Could be a great hotel (Hotels in Rugby)

Member Name: Shellywelly

Product:	Hotels in Rugby
Date:	30/09/08 (10 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Restaurant good value

Disadvantages: Too many tweaks needed

I am basing my review on the Three horse Shoes Hotel in Rugby, I used this hotel for my wedding in 2006.

The Three horse shoes hotel is based in Rugby town centre, however there is not any direct parking due to the previous hotel owner selling the few parking spaces they had, however the hotel now offers local parking for free but it is about a 5-10 min walk up a busy highstreet which is not easy with your bags!

Three horse shoes history:

The Three Horse Shoes Hotel, Rugby acquired the status of the Inn during 1728, although the tradition of selling ale from the premises would have started long before this date.

Even allowing for an original construction date somewhat earlier than 1728, the general architectural character would suggest that the building was begun during the late Renaissance Period and could specifically be described as Georgian (1702-1830).

At the beginning of the 19th Century the Three Horse Shoes was one of the ten Inn's in Rugby and one of the few to open all year round. The 'Shoes' became the rendezvous for the excise officers who came to collect taxes.

In 1850, Mr and Mrs Williams, the 'Shoes' most famous owners, bought the business from Mr Thomas Chater. The Rugby Almanac of 1850 carried a full-page advertisement for 'The Horse Shoes Commercial and Family Hotel and Posting House'.

After the death of her husband, Mrs Williams continued to run the hotel. It was in her cosy smoke room that on certain nights each week, Rugby's leading men would meet to discuss the town's affairs and smoke their church warden clay pipes. This gathering became known as 'The Horse Shoes Parliament' - the height of the Inn's influence on Rugby affairs.

The hotel bar and restaurant serves traditional food and a wide selections of ales, it is in a dark wood with wooden beams that create a oldie worldie feel.

The main menu starts at around £8 - £16 per main course, with traditional english fayre of steaks, fish, ham egg and chips, as well as a good vegetarian selection. They also offer sandwiches and light bites at reasonable prices. The food is all cooked to order so waiting times can be a little longer, but you can phone ahead at the shoes and pre book your meal for a certain time if you are aiming to go on a lunch break. Although the food is freshly cooked they do let things down a little with the use of some frozen foods like chips etc.

The hotel rooms are basic, last time I went the paint was peeling from the walls and although classed as luxury I felt they were little better than a run down travel lodge. Saying that all rooms are en suite, have wifi access, colour tv, tea and coffee facilities and the beds are reasonably comfortable. However expect a early wakeup call in the morning as if you have the windows open, you will get waken up buy early morning deliveries and carpet sweepers at around 6 or 7am! On average a double room is between £75 and £85 but I would recomend asking for a discount or checking out other websites as the Shoes like their rooms to be filled and will usually reduce the rooms considerably!

As I said earlier, I had my wedding here in 2006, the run up to the wedding was extremely stressfull and I didn't find the Shoes staff the best at communicating at this stressfull time.

However the day went smoothly and they had managed to finally pull everything together.

The wedding was held in the warwick room, we managed to squeeze 50 people into this room, but it was a tight squeeze! Then they opened the doors to the restaurant area for the evening 'do'. The only issue of this were restaurant guests kept strolling into our private party!!

The wedding breakfast was out standing and we had the option to let the guests choose from 3 starters and mains at my request - the only issue of this was I had to get everyones choices back which was very hard work!!

The wedding prices were extremly competitive. We paid around £4 per head for a starter and around £14 ahead for the pain course with pudding and coffee included. Then we had a drinks package of a fizz for arrival, 2 glassed of wine and a sparkling wine toast for around £8 per person.

We booked our DJ through the Shoes and he offered all the typical cheesy wedding music which we wanted. He also played music upon request and some specific songs which we had supplied, the DJ was friendly and welcomed all requests and got the guests dancing. During the wedding breakfast the hotel played CD's which we supplied as backing music.

The evening buffet was extensive and very good value.

I would warn people the Shoes doesn't have air conditioning so be ready to boil on a hot day with a room full of people!

Summary: This could be a great hotel with work!