Selsdon Park Hotel, Selsdon, South Croydon

Official site of Selsdon Park Hotel - www.devere.co.uk

Official site of Selsdon Park Hotel - www.devere.co.uk

The Selsdon Park Hotel is a wonderful Victorian country house set in 200 acres of land in this suburb of Croydon. Like many other landmark Croydon buildings, it was once the seat of a bishop, in this case the Bishops of Rochester, before it was converted to a hotel in 1924. The Tempus Bar is located in what looks to be a more recent addition to the building on the left hand side as you approach from the car park. Sadly the bar fails to match the grandeur of the rest of the building as it looks much like any other hotel bar you’ve been in. It’s a reasonably sized rectangular room with pastel shaded walls, decent carpet and a mixture of standard, sofa, high stool and tub chair seating. The decor is all a bit IKEA, with large lampshades, vases full of twigs and black and white photos on the walls making up the sum total of visual distractions. The front wall has a number of large windows which look out over the car park – probably the most boring panorama in the entire 200 acre estate. A TV was on in one corner showing rolling news coverage and I was surprised to find the place quite busy on my early evening visit. The hotel is down a private lane with no footpath, so it’s a bit awkward to reach if arriving by public transport. It was no surprise to find a lack of ale at the bar, but I did get a surprise when I was charged £4.10 for an insipid pint of Worthington Creamflow. Guinness is also available alongside the normal lager and cider suspects. I’m sure this is a nice place to stay the night, enjoy a round of golf or maybe even have your wedding reception, but I can’t in all honesty say it’s worth visiting just for a pint or two. Stick to the Spoon’s up the road instead.