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Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
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Detail Pages
The Portland Hotel (JD Wetherspoon), Chesterfield
Chesterfield
S40 1AY
Pub Type
J D WetherspoonReviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Portland Hotel (JD Wetherspoon)
Substantial, good-looking building that still offers hotel accommodation. The interior is less interesting, but at least it's partly sub-divided (with some slightly raised areas) so it doesn't feel too cavernous. Ruddles, Doom Bar and Abbot available from the two banks of five handpumps, along with a good guest selection comprising Ghost Ship, Salopian Golden Thread, Bite the Bullet! (£2.63) and St Bibiana from Oakham, Fuggle Bunny Cotton Tail and Welbeck Abbey's Cavendish. Overall, a much better cask ale selection than my last visit 16 years ago!
On 24th June 2024
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8679 recommendations about 8678 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Graham Coombs left this review about The Portland Hotel (JD Wetherspoon)
An above-average Spoons in a nice, large building and with a bit of life to it. All the usual elements but somehow it comes together and feels like a proper pub. Guest ales were from Beermats, Belhaven and Gadds.
On 28th January 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3641 recommendations about 3576 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about The Portland Hotel (JD Wetherspoon)
This large hotel was busy on my Saturday morning visit with mostly people in for breakfasts. It's a wide room split into various areas.
The bar has two sets of five hand pumps the first of which had the JDW Trio Of Doom and a couple of ciders. The other had one available soon, Dukeries Ray Of Sunshine, Grafton Lady Julia, the Everard's / JDW Defender and Oakham Bishop's Farewell. I went for the Lady Julia (£2.15) and the Bishop's Farewell (£2.30). Both were in first class condition but the Oakham beer was outstanding. Remarkably this quite opulent Spoons has cheaper beer than the other one in town.
On 8th June 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Al Bundy left this review about The Portland Hotel (JD Wetherspoon)
The better looking of the 2 Wethers in the town but the worst of the 2 beer wise today. Of the 10 handpumps 6 were the usual crap and only 3 of any interest with one 'available soon' on. It was a fairly desolate place this late Thursday afternoon. Its a large open plan place and a pleasant place despite the disappointing beer selection.
On 2nd June 2016
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3487 recommendations about 3390 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
ROB Camra left this review about The Portland Hotel (JD Wetherspoon)
An interesting JDW from the outside with it's black & white facade. Inside it's one room, but quite cleverly divided by partitions and a couple of raised areas. There's also a small area to the right of the bar which is easily missed. Very busy on our Tuesday lunchtime visit, but it was still easy to get served. A good range of festival beers on the handpumps and my Oakleaf 10 Little Acorns was in good shape. This is a JDW lodge and I suspect you could do a lot worse than stay here as Chesterfield isn't exactly overloaded with central hotels.
On 2nd November 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3286 recommendations about 3196 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Portland Hotel (JD Wetherspoon)
This Spoons has upped it's game from reading the two reviews below. This is also a Spoons hotel, the toilets were the closest to the main lounge without having to walk for miles through a labyrinth in the country. Toilets were very clean. Deco was red and greens and the rest we know. Six ales on, I went for the Elgoods, Black Dog and the Black Hole Brewery Red Dwarf.
On 25th June 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3645 recommendations about 3645 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Portland Hotel (JD Wetherspoon)
Large, impressive, building in the lower market square, the cream and black exterior with the rambling frontage makes a good impression. The interior however is a bit of a let-down, basically an open-plan room with the odd partition and a slightly more modern take on the Spoons-by-numbers look. Given it’s in the GBG my visit found only two guest ales on. I tried both and didn’t like either, one tasted particularly foul but as it was a new brewery to me (Wentworth), I’ll give the pub the benefit of the doubt this time. Usual Spoons fayre otherwise. The outside rear seating area looked popular.
Given what else Chesterfield has to offer pub-wise, I wouldn’t make a big effort for this one if my visit is atypical.
On 18th August 2010
- rating: 5
[User has posted 5552 recommendations about 5533 pubs]