The best hotels in Bath

The city centre between the Roman Baths and the Royal Crescent. That's roughly everything between Brock Street and North Parade Road. The Gainsborough Bath Spa on Beau Street is the best hotel in this zone. The streets immediately around the Circus (Brock Street, Bennet Street) are quieter and still walking distance to everything. Avoid anything near the bus station on Manvers Street: it's noisy and characterless.

Yes, but not for the full-day package. The New Royal Bath rooftop pool (the main feature, open air, views of the abbey and surrounding hills) is genuinely extraordinary. Book a 2-hour evening session (£35-50 depending on day/time) rather than the full day spa pass (£100+). The rooftop pool is best at dusk in any weather. Book at least 2 weeks ahead for weekends.

Train from London Paddington takes 90 minutes and costs £15-40 depending on booking timing. Bristol Parkway or Bristol Temple Meads connects Bath to the Midlands and South Wales. Bath Spa station is 10 minutes walk from the Roman Baths and 15 minutes from the Royal Crescent. No car needed: Bath is entirely walkable and parking is expensive at £3-5/hour in the city centre.

Adult entry is £28, concessions £25, children (6-17) £17. Family ticket (2 adults + up to 3 children) costs £76. Book online to avoid queues. The visit includes an audio guide narrated by Bill Bryson. Allow 1.5-2 hours minimum. The Great Bath (the central open-air pool) is the iconic photo. Visit mid-morning on weekdays for minimum crowding. The Pump Room restaurant above is worth a coffee at minimum.

October and November are ideal: crisp weather, fewer tourists than summer, and the honey-coloured Georgian stone looks best in low winter light. March is good for Jane Austen Festival timing (usually mid-March). August is busy: the Roman Baths sell out and hotels charge £300-500/night. The Christmas market (usually last week of November/first week of December) is one of England's best.

Yes. The Roman Baths take half a day, the Thermae spa needs a separate session, and the Royal Crescent and Circus walk is best in the early morning without crowds. Two nights is the right visit: arrive afternoon of day 1, spa evening, full day 2 for Roman Baths and museums, depart morning of day 3. One night is possible but rushed.

Yes. The Gainsborough is the only hotel in Bath fed by the same natural thermal spring waters that the Romans used. The spa uses the genuine geothermal waters (naturally heated to 45°C underground, cooled to 35-38°C in the pools). Three pools. It's the correct luxury choice for Bath specifically. Rooms from £280/night, spa access included for guests.

Avoid anything on or near Manvers Street and the immediate bus station area. It's functional but lacks the Georgian character that makes Bath special. The Oldfield Park area (west) is a bus journey from the main attractions and not walkable. Anything advertised as 'near Bristol' is not Bath: some hotels on the A4 corridor between cities market themselves as Bath.

Very, with some caveats. The Roman Baths is genuinely engaging for older children (9+) with the audio guide. Younger children may find it overwhelming. The Natural Hot Springs at Thermae aren't suitable for children under 16. The Museum of Bath at Work on Julian Road is good for ages 10+. Prior Park Landscape Garden (National Trust, £10 adults) has good open space.

The physical city she wrote about is largely unchanged. Number 1 Royal Crescent is preserved as she would have known it (£15 entry, excellent). The Jane Austen Centre on Gay Street is more commercial (£15 entry, museum format). The Pump Room on Stall Street, where her characters took the waters, still operates as a restaurant: afternoon tea at £35/person is overpriced but the room is historically accurate.

The Colonna and Small's coffee shop on Chapel Row makes some of the best coffee in the UK. The Circus restaurant on Brock Street has been serving excellent modern British food since 2010 (£30-45/head, book ahead). Acorn on North Parade Passage is a vegetarian fine dining restaurant worth visiting for non-meat eaters at £40-55/head. Skip the restaurants directly on the Roman Baths tourist circuit.

More than you'd expect for a city of 90,000 people. Quality boutique hotels run £150-280/night. The Gainsborough with spa runs £280-520/night. Budget guesthouses on the outskirts start at £80-110/night. August and Christmas market week push every price up 30-50%. January and February offer the best rates.