I have stayed at the County Hotel twice in the last year and both times had problems. The first time we had booked a room, which was stiflingly hot and humid because the towel rail was on "heat" permanently and the staff were unable to turn it off. The second time we booked a suite and were extremely disappointed. The decor was tatty, dated, the bathroom and kitchen had mould, there was damp all over the walls. We felt very uncomfortable in the suite and could not relax. The bed was really hard. And to top it off, when we arrived there was no electricity. We had to call out the reception to come fix it , which they did, but no apologies were forthcoming. Its saving grace is the food which really is excellent. And the breakfast includes the best hash browns ever. But I would not stay here again.

The County Hotel is a solid example of a quality small hotel. THe hotel has excellent green credentials and have taken the time to outline these for each guest. The hotel is still udnergoing some upgrade of it's bedrooms. Make sure if you book with them you have a room that has been upgraded. The beds are not comfrtable in the older rooms and the furnishings are tatty. Some of the rooms, particularly those in numbered 60-69 are in the attic. I recently stayed in Room 69, which overlooks an internal courtyard. These are not to be recommended for a few reasons (cooking smells, lack of proper ventilation and noise from other rooms) I would suggest if you are offered a room in the 60's to ask for one that does not face onto the internal courtyard. Having said that those three problems aside the room was very comfortable. The service at the County was excellent for a small hotel, the food is excellent, locally sourced and organic.

They had lost my reservation when i got there but it happens sometimes through booking agents. The receptionnist was able to match the rate quoted through, quite inexpensive since it was a Sunday evening. But the room i got allocated was tiny, cold and orange. It was a single room, granted, but very outdated and not well ventilated. I went down to the restaurant to ask about their specials and as i went down I heard the manager pesting to the receptionnist about the fact they were empty that night and he had given me an awful room. The receptionnist said it was because I had had a cheap rate. Back in my room, I called reception to say the room was not warming up. In 5 min the manager was at my door and showed me a nicely renovated room. There was nothing special about the second room but it was clean and fresh and had a lot more space. Breakfast was uneventful, not a lot of choice for the continental "buffet". The staff was helpful through and through though, apart from the cheap receptionnist.

We were at a wedding in Chelmsford so this hotel was booked for us. The reception area reminded me of Fawlty Towers, we had a double and 2 singles booked. The double had been recently refurbished and was quite plesant, nice bathroom, flat screen TV etc, but the 2 singles were a disgrace, these were dated and tatty if we would have been allocated the old rooms i would definatly have walked. !! We had a snack lunch in the bar area that wasnt great. The wireless broadband in the rooms worked well (cant say that about every hotel) On the whole not worth ?115 per room. If you do stay there make sure they reserve you a new room !!!

Used this hotel for business a couple of times. It is expensive but there is little other choice in Chelmsford. Rooms are in two types, at the back are modern style and the front are faded 80's style rooms. I would advise asking for the newer rooms at the time of booking. Rooms are small and functional with flatscreen tv although not a great amount of deskspace. Food is very good, the wine list and bar is too but all are expensive. Staff great, helpful and friendly. Breakfast is extensive and high quality. Scrambled eggs were always cold! Front of hotel room was noisy with old secondary glazing, back of hotel wasn't too bad. This hotel is good but you pay a lot of money for a stay which would be 20% cheaper in other comparable towns.