Best Western Abbots Barton Hotel — Hotel in Canterbury

We visited Abbots Barton Hotel on a Friday for afternoon tea for two. We pre-booked our sitting for 12:30 using vouchers purchased on Groupon. On arrival, by foot, I was disappointed to see that they had decided to turn the front lawn into a makeshift overflow car park. Being winter, that made is a churned up muddy mess. Such a shame for a beautiful building such as this to be let down by the gardens. When we entered, the staff were very friendly and showed us to a table set into a window recess. The window seating was a pleasant place to view the world go by. We were served by one of the managers who was very nice but considering her was a manager I was surprised to see him lacking in confidence and unable to recite the menu (he came across as a new employee). There was a good selection of teas available to CV oose from. The afternoon tea came out promptly and was displayed on a traditional 3 tier stand. We started with the sandwiches. This was a bit of a disaster for me as 3 of the 4 fillings were ones I dislike. However, I decided to give them a try. They were tuna, pickle and cheese, ham and mustard and finally egg. Surprisingly I was able swallow them all without too much effort, however this is not particularly a good thing. The reason I could stomach the sandwiches and their strong flavours was because they used such thick slabs of butter in them that this overpowered all tastes and textures. Moving onto the scones. These are honestly the best scones I have ever had, be that home made, shop bought or at afternoon teas (and I've been to a fair few). They were decent size, amazingly light and fluffy inside and we're served a proper portion of clotted cream and strawberry jam. We had one scone each but I would've quite happily have swapped all the sandwiches for another. The cakes on the final tier were average. There wasn't anything special about them but there also wasn't anything bad. With regards service, our food and tea came out quickly, we were then visited probably 10mins later and asked how everything else was but then left to ourselves. In my opinion they should've checked on us once or twice more, as we were there for well over an hour and had to try and wave to their attention to get a refill of tea. In conclusion, for me the scones were the redeeming factor in this afternoon tea and pretty much the only reason I'd go back...

From the moment we arrived - with a very exited pug, we were met with a smile and the receptionist went through all the Covid 19 procedures, advised us that the room would not be cleaned for the 3 nights whilst we were there unless we specifically wanted it to be (C 19 restriction) gave us details about the hotel, breakfast and dinner times and a map of Canterbury that were dog friendly places to eat. The room was very clean and although the view was poor, the whole ambiance of the hotel made up for it. We had to keep asking for milk etc. (restricted staff access due to C 19) and fresh cups - non of which was an issue. The exterior of the Hotel was perfect for anybody with a dog - plenty of walking space and grass and all very clean. The location is excellent - 0.4 miles from the entrance to the City at the top of the High Street. - if you want to drive then there are ample car parks though a bit pricy to take a taxi for such a short distance. Canterbury is steeped in history - i highly recommend one of the short boat trips and of course a trip to the Cathedral. There is an abundance of places to eat - a small section was cordoned off for street food which was excellent otherwise the Olive Grove - Lebanese, Moroccan and Italian was super. Finally, although the food at the hotel was limited it was very good (including a full English for breakfast) and the staff at Hotel were all very friendly and accommodating and made our 3 nights a real pleasure. Cant really go wrong if you are looking for a short break with no hidden extras and somewhere to...

Best Western used to be a good brand with nice properties. In the UK that is no longer the case and we are currently sat listening to every step in the room above us. This is an unpleasant property, recommend to avoid.

No working wifi, car parking shambolic and uncontrolled. Were advised food available until 9pm, left the bar with another guest arguing about the hotel calling last orders well before 8.45pm.

Best Western themselves are rather dodgy with a fake Best Rate Guarantee programme. We used points for this booking solely to get rid of them. Their fake status match programme gives you the top tier... and still zero benefits, not even breakfast.

The room was clean and the bathroom clearly redone recently. Only those plus points, lift is a creaking deathtrap and the single glazed windows give you all the road noise you could possibly want. Carpet near reception repaired with black tape.

Trust I have been truthful and clear about this venue. I've done probably 2,000 nights for work and pleasure in hotels. Few of them as disappointing as this one.

Enough said.

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Not enough said... after drafting this already distressing review, I then find that the hotel decided to add, without permission, a charge to my credit card without my authority because they themselves did not understand the Best Western points redemption process. So... a further phone call and a promise of a refund. I requested a call back from the relevant manager - never received - and the refund has as of today (18 August) still not cleared into my...