Name: The Red Lion Hotel
Address: Market Place, Matlock, Matlock, Matlock, DE4 4ET, United Kingdom
Rating: 8

Smoke-free property

All Spaces Non-Smoking (public and private)

General

Hairdryer

Rooms

Luggage storage

Services and amenities

Coffee/tea for guests

Breakfast

Restaurant

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Free internet

In-room internet

Internet

Tour assistance

Tourist services

Barbecue grill(s)

Picnic area

Recreation

Parking

Event facilities

Conference Hall

Business

Location

At the hotel

Room amenities

East Midlands Airport

Manchester Airport

Doncaster Sheffield Airport

Whitworth Art Gallery

Etihad Stadium

Manchester Museum

Manchester Conference Centre

Manchester Palace Theatre

Manchester Art Gallery

Piccadilly Gardens

Manchester Central Library

Manchester Central

Arndale Centre

Albert Square

Museum of Science and Industry

Manchester Opera House

Royal Exchange Theatre

Exchange Square

National Football Museum

Manchester Cathedral

People's History Museum

Manchester United Museum

Old Trafford

The Red Lion Hotel

Matlock

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

12-beds

13-beds

14-beds

15-beds

16-beds

17-beds

18-beds

19-beds

2-beds

20-beds

21-beds

22-beds

23-beds

24-beds

25-beds

26-beds

27-beds

28-beds

29-beds

3-beds

30-beds

31-beds

32-beds

33-beds

34-beds

35-beds

36-beds

37-beds

38-beds

39-beds

4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

A large selection of very good quality cask and craft beers along with all the other drinks.  These change rapidly so something new on. An outside bar operates on the busy evening and weekends.  Majority of patrons sit in the garden on benches (the car park) but great atmosphere on both the very hot nights we were there.  Someone about to play music on the Saturday evening as we left. Staff very friendly.  The pub is not serving food but there is a shack serving a choice of 6 things from Poland,sri lanka and Malaysia when we were there.  I read in another review that this changes.  However provided you are drinking you can bring in fish & chips from nearby if there is nothing on the menu suitable.

Making best of restrictions

My wife and I stayed here as we were breaking up a journey from Cornwall to Liverpool and decided to visit Matlock Bath as we hadn't been there for years.  The prices in Matlock itself are quite high, as is normal for that type of place,  however,  this is 10 minutes away and served by an excellent bus service,  right outside the door.
The young lady who checked us in was very polite and friendly,  she also gave us good advice as to how to get to the places we wanted to visit,  infact,  her boyfriend actually gave us a lift into Matlock as he was going that way.
Room was very spacious and clean, with plenty of tea and coffee.  Nice quiet location with plenty of varieties of real ales on tap.
Breakfast the next day was superb,  served by an equally friendly and helpful member of staff. 
Would I stay again  ? Definitely   it's a much cheaper alternative to staying in Matlock itself.

Convenient for Matlock and much cheaper 

This was a great place.
It is convenient and central, the rooms are good, the proprietor and staff helpful and friendly.
Car parking was convenient
Good beer and wine at the bar
Good breakfast service
Interesting history

Great place to stop

We stayed here because of its location, right in the heart of Wirksworth. Made to feel welcome on arrival and the room was quirky as expected. Bedding was spotless and we had a good nights sleep. A few things just need a bit of upgrading I think, which I believe they are working on. Great bar downstairs which we enjoyed too. It is an old building and not perfect but the location is what we enjoyed most so would stay again. The price was very inexpensive too so if it is upgraded probably will have to pay more. All in all a good stay hence the rating.

Lovely stay but needs a little upgrade in places

Great to see this old coaching Inn being revitalised, and stumble on a safely lively evening in the courtyard.     We had good and interesting street food from pop-up style Umami Wirksworth (Weds to Sundays, offering one veg or vegan & one non-veg dish from each of three different countries each week, find them on Facebook, website or Insta). Good choice of beers, and sitting in the courtyard we were then treated to live music - great to see singers finding their voice again coming out of lockdown, and it felt like a real & friendly community event.

Surprise Wednesday night in Wirksworth 

Stayed one night in late February.  My Husband and I were attending a Friend's "milestone" Birthday Party in the hotel and we had a room in the corridor off the main building and stairwell.  It was a room with two double beds in - one of them on the floor, which was quirky yet fine.  Our room was quiet, yet another room, possibly nearby, was apparently affected by the noise of the extractor fan, so that's possibly one to avoid.  The function room was nicely decorated, retaining its Georgian and historic character, yet modernised well.  Staff were all friendly and efficient and I'd particularly single out "A" for praise.  She was on both for the function and breakfast the following morning.  Her colleague who assisted at the function was also friendly and efficient.  Breakfast was great, lots of choice and taken in "The Snug" (?) on the other side of the Hotel from the main entrance.  It's an historic room and there was a fire laid for guests.    It's nicely decorated and retains its character.  Also, the pm we arrived (Saturday), the Manager showed us a spot to park in the car park at the back through the old carriage arch.  He had said on the phone that the car park would be busy Saturday pm with post-match sports people coming for refreshments in the main bar.  This was indeed the case.  Yet he made the effort to come out to us and make sure we had a spot - that was appreciated.  All in all a good stay in a very characterful, welcoming Hotel.  

Very Friendly, Welcoming and Comfortable Room

A friend and I were booked into this hotel for 3 nights however after the first night we decided to check out and find somewhere else.
On arrival only 1 room was ready for occupation and Anna, who checked us in at the bar, checked 4 more rooms before she found one that was ready for use. This meant that instead of being in adjoining rooms we were on different floors. The rooms were nicely furnished and comfortable however there was a problem with the electrics in my bathroom which caused the ceiling light to keep going out which was a bit unnerving when it happened while I was having a shower! After the bar closed and the staff left we realised that we were the only people in the building and there no instructions in the rooms about who to contact if there was a problem during the night. The whole place seemed tired and unloved and poorly managed. There were 2 mattresses and a number of tablecloths blocking the corridor on the floor where my room was. We decided not to eat there for dinner and went to a pub nearby however breakfast the following morning was excellent. The 3 members of staff that we met were friendly and helpful but the manager was nowhere to be seen. When we left we were checked out by the cleaner!

A disappointing stay

If I was rating the staff, location and quality of the breakfast I'd have selected 4 stars HOWEVER I can't because the accommodation is what I'm reviewing. The room was jaded and quirky but that wasn't an issue because a building of that age is bound to have dips and uneven floors etc. What was unacceptable was my frightening encounter with the huge overhead drench shower that fell off the wall and that I saved with my head, (huge lump now there that I'm talking to my doctor) almost slipping in the shower and really hurting myself. On inspection my husband noticed more than one Rawl plug in situ but no evidence of professional repair so clearly this had happened before. Lack of attention to maintenance is a reflection on poor management and hints at an owner that wants to see money rolling in without money rolling out. Not only that but one side of the bed, room 6,  was lumpy and very uncomfortable and oh my goodness the single glazed window was directly opposite a bank of air conditioning units that burst into action through the night causing us interrupted sleep. 14 of going back to Wirksworth in September but we wouldn't stay there again.

Wouldn't return

I arrived after a long journey a little after 8pm to find that they were not serving food but I was told what was available locally. Checked in at the bar (no reception).

Showed into room 6. Tired decor, chipped pain and peeling upholstery but clean and comfy bed. No double lock on the door . No overnight reception or phone number to contact anyone in an emergency  - as a lone traveller, I didn’t feel safe although there were no issues. I was informed that breakfast would be served between 8-9am - too late for me as needed to be at work by 8.30am. As I left the building early the next morning, there was a young man in the yard when I left who offered breakfast at this point - by which time it was too late to change my arrangements.

Toiletries, Bottled water and the Coffee with cafetière was a nice touch, although only one sachet provided (one cup).

Tiny ensuite built into the chimney breast alcove, not able to sit comfortably on the toilet without the door open. Shower not used as room was so cold couldn’t bear to.

Wifi - available but no password provided on check in or anywhere in the room, by which time I needed this, the bar had closed! There was a desk/dressing table to work at, but no socket on that side of the room for the laptop, poorly thought out.

The main reason for my low scoring review was the noise and room temperature contributing to no sleep AT ALL. Prior to closing time, the bar below was having some kind of banjo lessons or amateur music. This was extremely irritating and felt very noisy although there are only a handful of people in the bar. The single glazed window did not fully shut and there was a very loud motor/extractor fan outside the window which went on and off continuously from 1am - sounded like a plane taking off every 20 mins. The room was also very cold, not helped by the window and the radiator was not on. 

I cancelled the second night booking as there was no way I could endure another night.

I have delayed putting the review on as I hoped the £140 paid for 2 night dinner, bed and breakfast stay may have been compensated in some way as I only stayed 1 night and didn’t have a meal (not through choice), however the no-cancellation policy has been referenced and company has been charged in full. I have raised this with the travel organiser and will make sure that this “hotel” is removed from the business site so no one else experiences what I (and other reviewers) have experienced at the Red Lion.

Completely unsuitable for business guests

We booked for 2 nights initially, but called up 5 days in advance to say we couldn't make one of the nights. The manager cleared it and said it would be fine. When we arrived at the hotel for our one and only nights stay, we had been charged for both nights with some of it taken out of our deposit. We were informed that an employee had a phone call to say that we were actually coming for both nights, when we had clearly not made another phone call. There was no communication of who made this call. We definitely didn't. 

Deeply disappointed in service and will be trying to gain our money back through our bank now that the management are unwilling to do anything about this.  

A real shame as the room wasn't bad, although very noisy from bar guests.

Avoid this hotel.

The Red Lion Hotel

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