The Rose And Crown Hotel - Wisbech, United Kingdom     

My husband and I and a group of friends stayed at this hotel for one night after the birthday party of a friend who lived in the area. The Rose and Crown is a beautiul old building (17th century and some parts even older), but in desperate need of lots of tender loving care. There was a pervasive smell of damp throughout, damp patches on the ceiling and old grubby carpets. In short the hotel needs complete renovation. Our room (an executive room?) was just OK. The sheets were clean and white and the bathroom was reasonably clean but in need of modernisation. The room had a fireplace and exposed brick wall which gave it some character. However the smell of damp was very evident even though the window had been left open and the furnishings were tatty. The staff were reasonably polite and helpful but found it difficult to cope with 12 of us and so there were errors in our food order at the bar. Much the same thing happened the following morning at the breakfast buffet when we had to wait for food to be replenished. The waitresses seemed young, untrained and unexperienced but pleasant even though they appeared somewhat stressed by 12 of us appearing at the same time for breakfast. We didnt have the heart to give them a hard time but would have liked a word with the management. The standard of the food at the bar was poor and my onion soup was inedible, bearing no resemblance whatsoever to onion soup as I know it! The breakfast was just OK. The only reason I have not given this hotel the lowest rating is that I admired the character of the building itself. I would not want to spend more than one night at the Rose and Crown as it is at present. It is, in my opinion, poorly managed and maintained. What a shame because it has the potential to be really stunning.