Abbey Hotel Bath Review: Boutique and Bear friendly 

First up if you haven’t been to Bath before, add to your “must visit” list immediately. It really is one of the most picturesque cities I’ve ever visited and if you’re looking for somewhere gorg and central to stay, Abbey Hotel is the one! 

I love a boutique hotel stay, there’s something special about waking up in a new city, in a huge bed, cute little mini products, room service, quirky decor and being able to relax to the max. And boy did we crank up the relaxation notch whilst staying in Bath.

Abbey Hotel Bath Review: Location location location

Located just 5 mins from Bath Spa station, the location of Abbey Hotel was a massive plus for us. Well, it was great for me and my suitcase filled with unnecessary accessories and outfits. OK let’s be honest, it was great for Dem as he was the one lugging the cases around. Whilst Bear and I dawdled along behind, taking in the scenery and trying not to trip over each other on the cobbles. 

Check in wasn’t until 3pm so we dropped off our cases and I got changed – I just wanted to check out the toilets to be honest, which were bloody gorgeous. From the chaise longue to the ceiling decor, I was just in my element. Fully appreciate I’ve turned into an elderly lady that likes to check out the toilets in every establishment, but they were so pretty and well worth the nosy!

After the hotel staff lavished attention over a thrilled little Bear, they kindly stored our luggage for us so we were free to head off and explore. Being so central we were only a stone’s throw from all the main attractions. Check out my 2 days in Bath: City guide to check out all of our weekend endeavours!

Abbey Hotel Bath Review: Our room

Once we were all checked in – poor Dem was instructed not to touch anything so I could get some snaps which was more than a challenge with a Mexican jumping bean for a dog who was haring around the room like a lunatic with her squeaky toy in her mouth. Massive thanks to Dem for packing that particular toy, a 6 am wake up call was just what I wanted!

We stayed in one of the Abbey Hotel’s superior rooms  and as soon as we walked in we felt so welcome. Every little detail was so personal, from the chocolate truffles (which I forgot to share), to the welcome note and the handy city guides. We had a gorgeous velvet turquoise chair that I wanted to take home and even the light fittings were opulent and luxurious giving me some serious interior design inspo. 

All the rooms come with WiFi, tea and coffee and free bottled water, but the pièce de résistance was Bears plush little dog bed and water bowl. I’ve spoken previously about how important it is for Bear to feel welcomed and this really was the icing on the cake. They even included a dog friendly guide to Bath which was such a nice touch. 

The view from our room was gorgeous, allowing us to people watch and take in the greenery. The rooms aren’t fitted with air con but we were provided with a fan which did the job perfectly and the blackout curtains stopped any unwanted early morning rays of sun sneaking in. 

Can I also just give a mention to the bathroom mirror while we’re here? It’s effectively a mirror with a built in ring light, turning me from a 5/10 to a solid 8, perfect for make up application and selfies, I’d visit again just for this alone. My inner catfish was totally screaming!

While we’re on the subject of the bathroom, we had both a rainfall style shower head and a smaller head and while I was contouring within an inch of my life Dem had hopped in for a shower. Turning all the taps on including the tap for the smaller shower head which of course managed to shoot around like a deranged snake and soak all three of us.

Dem – in the shower, not a problem. Me – dressed and now unimpressed. Bear – water adverse and now rolling all over the carpet.

Brilliant, cheers Dem. 

Abbey Hotel Bath Review: Food

We didn’t even need to think twice about where to go for dinner as our hotel had its very own restaurant, which is a joint venture between culinary geniuses, Pierre Koffmann and Marco Pierre White. You can check out the restaurant menus here – I’d definitely recommend booking though as it gets very busy on Fridays and Saturdays. 

As we opted for dinner on a Sunday evening, the restaurant was lovely and quiet (you all know how much I dislike people so this was a total dream come true).

The waiters and waitresses were great at offering recommendations on what to order, but being Dem and I we of course both opted for steak served rare with beef fat chips and lashings of Bearnaise sauce. Which was just incredible.

For dessert we both ordered The Boxtree Mess which was the Abbey hotel’s take on Eton Mess and my my my – it was insane! Dem was convinced that Eton Mess included Maltesers and only realised that it didn’t once he’d finished, much to my amusement. I’ll make a dessert connoisseur of him yet!  

Also huge props to the waiter that managed to snap the perfect photo of us before dinner, without multiple retakes. Only Dem truly knows the perils of taking photos of me… 

Returning from dinner we popped up to our room to check on Bear, taking bets whether she’d be asleep in her plush dog bed, or curled up on our bed. Bear always does like to surprise us though and this was no exception, as we returned to find Bear fast asleep in my suitcase… such an odd dog!

Cocktails and dreams 

Bath is so stunning but if you wanted to just stay in the hotel, put your feet up, eat great food and sip cocktails then you can totally do that. Abbey Hotel has their own bar which is boujee AF, I know I keep banging on about the decor but it was just so pretty with artwork adorning the walls (makes sense why it’s called ArtBar) and the cocktail selection was huge. 

Top tips and pricing:

• Superior rooms start at around £129 and regular doubles start at £109 a night which is very reasonable for the quality of the rooms. But do keep an eye on their Instagram as they often have special deals and promos running. 
• Not all rooms are pup friendly – so make sure you request one of these if travelling with your pooch.
• Don’t rush around in the morning – check out isn’t until 11 am, hello lie-in.

Time flies when you’re having fun

All too soon our little vacay was over. We just had time to soak up some sunshine outside the hotel with a bowl of water (Bear) and a G&T (us) while we waited for our train back to meal prep, washing and reality… 

If you’re looking for a centrally based quirky hotel with it’s own fabulous eatery and bar then Abbey Hotel would be my number one choice, perfect for relaxed staycations, trips with your pup or those wanting to explore.

Hope you enjoyed my Abbey Hotel Bath Review! Have you visited Bath before? Let me know your favourite thing to see or do in the comments xo

What next? Check out what we did in Bath in my 2 days in Bath: City Guide xo

*We were kindly invited to stay at Abbey Hotel Bath – where we were gifted a complimentary room and three course meal. But all opinions are my own.