Castle Hotel Taunton

The wisteria-clad frontage sets up expectations that are not dashed inside, where you're met with much dark, carved wood, expensive carpet and an olde-English smell of mingling furniture polish, port and horseradish sauce. The behind-the-scenes account of life at the hotel, An Innkeeper's Diary, by Kit Chapman, The Castle's owner since 1976, should be on the bedside table of every bedroom – very entertaining.

The rooms

There are 44, pleasantly dated but squashily comfortable: extra-wide mattress, decent bedside lamps, proper hangers, feather-cushioned sofa and plenty of space to put your stuff on. Tea- and coffee-making tray stocked with biscuits and fresh milk. Spotless bathroom but with shower over the bath, no magnifying mirror and dull amenities. 

Not so keen

Why are the curtains all six inches too short? Clearly this makes life easy for the cleaners but long curtains should crumple elegantly on the floor. The Castle's all look as if they shrank in the wash. 

The food and drink

Cheeringly good. Chef Richard Guest champions English food in the main Castle Restaurant, Brazz brasserie and modernist lounge, sourcing locally: Somerset cheeses, game from Exmoor and the Quantock Hills, herbs and vegetables grown by a smallholder five miles away. The carving trolley lives on here (hurrah), with the Great British Classics menu. The wine list is Chapman's pride and joy, and puddings are a special treat, especially the three-in-one chocolate number (tart, ganache, mousse). 

Access for guests with disabilities

Ramp at the entrance, lift to bedrooms and no unexpected steps. 

The other guests

Quiet European tourists, local farmers (the tweedy, doughty type who turn out to own half the county), and multi-generational family parties. Eavesdropping highlight: a hilariously detailed appraisal by two octogenarians of the new chairs at Taunton's Somerset County cricket club. 

The bottom line

Doubles from £120 (plus £15.50 each for full English breakfast). Special packages include literary and musical events. 

Telegraph rating: 8/10

The Castle Hotel, Taunton: hotel review - Good Hotel Guide

In the town centre, a ‘beautifully furnished, traditional, very comfortable and cheerfully run’ hotel stands inside a wisteria-festooned medieval castle. Extended and rebuilt over centuries, it has character and history to spare. The buzzy brasserie has ‘delicious’ food with inventive flavours and textures. Early-dining set menus, blackboard specials and sharing platters might include goat’s cheese, hazelnut, peach; Somerset lamb chops, green beans. ‘Individual and comfortable’, ‘airy’ bedrooms have high-quality bedlinen; a turn-down service at night. But lighting may be ‘rather dim’. ‘Excellent’ breakfasts include an extensive buffet with home-made bread and jams, muesli and ‘piping hot’ cooked dishes.

The Castle is one of the most renowned 4-star hotels in England. It is also one of Great Britain’s most historic, with origins stretching over 1000 years.  For more than 60 years, it has been run by three generations of the Chapman family.

Sitting at the gateway to England’s West Country, The Castle provides an ideal mix of town centre convenience with easy access to some of the most breathtaking landscapes that the South West has to offer.

We are within easy reach of several Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, including the Blackdown, Brendon and Quantock Hills as well as Exmoor National Park.  There are also plenty of historic houses and grand gardens to explore around us, and the Museum of Somerset lies on our doorstep.

The Castle offers 44 comfortable hotel rooms with free Wi-Fi throughout. They are a child friendly hotel with bedrooms large enough to accommodate young families. Our 12th Century rose garden, with its original moat wall, is a great place for children to play and explore.

Whether travelling for business or leisure, you’ll find each of the Castle Hotel 44 bedrooms offers its own personality and comfort away from home. Unlike so many of today’s hotels, The Castle’s rooms are individually decorated and vary in size, shape and style.

Welcome to Somerset - one of England's most beautiful counties. The Castle Hotel lies at its heart, sharing thousands of years of history, heritage and folklore.

The Castle Hotel is ideally placed to explore some of the West Country's best attractions and activities. From the striking contrasts in lands and seascapes to the orchards and meadows, which provide for their own kitchen and cellar, you will discover that Somerset is a magical land to explore.

The Castle Hotel is within easy reach of places such as Exmoor, Glastonbury and the surrounding romantic villages, homes and famous gardens of the region.

With many new galleries to explore, and extraordinary objects to discover, The Museum of Somerset is a must-see visitor attraction for people of all ages from across Somerset and beyond.

Hestercombe is a unique collection of three gardens spanning three centuries of garden history and design. All have undergone acclaimed restoration works and today provide important examples of gardens in contrasting styles that continue to grow and develop. In particular, Hestercombe's Formal Garden is a fine example of the world renowned partnership between plants-women, Gertrude Jekyll and architect, Sir Edwin Lutyens.

Dramatically sited on a wooded hill, a castle has existed here since at least Norman times, with an impressive medieval gatehouse and ruined tower giving a reminder of its turbulent history.

Castle Neroche is located on the edge of a steep natural escarpment, which forms the northern edge of the Blackdown Hills some 900ft above sea level). A visit to the Forest of Neroche will offer you spectacular views over the vale of Taunton towards the Quantock Hills and Exmoor and is a great place to enjoy a stroll with the family.

The 17th-century cottage was home to Samuel Taylor Coleridge for three years, from 1797. It was during his time here in Somerset that Coleridge wrote his finest works, including The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Kubla Khan, Frost at Midnight, The Nightingale, Cristabel and This Lime Tree Bower my Prison. Both Coleridge and Wordsworth are seen as crucial in the development of the literary Romantic Movement.

"The echoes of the past haunt this now empty Tudor manor house, so beautifully restored in the 1920s by the Lyle family. They lived in style, installing a sprung dance floor; the winding mechanism can still be seen under the sweeping main staircase. What were once cow yards, pens and fields became delightful flower gardens, their design influenced by Gertrude Jekyll."

Somerset offers some of the most picturesque countryside in England and there is no better way to explore it than a ramble. And if you need inspiration, Taunton Deane and Walking in Somerset both offer downloadable maps.

The Holnicote Estate is situated in 12,000 acres of Exmoor National Park and offers stunning views of varied landscapes including 5 picturesque villages, beautiful moorland, a shingle beach and ancient woodland. Holnicote is a fantastic place for walkers, with over 100 miles of footpaths to explore. Wander round the villages or walk up to Dunkery Beacon, the highest point on Exmoor.

The Quantock Hills are an area of wilderness and tranquillity. Panoramic views lead you through coast, heath and combe. Explore and you will find rocky Jurassic coastline, exposed heathland summits, deep wooded combes, undulating farmland and attractive villages all within this protected landscape. 

Quantock Trekking is a well established centre for horse trekking and riding holidays in the picturesque village of West Bagborough in the heart of the Quantock Hills, Somerset.

A unique landscape of moorland, woodland, valleys and farmland, shaped by people and nature over thousands of years. 

Nestled within Exmoor, this fascinating valley lies about ½ mile to the west of Lynton. It's well known for its feral goats that roam freely and often quite hair-raisingly on the jagged cliff edges. It is thought that during the Ice Age the ice sheet prevented the East Lyn River from reaching the sea on its normal route and was diverted westwards. When the ice sheet retreated the river was able to resume its original path, leaving this valley riverless. Over the years the valley has silted up to become the U-shape we now see, not caused by a glacier. It is well-known for its unusual rock formations and caves.