"Lamphey Court is a Best Western franchise hotel. Seasoned travellers will tell you that means it 's either very, very good, or it 's terrible! It depends on the individual owner. Our experience of Lamphey Court hotel, on the whole, was very good, but with notable exceptions. We booked a three day package, which included a meal allowance. The hotel looks superb from the outside: it 's all clean and the grounds are well maintained. We were greeted most enthusiastically at Reception, and the Receptionist seemed delighted to detail our package complementary bottle of prosecco, late check out etc. Our room (25 was very pleasant and clean, and just about warm enough. The room windows are single glazed and old enough that they have started to rot but it would be tragic to replace the windows with uPVC! The hot water came out at a good temperature and at a good pressure. The wi fi was excellent in fact, so good that I didn 't think to notice it for the first day; considering the rural setting of the hotel, bravo! The adjacent swimming pool and fitness centre were outstanding and clearly very popular with locals who paid a membership fee, while hotel guests were admitted for free. The pool, the steam room and the jacuzzi were all spotlessly clean. Sadly, as has been mentioned by others, it is the catering that lets the hotel down. The waiting staff in the restaurant in the evening are good natured and well intentioned, rather than expertly trained. The quality of food varies enormously from one evening to the next the lamb shank needed a steak knife to cut it (not supplied ; the penne bolognaise was no better than you 'd get from the pub chain with the notoriously sticky carpets and the in house panna cotta was simply awful (they deducted it from the bill . Yet the chicken and mushroom pie another night (same chef! was absolutely superb, and the date pudding was excellent. I would strongly encourage the hotel owner to train the waiter staff better, and ensure the chef consistently delivers better quality meals. Breakfast was OK the Welsh full breakfast was just the standard items, hopefully locally sourced, but nothing special. It would have been nice to be offered (say laverbread as an authentic Welsh ingredient. The menu boasted that the croissants and other pastries were freshly baked that may have been so, but if that was the case the oven must have been two hours ' drive away in Cardiff! Nothing to do with the hotel itself, but next to it is a little gem of a place to visit: the Bishop 's Palace. Built in medieval times by successive Bishops of St David 's, it was where they retired for a break from their church duties. Considering the size of the cellar, the Bishops did themselves very well indeed. The palace gets very few visitors: we walked round on our own. It 's well worth strolling across from the hotel to see it. Finally, as we made to leave the hotel, I 'm sorry to say that the (different Reception staff could not drag themselves away from their conversation to acknowledge our departure. That was a serious blunder. You see, last impressions last too!"
Tuna Salad
