Within these walls lie many treasures
IT was no small coincidence we should end up in a room dedicated to Napoleon...like yours truly he had a reputation for being short and outspoken.
Some of us would rather say the room that bears his name, at Chester's elegant Best Western Queen Hotel, is small but perfectly formed.
Part of the new Kings At Queen block, cleverly added to this landmark Victorian building in this smart Roman city, you would be hard-pressed to find a more stylishly-decorated room outside of some of London's big names.
Opened just last December the former HBOS building has dedicated each floor to a different nation's kings. We landed on the French floor and accommodation where modern styling and quality fittings meet traditional values.
The same might be said of the dining experience in the new restaurant at ground level, The Kings Quarters, a trendy but warm setting for cocktails and cooking with modern flourishes enhancing old favourites. Breakfast is served in The Bacchus, the older of the two dining areas, where we were greeted with live jazz on Sunday morning.
Best Western Queen Hotel is located directly across from Chester railway station and first opened its doors in April 1858.
"It was the country's first railway hotel," enthuses general manager Simon Williams. "Lots of others followed but a year after this was built it burned down."
Fortunately the building's designer was more acquainted with devising prisons so the Queen was framed from steel and could be reconstructed around the surviving structure.
Regular guests included actress Lillie Langtry and Charles Dickens, who wrote what was believed to have been the first ever hotel review. "He said it was a bit draughty," adds Simon. "Obviously we have remedied that."
In fact, 27m has been spent refurbishing the hotel, including developing the Kings block, since the property joined the Feathers hotel group and Best Western in 2003. A connecting walkway, overlooking an elegant Italian-style garden favoured by wedding couples, incorporates Roman columns unearthed during the building of a Chester car park.
You could probably get directions to that from Iuan-Affon Davies, the hotel's super-helpful concierge and mine of local information.
At just two hours train ride from Sheffield the hotel is an ideal weekend stop, just minutes walk from the centre.
Like our room, the city is also compact but well-formed, in and around some of the best preserved Roman walls. One of the most impressive sights is the Rows, the two-tier shopping galleries which date from the Middle Ages.
Close by the Cathedral offers audio tours while the Amphitheatre vies with The Eastgate Clock for the attention of tourist lenses, the latter being the second most photographed clock after Big Ben.
There has been a church on the site of the Cathedral for over 1,000 years. Originally a Saxon Minster, then rebuilt as a Benedictine Abbey, the magnificent building is a national treasure seen from pretty much anywhere on the ancient defensive walls - Chester is the only city in Britain that retains a full circuit and they give a striking perspective and insight into Chester's long history.
The main access onto the walls is at each of the four main gateways. There are many other stops around the city, some including accessible ramps, and at one point you can join the tow path beside the city's canal, a pleasant walk that in one direction lands you at the excellent Old Harkers Arms for great food and real ale.
Across town regular cruises on the River Dee each weekend journey beneath the suspension bridge, familiar to Hollyoaks fans, past the Earls Eye and the preened acreage of Grosvenor Park with its miniature railway, putting green - and noisy white goose.
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Weather for Sheffield
Friday 10 February 2012
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