buglady59

We'll be in Chester in September and would like info on good hotels or B&Bs at 70 bp max per room. Important to be in within the walls? Won't have a car. What about transportation from outside town.

lweber

We stayed at the MoatHouse. Modern and comfortable but don't recall what we paid. Good location.

nancy

Here's my notes from my trip journal on Chester; however, this was 1999 so prices may be different.

Recommended B&B - Grosvenor Place. Good location to town - price 17 BP/person. Went to the T.I. thru the Cathedral (940 BC) then hopped on a tour bus for sightseeing the town. Chester is noted for the half-timbered buildings. Back to look in the shops. Went to a pub (Chester Bells) across the street from B&B for an excellent stuffed potato filled with chicken. This is a best buy in pubs.

I had a car so don't know about other transportation.

MHS

We spent an afternoon & evening in Chester in May. Took train from London so we also had no car. General impression: the Rows were nice to see & the walls to walk. Shops were very disappointing -- the town seems more like a shopping center for the area -- nothing special or outstanding. The hotels inside the walls were full so we stayed at Le Meridien Chester opposite the train station. With our train pass there was a free bus to the center. It is too far to walk easily. Any B&B beyond that would seem to require a car.

Le Meridien has recently changed hands & is undergoing a sorely needed, make that desperately needed, renovation. Consider it a last ditch resort! Plus they tried to charge us @10bp more than the confirmation quoted. Happily it was the only poor hotel out of our London/Chester/York/Edinburgh journey and only for 1 night. We actually left on early am train, giving us more time in York, rather than spend the following morning in Chester.

Restuarants I had researched (Frommers/Fodors) were out of business -- did have nice pub supper but needed taxi back to hotel since bus was not running. Taxi was great service & very cheap, however in chatting the driver said that tourism had dropped dramatically the past few years. Perhaps that's why we felt the sidewalks roll up behind us.

All in all, happy to have seen it & know what people speak of but would not return.

Sylvia

You can now see hotels and B and Bs book online at Http://www.roomcheck.co.uk/chester/

There are many restaurants in Chester see http://www.clarence.ndirect.co.uk/large/nc.htm
but we rather like the Blue Bell. The food is good and it's a very interesting building. Food has been served there for the past 500 years.
Another one we like is Francs. It's noisy, busy and crowded but good food and great atmosphere.
As for transport, there's a frequent train service to and from London and Manchester and plenty of buses (depends where you want to go).
As for shops, there are fewer of the old fashioned shops around but you can still find them. There are lots of antique shops and for some reason lots of jewellers. The city is a major shopping centre for the North West of England and North Wales. I may be prejudiced but I think that it is good to see an absence of the sort of "Olde Touriste Tatte" shops that you find elsewhere.

xxxx

We stayed at the Chesire Cat in Christleton. A taxi ride to the city center was only a few minutes and a few pounds.