I climbed 40 feet up a vertical tower and had no bath to relax in afterwards! (Best Western Hotels)

Member Name: opinions4u

Product:	Best Western Hotels
Date:	17/11/02 (218 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Location, Pleasant Atmosphere

Disadvantages: Service Could Have Been So Much Better, No bath in the room!

Castle Green Hotel
Kendal


Well more teambuilding going on at work. This time they carted us off to Cumbria to see how far we could push back those personal mental barriers while at the same time relying on the support of our colleagues in achieving our personal goals.

Quite how climbing 40 feet up a vertical wooden wall achieves this, I am yet to work out. That said, I did climb it and then had the fun of abseiling down it too. As possibly the least fit member of the team I feel quite chuffed.

But that tells you nothing about this Best Western hotel.

Located on the outskirts of Kendal, around 9 miles from junction 36 of the M6, the hotel is set in large grounds with a mixture of traditional and modern looking buildings. The reception area is, peculiarly, set to the rear of the building but is large and welcoming with lounge, bar and restaurant openly attached.

Checking in proved simple, even though I was not offered the obligatory wake up call or newspaper. Still, I was unlikely to have time to read the paper and the telly in the room was capable of being programmed to wake me up.

Now, as my company has a Scot in charge, I found myself sharing a room with a male colleague. Not usually a problem. Until we found a 4ft double bed as the only sleeping facility in the room. Now, I am a big chap. My wife would not wish to share a double bed of this size with me. I certainly would not wish it on another bloke. And that is before all the macho stuff crosses the mind! While I am irritated at my company for not ensuring twin rooms, I am LIVID at the hotel for accepting the booking without pointing out that twin rooms were not available.

I was even more livid when the receptionist told me that the inn was full and they had no stable or manger available for overflow. Fortunately, my room mate has obviously got a more assertive style. He managed to find another double room where a few minutes
earlier there was none. Problem solved. But not by the hotel!

The room itself had a temperature controlled shower that actually controlled the heat and power of the water! This I congratulate these people on. I have stayed in many hotels over the years and few seem able to provide shower facilities that do any more than freeze your gonads off or give you third degree burns. One criticism of the mat is that it covered the plughole so the water overflowed until I made an adjustment.

Regretably, there was no bath. After a day that identified muscles I did not know still existed, a bath would have been wonderful. Nonetheless, a shower sufficed.

Hotels in the UK nearly always offer tea and coffee making facilities in the room. Typically, most provide 2 cups, 12 tea bags, 12 coffees, sugar and sweetner. Oh, and 4 long life milks that on their own are not enough for a single cup. In other words, unless you want to hassle reception, you can only make 2 brews in your room! Congratulations Castle Green. You provided 8 milky things. This is a major achievement and I thank you for it. Ironically, the purpose of my visit did not give me enough time to enjoy this facility. But retain it!

I mentioned the telly. Well, time did not allow me an in depth look. While I did find the telly controls a little cumbersome, I had access to all the channels I needed and set the alarm too.

Right. What about the food? Well, the evening meal was excellent. Pork, roasties and veg followed by some sort of fruity dessert. Oh, and an excellent if expensive choice of wines too. Brekkie was full English and while I prefer my bacon a little better done than this, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I had to do without toast as none of the restaurant staff offered it and we were also pushed for time.

Any other things leap to mind? Well, there is a leisure club which guests can use free of charge. I failed to find it due to time pressur
es but I am assured it is excellent.

The hotel provides excellent conference facilities and also works with other local organisations in providing services for the corporate market. A company called Vertical Air provided our outdoor work. Set in woodland yards from the hotel you feel as if you are in the most remote corner of Britain. A range of challenges are put in front of you and you can amaze yourself with what you can achieve! Our group renamed the climbing tower as THE WALL OF DEATH. It certainly felt like that when I got stuck halfway up! A dramatic recovery saw me reach the top! Quite how I will now make better management decisions remains to be seen. It was tiring. It was fun.

In Summary, Castle Green Hotel was adequate. The location is fabulous. The food was pretty good. The service was adequate. While typical room rates are £99 for 2 including brekkie, a range of offers are available that can half this. Oh, and I did not mention the pub in the grounds! Very handy!




www.castlegreen.co.uk
01539 734000
reception@castlegreen.co.uk
www.verticalair.co.uk

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