The Ancient Gatehouse Hotel

Historically layered building attached to Brown's Gatehouse (I'm not sure if one of the rooms is literally IN the gatehouse?) and overlooking the cathedral. Rooms located above an Italian restaurant, they're pleasant but very much Inn or B&B type, so you hear every creaky footstep, especially if on the first floor. Ear plugs recommended. Sometimes when you stay at a hotel with a restaurant you might be offered a free drink or discount — given in this case you can hear the restaurant until around 11pm, and you're dodging waiters as you go in and out the building, it might be a nice touch to offer something extra to paying guests? (along with those ear plugs…)

What stood out??? Well, for one, it was the staff. They welcomed me and gave me a lovely room. I had a table booked for 10 of my family, and the food was excellent. The wine was superb too, and I asked for a favour, which they delivered. This is one of my favourite hotels in the UK and will be my go-to whenever I go to Somerset to see my family. The only downside is the parking, but that is minuscule compared to the service I received from The Ancient Gatehouse. Well done all.

Fantastic friendly helpful staff...real Italians! Oh, and great breakfast lady from Ulster. The room was very clean with nice touches such as still & sparkling water. The view over the cathedral was stunning when enjoying coffee & a hot cooked breakfast. Just great to stay in a real family run establishment.

View from bedroom over Wells Cathedral. Greatvlocation

Lovely old building. Great old style bed

Great location, some really friendly staff.

I had a lovely stay here and the breakfast was delicious. Thank you

Yes , it was very clean. The staff were very helpful and attentive and managed to get us a dinner table at short notice.

fantastic hotel beautifully decorated room. Wells is an amazing city to visit.

The room was very clean and the staff helpful.

Very central, parking easy on road cross to cathedral. Fab view of cathedral from breakfast, ate dinner in the Italian in the ground floor - very nice.

Parking was as advised, it is Salisbury you have to contend with that. Thank you.

Great location. Everywhere is very walkable. Wide range of shops and restaurants. The Gatehouse is unique and charming. The hotel staff are very nice and accommodating. Great value for money. Beds comfortable. Room very clean. Overall a great experience and the city of Wells is a must-see

A charming hotel in a lovely area. Staff were attentive and friendly. Restaurant had incredible food and ambience. I booked a single room which was fine. It was quite dusty in the room, notably on the top of the wide picture rail going around the bed. I only noticed when settling down to bed, I’m sure staff would have cleaned otherwise. The corner the bed was in was also a little dark and dingy and pillows were naff. Can hear other guests quite clearly particularly when they are coming up the stairs. Steep stairs up to the rooms. Beautiful view out the room window and good shower and bathroom. Would stay again but in a different room. Worth noting as well that hotel is unmanned overnight. Staff leave the restaurant in the late evening and there is no staff in until 8am ish. There are emergency numbers but worth knowing for safety and security.

Stayed here for one night, staff were all very friendly and helpful, nothing was too much trouble. We stayed in room 2 which was at the front. Lovely big room with 4 poster bed. Very comfortable and clean. There are lots of hotels in Wells but I’m glad we chose this one.

NO PARKIING Despite not being able to reach the hotel because of a road block, not being able to speak to anyone when we phoned (and we tried several times), being offered parking options that were not available or impractical as a stop from our check-in to check-out, meaning we had to carry our luggage through town from Waitrose long-stay car park, no reception staff for most of our stay and not being able to get breakfast in the hotel, we actually liked the place. The location is ideal for visiting the cathedral and also for excellent restaurants and coffee shops. The passage to our room felt a little like a worm hole; it goes in all directions at rather curious angles. The room offered a view across the green to the cathedral. The clock chimes every quarter; you’ll hear it if you’re awake but it didn’t keep us awake. WiFi in our room was only 6mbps down at best – but even if there a WAP on our floor, the thickness of the walls meant it would have struggled. The bathroom has a bath and a hose with a shower head but no shower. Hot water supply is good. The room had a nice feel about it. The building is definitely old and the hotel has an eccentric charm. We’d stay there again, if we were not driving.

Hotel facilities only open Monday left to our own devices Tuesday and Wednesday. No breakfast available.

Excellent small historic hotel facing Weeks Cathedral. The view of the Cathedral from my bedroom was magical. Nice breakfast and very friendly staff

Very characterful, great restaurant, really good food. Doggy friendly.

We loved our stay at the Ancient Gatehouse. It is just that, ancient and charming. The room was lovely and had a nice clean bathroom. We were fortunate to have a room that looked out over the green and had a view of the cathedral. There is no air conditioning. Very few places in the UK or Europe have AC, these are old buildings. There was a fan and large windows which suited us perfectly. The hotel has an excellent Italian restaurant where we ate dinner. We stayed only one night, but we will definitely return in the future.