small double, (which is quite common in guest houses as it allows more space in the room and it is very snug for a couple with big bellies like us two, lol), there is a single next to it which we did have to take advantage of later that night as my legs were playing up and I needed the space for them. Both beds were firm and very comfortable, all the beds had matching quilts and two pillows on each bed; we didn’t try the bunk beds, thought we were a little big for them. There were three bedside cupboards with 3 small draws in each, a large wardrobe with two bottom draws, one of the draws holds a space blanket if it gets cold, there is a dressing table with a mirror and 4 small draws and a matching stool, the TV sits on a chest of draws which has 3 full draws and 2 half draws.

There is a beautiful large bay window in the room which lets in a lot of light, the windows open easily to let in the fresh air and sadly all the traffic noise as there is a very busy road outside. The road traffic noise started to die down around midnight, but this was replaced by the noises of the people coming out of the night clubs etc which went on unto around 0300hrs and the traffic started up again with a vengeance around 0500hrs and then at 0600hrs the recycling lorry came around and that was extremely noise, so our first night was a nightmare due to the noise levels. The next night we shut the windows and used the ceiling fan on full to try and cool the room down so we could get some sleep. I will say that this cut out the noise a lot, although you could still hear the traffic it was lessened and hubby did manage to get a good night’s sleep, sadly I didn’t but this was due mainly to be getting too hot and my legs cramping a lot.

The room is decorated in woodchip wall paper which has been painted white and has a pretty border going around the room a few inches down from the ceiling to give you the feeling of it being lower than it actually is. This is a Victorian town house which has been converted into a guest house and its lovely high ceilings are very typical of that era, the clean fresh decor complements the room, there is a ceiling light with a 3 speed fan attached as well.

There is a little shelf with a kettle, and tea and coffee making facilities, there was more than enough to last us both days and they left small packs of two Viennese whirls for us on both days as well, these were a nice change from some of the packs you get in the bigger hotels. Other extras were things like, a box of tissues, shower gel, liquid soap and a couple of small bars of soap and a hair dryer which worked fine when I did my hair. As this was a family room we were provided with 5 glasses, very handy when you want a glass of water in the night or to swill your mouth after cleaning your teeth, not all hotels remember to add glasses. Hubby was really pleased that they left a radio alarm clock in the room and even more pleased when he discovered it had long wave radio so he may fall asleep to world service. One more useful item we noticed was the wardrobe had a lock and key, so we left my husbands’ lap top and my handbag in there locked up and we took the key with us.

The ensuite room made me smile as it was very small and compact, but it was very clean; it comprised of a shower, pedestal sink and toilet. The toilet is a ‘comfy’ fit to say the least; your knees touch the door as you shut it, the only comfortable way to use it, is to have the door open whilst you get onto the toilet and then pull the door too whilst you are sitting on it, also with it being that close to the door your bodily functions can be heard by anyone inside the bedroom. The shower was surprisingly spacious to wash in (I have used smaller ones in other establishments before), but the water pressure for it was a little low, so it wasn’t as good as it could be, but it was very easy to use and had a folding door to get in and out of, I am a big girl and I did manage to do this quite easily.

The bathroom next door was quite adequate and was the room my husband chose to use more than the one in the bedroom as it was easier for his to use the toilet in here. The bathroom suite is all white with a pedestal sink, bath and a toilet which is sitting on a platform; hubby said that using the toilet you felt like you were on a throne. The bath took a long time to get the hot water through, but when it got there it was definitely worth the wait as it was very hot and I even needed to add cold water to cool it down to sit in it, which is fantastic and a big plus in my books as often in hotels the bath water is tepid to my standards. It was a little on the narrow side, but it would need to be as space is an issue as the bathroom is very long and narrow. I always take my own bath towel with me as the ones hotels provide are really tiny and this guest house was no exception; we were left with two small hand towels and two slightly bigger towels (which wouldn’t cover anything and only good enough to use on my hair). It is not really their fault it just seems to be a bug bear that all hotels seem to do, provide small towels, but if any hotel owner reads this review please remember the nation is getting bigger and good size towels would be big thumbs up with your customers.

~~Breakfast~~

As I mentioned earlier we were given two forms to fill in at our leisure when we were shown to our room, the one was just our registration form where we fill in our name, address, vehicle registration number etc. The other was to put your breakfast order in and to state a time you wanted to come down for breakfast between 0800hrs and 0900hrs. It listed all the items on offer, fruit juice, grapefruit segments, cereals, yoghurts, tea, coffee, decaf, bacon, sausage, fried egg, scrambled egg, fresh tomato, tin tomatoes, baked beans, mushrooms, hash browns, white toast, granary toast and mixed toast. You just needed to tick each item that you want; I was a little cheeky and put a 2 next to the bacon and the sausage and we were given two of each at breakfast the next morning, (if you tick I think you only get one of each). It tasted really nice, cooked very well and not too greasy, the eggs were a little over done for my liking but tasted fine (there were a little runnier on the second day), and the toast was crusty white bread coarsely cut which for me was brilliant.

After a day out covering the tourist attractions we got back to our room to find another sheet asking about breakfast for the next day; if I had to pick fault about the breakfasts it would be the time scales of 8am – 9am, I think this should be extended slightly as some people who have gone for a night out may like a later breakfast; also committing yourself to a specific time is a little regimented, we chose 8am on both days, but to be honest I had such a rough night with my legs on the Friday I could have really done with a later breakfast, but I felt obligated to be downstairs on time as that was the time I specified at their request.

The dining room where you have breakfast has the tables marked up with the room names and the exact amount of chairs and place settings needed for the guests staying in that room; there is a lovely big mirror over the fireplace which has a beautiful display of flesh flowers in the hearth. We were really pleased by the attention to detail with our table, it was set out lovely with a fresh carnation in a rose bud vase, linen napkins and a lovely bone handled butter knife; sugar, jams and butters there waiting for our use, fresh tea and coffee was bought in for us as soon as we sat down, they even noted not to leave milk on the table as we had specifically asked for black tea and black coffee on our breakfast forms. The decor of the room was also very pleasant it was like a wedgewood green with a white border at the top to lower the ceiling level to the eye, there were a few pictures on the walls, nothing over powering and quite pleasant to look at. The cereals, fruit juices and grapefruit were on a table for you to help yourself as you came into the room. Mel and her husband popped in and out on a couple of occasions throughout our breakfast to check that everything was in order and asked if we needed anything else like more toast, tea or coffee.

~~ Other Info~~

The hotel is literally only a couple of minutes from the town centre, apart from the busy road, traffic lights and a night club on the corner it is ideally situated. After a rather sleepless night, I asked a couple in one of the back rooms if they suffered from the noise and I also asked them about their bathroom; they kindly told me that the only noise that they had came in through the bathroom, and talking of the bathroom theirs was slightly more spacious than the one in our room. When we came back from our day out, the other two rooms on our floor were unoccupied and the doors were left wide open, so we were really cheeky and took a quick look at them, both the bathrooms were more spacious than the one in our room and both rooms were also very clean and spacious these rooms were the Gloucester and the York.

The guest house has only 5 rooms, so it is a small and I feel due to this you get the more personal touch and the attention to detail from the new management. Mel and her husband have only been running this guest house for the past 6 weeks on our arrival. It is their first guest house and it is still a learning curve, I do think they are putting a lot of effort in and trying their best to please and learn the trade, we certainly wish them both well as so far they are doing a lovely job.

The guest house is approximately 200 years old and used to be a nurse’s house for the old hospital that used to be on the grounds opposite (which is now a big modern hotel). My hubby spoke to Mel who gave us the information, the building also has cellars but these may be haunted as the family dog refuses point blank to go near them. I did get all excited about this and asked if I could take a look, but they said they really wouldn’t be comfortable knowing yes or no; so we felt it was only right to respect their feelings.

The current owners have only been here for the a short time and they have already started to make improvements on the four stars Guest house. We have mentioned my little niggle about the bathroom in the Suffolk room and they are thinking about extending the ensuite room at the end of the season; he is also arranging to have the original stonework shot blasted and bought back to its original lustre so you can see just how beautiful the stonework is, they are also thinking of replacing the front door for one that is more of a period feature. This couple are really trying to make this guest house special and I would highly recommend it as a place to stay if you are visiting this lovely historical area, we wish them loads of luck for the future.

The Other two rooms are called the Warwick and Norfolk rooms, I wonder if they have a picture on the walls like ours did with a map of the county that they represent; the Suffolk County one in our room was a pleasant old map.

There prices are on a per person per night rate, so you may wish to contact them or check out the website for further prices if you are interested in using here.

~~ How to Get there ~~

Stratford has linked to a the M40, M42 and the M5 motorways, there is also access to public transport and if you are coming from abroad the nearest airport is Birmingham International.

By Car

– if you come from the M40 come off at junction 15 and take the A46 towards Stratford, go over the first island which is signposted Stratford and take the 2nd one instead taking the A3400 into Stratford, go straight on at the island for the Maybird Shopping Centre and straight on at the mini roundabout, turn right at the traffic lights at Clopton Rd and then left into Arden Street (A4390) and you will come to the hotel just before the traffic lights and opposite the Stratford Victoria Hotel.

If you come from the M5 you need to get off junction 9 and take the A46 towards Evesham and Stratford, When you get to the island take the A422 into Stratford and drive past the railway station and turn left at the traffic lights which take you into Arden Street.

Or you can use your Sat Nav and put in A4390 Arden Street, Stratford Upon Avon, house no is 4.

EMSLEY GUEST HOUSE
4 Arden Street (A4390)
Stratford upon Avon
CV37 6PA

Email – mel@theemsley.co.uk

Website – www.theemsley.co.uk

By Rail

– This guest house is very close to the station, as you leave the railway station just walk up to the traffic lights and turn left you will soon see The Emsley.

~~Overall~~

We had a very pleasant stay here, I have stayed in pricier hotels and have ended up with a smaller room and worse service; the owners may be new to the guest house business but they are willing to learn and are very hospitable and keen to please. We both would highly recommend a stay at this Guest House, although I would make sure that you note that the noise levels are slightly high at the front of the house even with the windows closed, but I feel that this was the Suffolk room only as that one is very close to the roadside, there is not a lot they can do about this as the room is already double glazed and there is a fan in there to keep you cool, so it will all be down to your preference and if you are a heavy sleeper or not. With Stratford being the second most visited town in the country (the top one being London) I think it was definitely a good investment for them, I hope they keep up their enthusiasm and the good work which they have already started and wish them all the best for the future. We would also like to add before ending this review, that the owners really did excel in looking after us and the other guests and were very friendly towards everyone always on hand to offer any assistance when needed. I can’t give it 5 stars as it has a couple of little problems, but I will give it a 4 and hopefully if I go again to Stratford and stay here they would have rectified at least the toilet situation.

~~Update~~

I have been in touch with the management of the Guest House and they inform me that they can be flexible with the breakfasts and even do a take away breakfast if someone has to leave early, but there are reasons why they like to get the serving of breakfasts over by 0900hrs as they do have to clean and strip the rooms ready for the next guests, and clean your room ready for your return.

Many thanks for reading

Lyn x

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