Red Lion Hotel, Atherstone

Official site of the Red Lion Hotel - www.atherstoneredlion.co.uk

This is a large corner hotel, restaurant, Italian brasserie and bar. It is in a mock-Tudor style, with the central gable-ended frontage flanked by projecting gable-ended wings. The windows are Tudor at the front, but give way to sash at the sides. The place is in white render at the front, but has unrendered brick at the back. There is a rear conservatory and patio area. The interior - well, it is a nesting of rooms all served off a central corridor which was the old coach entrance bi-secting the hotel. The first room to the left is a modern Italian brasserie, called Cappellos. Opposite this is the King's Library, a self contained room with comfy chairs and dining tables for the Red Lion. The bar element is really is confined to tables in the passage way and a small lounge that faces the serving bar part way down - indeed, the hotel reception is adjacent. There is another room, the Lady Godiva room, which is for private dining. The corridor area is in cream with cream wood panel and is lit up by a glass roof/sky lighting. There is mainly stone flag floor, with some patterned carpet (in the lounge bit). The lounge is in cream and wood panel, with a brick fake Victorian 'kitchen' range. There are pennants from thos that fought at Bosworth juxtaposed with Jack Vettriano styled prints. There was Sky TV in the lounge. The service was fine and the clientele mixed, but mainly eating, from families to the loud business suited guy on his mobile that wanted us all to here his profanity laced conversation. Beer; the usual tap stuff with Wooden Hand Cornish Buccaneer and a reasonable Davenports Irish Whiskey Ale. It is a hotel and is mainly food orientated, so there is no traditional pub feel here. I have plenty of sympathy with the report of the Captain, below. Saying that, it did sell a couple of real ales. The kind of place i would pass through on a bit of a crawl, not aim for in itself.

Official site of the Red Lion Hotel - www.atherstoneredlion.co.uk