The best Bath hotels with parking
An insider's guide to the top hotels in Bath with parking, including the best for on-site parking, valet parking and vouchers for on-street parking, in locations including Bath city-centre and near to Thermae Bath Spa, The Royal Crescent and Royal Victoria Park.
Free on-site parking
The Bath Priory delivers the refined atmosphere and all the trappings of an upmarket country-house hotel, yet within walking distance of the city centre. With pelmeted curtains, classical and floral prints on walls, plumped up cushions on sofas and armchairs, along with slippers, robes and Molton Brown toiletries, the 33 rooms very much continue the traditional country-house hotel look. Under chef Sam Moody, the hotel has Bath's only Michelin-starred restaurant. For dinner, you can expect ambitious, rich and complex modern British dishes. Parking is available free of charge for hotel guests.
Grays occupies an imposing semi-detached Victorian villa set on the city's southern slopes, a 15-minute uphill walk from the centre of Bath. A sweeping staircase overhung with gilt mirrors and architectural prints sets the tone inside the house. The owners have designed the whole place with taste and flair: think sisal carpets, French-style furnishings and carefully coordinated colour schemes. Grays is a family-run – and professionally run – affair. There are 12 individually designed, thoroughly attractive and very comfy bedrooms. Parking is available free of charge for hotel guests.
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A substantial, three-storey late Georgian house built in 1830 as the country home for the Duke of Wellington, Apsley House is probably Bath's classiest upmarket b&b. The lounge, with its grand piano, gilt mirror, ruched curtains and leather armchairs, sets the refined tone. It opens on to an equally elegant breakfast room, laid out with a sense of occasion with white tablecloths; through its big bay window are expansive views over the outskirts of Bath and the countryside beyond. It's a half-hour walk in to the centre of Bath – a minor detour takes you through Royal Victoria Park (Bath's main park) and past The Royal Crescent. Free on-site, off-street parking is available.
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This upmarket b&b on the outskirts of Bath occupies a large, gabled, red-brick late-Victorian house built by the royal photographer to Queen Victoria. The house has attractive Victorian features, such as marble fireplaces in rooms and stained glass over the stairs. Public areas to relax in include the drawing room, where leather Chesterfields and candelabra set the tone, and a vast, paved terrace, laid out with statues, a fountain and multiple tables and chairs. The wide-ranging views from the terrace across to the northern fringes of Bath and Solsbury Hill are memorable. Free on-site, off-road parking is available.
Charged on-site parking
Set peacefully in expansive grounds just outside the centre of Bath, the large Macdonald Bath Spa Hotel – an amalgam of Georgian, Victorian and 20th-century buildings and wings – has an imposing grandeur. It's a very pleasant 15-minute walk via Sydney Gardens to the impressive Georgian sweep of Great Pulteney Street. The hotel stands at the top of a long drive overlooking lawns and giant cedar trees. At its core is a Greek Revival mansion built in 1836 as a home for a general. Public areas – notably the Vellore Restaurant in the former ballroom, and the drawing room with pillars, cornicing and oil paintings – are plush and stately. Car parking costs £5 for 24 hours.
The Francis occupies most of a side of Queen Square, one of Bath's most notable architectural set pieces. Queen Square is right in the city centre, a short stroll from the main shopping streets, the Roman Baths and Thermae Bath Spa. A modern chandelier is offset by an old grandfather clock in the lobby, and two-tone button-back armchairs sit amid peacock-patterned wallpaper in the bar/lounge. As you pass between townhouses in the corridors upstairs, the wallpaper changes and blue plaques on the walls indicate distinguished past residents who once lived here – including John Wood the Elder, the famous Bath architect and creator of Queen Square. There are 98 rooms, decorated in quirky neo-Regency style. Car parking costs £15 for an overnight stay.
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This b&b occupies a handsome, double-fronted Georgian townhouse, and bedrooms, which are furnished with a sprinkling of art and antiques, have an elegant simplicity allowing the character of the property to sing through. The hotel's location is as good as it gets in Bath – in the centre yet peaceful, on a wide, curving residential street of Georgian houses. The owner, Peter Sherwin, is an art collector, and eye-catching old and modern paintings are dotted all over the building – including above the wide staircase and in bedrooms. You definitely do not need a car if staying here, but if you do arrive by car, off-street parking in a private car park at the rear of the b&b is available for £12 a night, and an on-street parking permit for £5 per night.
Valet parking
This luxury hotel spreads over two townhouses in the centre of Bath's showpiece Georgian crescent, with a lovely garden and further buildings to the rear. The crescent is residential and very peaceful, with no passing traffic. Curvaceous staircases overseen by classical busts, lounges with chandeliers and oil paintings, and extravagant suites with elaborate stuccoed ceilings set the elegant tone. There are 45 bedrooms, roughly half in the townhouses in the crescent and half in the buildings at the back of the garden. The swanky Spa & Bath House is a big draw for many visitors. It includes a 12-metre indoor "relaxation" pool, vitality pool, sauna and steam room. Valet parking at the hotel is offered free of charge.
The first five-star hotel in Bath in 30 years, the Gainsborough is also the only one in Britain to have access to natural thermal waters. It's located right in the heart of town, a short walk from the station. Care has been taken to build on the hotel’s Georgian characteristics by introducing a sensitive blend of the traditional and the contemporary under the auspices of the New York‑based firm Champalimaud Design. There are subtle Asian touches too – a nod to YTL Hotels, the Malaysian owners. High ceilings (18ft) and tall windows are a feature of many of the 99 gloriously light-filled rooms and suites which are decorated in muted “Georgian” blues and browns. Valet parking is available for £38 per day.
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The hotel is spread over four interconnected Georgian townhouses on a quiet, residential street, just north of the centre up from the Assembly Rooms. The showpiece Circus is a two-minute walk away, the Royal Crescent and city centre shops less than five minutes on foot. While Bath’s other luxury hotels are ultra traditional, The Queensberry – its first owner was the eighth Marquess of Queensberry – is, despite its 18th-century surroundings, thoroughly modern in look. The 29 bedrooms are very individual. The minimalist basement restaurant, The Olive Tree, offers top-notch fine dining under chef Chris Cleghorn. Parking permits are provided (£6.25 per day if you book through the hotel; £12.50 if you book through an agent), and the fee includes valet parking if you wish.
Vouchers for on-street parking
This upmarket b&b is spread over two interconnected Georgian houses on Bath's finest-looking street, Great Pulteney. In addition to the central location, further selling points include the tasteful period-style furnishings, excellent breakfasts, first-rate service and often good-value rates. Inside, long sash windows and creaky floors abound, and furnishings are largely in keeping with the Georgian era. For example, the reception, which doubles as the living room, has a crystal chandelier, period portraits on the walls, and a carriage clock on the marble fireplace. In the rooms, furniture is period reproduction, but otherwise room styles vary. There are 16 parking vouchers available for guests on a first-come-first-served basis and are valid for 24 hours from arrival.
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A first-rate b&b converted from a pub, in a terraced Georgian building near the centre of Bath. The bubbly owners are exceptionally welcoming, bedrooms are stylish yet homely, and the breakfasts – eaten communally with other guests round a single table – are outstanding. Everywhere – the hall, stairs, breakfast room and bedrooms – is tastefully furnished with interesting paintings, photos and objects, and a successful, understated mix of antiques and modern pieces. Hill House manages to feel smart but homely, as is borne out by the hallway's bookcase of eclectic, browsable reading matter, much as you might find in a friend's living room. There are six parking vouchers (one per room) available for guests and are valid for 24 hours from arrival.
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This large b&b offers stylish yet reasonably priced accommodation in a pair of Victorian buildings close to Royal Victoria Park. The Royal Crescent is a short walk uphill, and it’s about 10 minutes on foot into the centre. Brooks is bigger than many places that call themselves a guesthouse – it has 22 bedrooms – as well as more stylish. Both in the lounge and bedrooms, its look could be described as Victorian chic. Think florid, metallic wallpaper, pretty fireplaces, gilt mirrors and chandeliers in the rooms. Using ingredients from local suppliers, proper chefs rustle up treats such as eggs Florentine, smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels, and sausage or bacon sandwiches for breakfast. Parking vouchers are available for £8 per overnight stay.
