... The second is The Spa Lane Vaults, but the first one is by far my favourite ~ this is The Portland Hotel.
~~~A BIT OF HISTORY.
You will find the Portland on West Bars, not far from the bottom edge of the New Square Market Place (this is Chesterfield’s smaller market area). As well ... Read review
Derbyshire's largest town is an ideal example of the economic resurgence in an historic ... more
setting so typical of a northern metropolis Perhaps most famous for its "Crooked Spire" the Church of St Mary and All Saints enjoys the kind of architectural curiosity rarely seen outside of Pisa However Chesterfield offers more than just calamitous construction to attract attention As well as the Peak District Sherwood Forest is a mere quick getaway away and is relatively unchanged since the days when its most famous thieving philanthropist robbed in his hood Historical attractions are littered around this medieval town with the Chesterfield Museum and Art Gallery complemented by historic houses of Chatsworth Hardwick Hall Haddon Hall and Bolsover Castle And if the bargains at Chesterfield Market don't catch your eye you can take it easy at the cricket ground boating lake playground and sports centre of Queens Park
Information: :Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
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Advantages: Cheap drinks, good atmsophere and GREAT toilets! Disadvantages: Menu a bit restrictive.
...we got a second. The second is The Spa Lane Vaults, but the first one is by far my favourite ~ this is The Portland Hotel.
~~~A BIT OF HISTORY.
You will find the Portland on West Bars, not far from the bottom edge of the New Square Market Place (this is Chesterfield’s smaller market area). As well as being a large pub it is also a hotel; it is now a Wetherlodge, but it has always been an inn. It was originally built ... ...West Bars was where the station for the Market Place was located and it was decided that a hotel would be a good idea.
The William Stones Brewery (based in Sheffield) applied for a license in1898 and the Portland was officially opened at Christmas 1899 ~ it was named after the Duke of Portland incidentally and was opened by Lord Roseberry, the Prime Minister at that time!
It carried on until 1925, when it was purchased ... more
A few years ago Chesterfield got its first Wetherspoon’s pub and soon after we got a second. The second is The Spa Lane Vaults, but the first one is by far my favourite ~ this is The Portland Hotel.
~~~A BIT OF HISTORY.
You will find the Portland on West Bars, not far from the bottom edge of the New Square Market Place (this is Chesterfield’s smaller market area). As well as being a large pub it is also a hotel; it is now a Wetherlodge, but it has always been an inn. It was originally built in the 1890’s ~ this is when the Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway opened (in 1897). West Bars was where the station for the Market Place was located and it was decided that a hotel would be a good idea.
The William Stones Brewery (based in Sheffield) applied for a license in1898 and the Portland was officially opened at Christmas 1899 ~ it was named after the Duke of Portland incidentally and was opened by Lord Roseberry, the Prime Minister at that time!
It carried on until 1925, when it was purchased by the local Brampton Brewery. It changed hands a good few times over the years, before finally being taken over and completely (but sympathetically) refurbished by the J. D. Wetherspoon’s chain. The pub is predominantly white and is very imposingly Victorian with its “mock Tudor” black and white features.
~~~A BIT ABOUT THE FOOD.
Being a Wetherspoon’s outlet, you aren’t going to find home cooking or an especially unique menu. That being said, as Wetherspoon’s go, the Portland has a good chef and the food is always well cooked. They have a steak night and a curry night and also have all the meal offers that come as standard for the chain.
The only downside is the lack of versatility ~ if the menu says that curry comes with rice, then CURRY COMES WITH RICE! Still, it’s always a good place to get a meal when nowhere else is serving! There is a reasonable choice, ranging from light snacks, through to main courses and desserts. They are competitively priced but offer no culinary surprises!
~~~A BIT ABOUT THE ATMOSHPERE.
The Portland operates a no music policy, but this is made up for by the amount of people who go there and the shear volume of conversation they can produce! The clientele is varied and from being a relatively quiet place, before they became a Wetherlodge, The Portland has established itself as a very popular meeting place ~ most people on a Friday and Saturday night will meet in the ‘spoons! During the week it is quieter, but still gets busy at meal times and Market days (Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday).
Sundays are busy too ~ we recently spent an entire Sunday there campaigning for CAMRA during the Wetherspoon’s Beer Festival. We saw the place fill up and empty three times, as one set of clients made way for the next; the morning sports people came for a post exercise lunch and drink, then the lunch crowd left to be replaced by people coming home from Sunday league matches. Finally they left after tea time and the Sunday night drinkers appeared. The Portland is a fascinating place to watch the world go by! Add to these a number of tourists and business people staying in the hotel and taking their meals too, then you have an interesting mix.
~~~A BIT ABOUT THE HOTEL.
I haven’t stayed in the hotel myself…it would be a little silly (and a waste of money) because we only live about ten minutes away. The Portland has 24 bedrooms, located upstairs. The rooms are suitable for families, couples and singles ~ it is popular with business people and tourists because of its good location; Chesterfield is near to the Peak District for touring and is near to Sheffield, Derby and Nottingham for business people.
Room rates can be found on the Wetherspoon’s website and also by visiting http://www.innspire.org.uk/beerfestival_3.htm#So%20where%20can%20I%20stay%20overnight (and at http://www.infotel.co.uk/80963 where you’ll also find some info about what’s available at the hotel).
~~~A LOT ABOUT THE BEER!
You wouldn’t expect me to be praising a pub that doesn’t sell a decent pint of Real Ale would you? Wetherspoon’s often get a bad press for serving up mediocre beer. Granted you can sometimes get a less than perfect pint at The Portland (you can anywhere and there is certainly a lot more choice here), but generally there is a good selection. It’s one of the few places you can get Townes beers too ~ Townes is the only Chesterfield based brewery and it’s nice to be able to get at least one (and usually two) of their beers in such a large and popular pub.
As well as Townes they stock a wide range of guest beers ~ and they are only a fraction of the price you pay elsewhere. They have Abbott Ale, Spitfire and Theakstons Best as standard too!
There’s also a varied supply of wines, spirits, bottled beers and soft drinks too. It’s also where my mum and I go for a coffee (or a cold drink) in a morning when my dad thinks we are food shopping! It’s even packed in a morning, though it is quite depressing to see how many people are queuing desperate for a beer at 10am!
~~~TANGE’S FINAL THOUGHT!
It was a real boost for a tired hotel and pub when The Portland was taken into the Wetherspoon’s fold. It has gone from a place that was only used by a small number of regulars, to a thriving meeting spot and a brightly lit watering hole. We visit at least once a week, on different days, and have rarely seen it quiet. Lager drinkers, shoppers, visitors and Real Ale drinkers all mix together and there is rarely ever any trouble. The Portland is one of the few large pubs that doesn’t have a bouncer at the weekends (and football match days) and I have never seen them need one.
The price of food and drinks is great too~ where else can you get a pint for £1.35 and a cup of coffee for 59pence? The Portland, and other Wetherspoon’s establishments, need to be recognized for helping drinkers to enjoy a drink without having to take out a bank loan! The Portland is clean, nicely decorated and has lovely toilets! My only real criticism is that the turnover of staff seems to be very rapid ~ the staff don’t have time to settle in before they leave and if they stay more than a few weeks they seem to become one of the MANY managers lurking around.
When we visited recently we asked to speak to a manager we had spoken to before and were referred through FOUR managers (all on duty at the same time) before speaking to the right one! This leads to a lack of continuity. Generally though the staff are pleasant and service is good ~ we even get served pretty quickly at busy times.
The Portland is a bright friendly pub that provides a great environment for drinking and socializing. Every town needs a pub like this!
~~~PUB DETAILS
Portland Hotel West Bars, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England, S40 1AY
