The Royal Hotel

How not to run a local village pub ! Very quick review by a local on behalf of myself and numerous other friends who will no longer frequent the Royals bar, the Melville. Bearing in mind that this is the only bar in the village and residents are crying out for a traditional, friendly pub with a bit of atmosphere (music, pool table, darts, tv etc)where locals are made to feel welcome. Months ago the bar concentrated on food and arguably discouraged locals to come in for a pint/ stand at the bar etc Then followed months when the hotel didn’t even have a chef ! So it was a welcome surprise when out of the blue a pool table, tv, dart board, juke box and a puggie (which no one really wanted) appeared. The pub became a more welcoming bar for locals/ visitors, had some atmosphere, the pool table was regularly used and like a lot of bars became the main focal point for most in the bar whether playing or watching. Good crack, a laugh and frequented regularly by myself and numerous friends who had previously avoided this pub. Great we now had a pub approaching what I’d describe as normal and the penny seemed to have dropped, keep the locals happy and you’ll do well. 2 weeks ago management removed the pool table, juke box and puggie (no loss) and replaced with numerous small tables and chairs for the hoards of customers they were expecting in a pub that essentially doesn’t serve food, apart from chips and starter type snacks, in a small village in the middle of winter? Reason given was pool table etc apparently wasn’t making any money. A prime example of ignorance on how to run a pub from management, look at the bigger picture and how much busier the pub has been recently. Everyone I know without exception disagreed with the removal of the pool table etc which was well used and the only reason many had started frequenting the bar again. Buy a second hand one and it would pay for itself in no time lol unfortunately the bar has reverted back to what it was, still very overpriced with no atmosphere whatsoever. You’re missing a great opportunity to capitalise on being the only pub in the village but instead have distanced yourself further from the community who should and could be supporting you. Hopefully it will sell soon and be bought by someone who listens to what the majority of people in the village have wanted for years, nothing special, just a local welcoming village pub, bar games and atmosphere.

Stayed one night, arriving Wednesday 3 July 2024. Second time we've stayed here. We had a four poster room overlooking Melville Square -- in fact same room we'd had on first visit. Very comfortable bed. Big bathroom with lashings of hot water. Two very minor quibbles. Only a continental breakfast available on this visit, as opposed to cooked that was available in March. Secondly, we noted that a wee bit more attention was needed by cleaning staff as we found a fair amount of dust in some parts of room -- headboard, light fittings, for example. However, still happy to give a 5, and would be happy to stay again.

Had a beautiful meal, very well cooked and presented, waitress friendly but over sharing about the other staff. Part of order were two fillet steaks and catch of the day (hake) While accepting £34 is the going rate for fillet, £28 for hake is way over the top (price not displayed) Steak served was sirloin which you would expect to be somewhat cheaper than fillet. It wasn’t, it was charged at the same price and when this was questioned on receiving the bill, the ‘friendliness’ of the waitress disappeared and the person paying the bill was ignored and passed to a colleague to take payment from. Rude and a blatant extortion of more money than one should pay for sirloin or hake. Buyer beware.