The Queen Hotel (JD Wetherspoon), Aldershot

A Victorian hotel in the town centre, currently owned by JDW who have extended and updated the building to good effect. The bar area is entered along a ramp from the door to the main bar area. High vaulted ceilings in the extensions make it feel modern and open, and it’s actually quite pleasant. The staff were engaging and helpful, and there was the usual selection of gaming machines to entertain those who need it. There were two banks of six handpumps on the bar, but only 6 ales on plus a boxed cider behind the bar and a selection of bottled beers from Meantime, Brewdog and various foreign breweries. I had a pint of Hogs Back Bitter (HBB) which was tolerable but probably on its last legs. As Aldershot pubs go this is a safe bet.

As already noted this is a classy conversion of an old hotel and is still a hotel although it looks like the number of rooms is fairly limited. Inside it consists of several rooms and the main bar area has a mix of wooden floors, black & white tiles and carpet. The furnishings are not standard but a far better quality offering. The standard guest ale price is £2.29 which means it isn't the cheapest Spoons but nothing like the dearest. I did notice that four of the Club food offering were about a quid dearer than typical but it is a lot more opulent than many of their branches. The only problem for me was that they only have six beers on at a time. There is a "dead" set of six pumps behind a pillar that just shows what's coming next. On my visit they had the two GK Beers, Doom Bore, Hogs Back Tea & HBB and Welton's Topper Mild. I went for the Topper Mild (£2.39) which was in excellent condition. The three interesting beers of the six were all Locale which is a plus point. This is definitely one of the better Spoons which makes the limited beer choice something of a shame.

A bit of a surprise this one, in what is quite frankly a bit of a grotty town,I was expecting the worse possible scenario,but like Malden man in the previous review I too was pleasantly pleased to find a very smart and clean establishment. I called in on a Sunday morning for breakfast purposes,which turned out to be very nice,there are 12 handpumps mostly usual stuff but as Malden man also mentions there were four guests one of which I was pleased to see was Roosters Fort Smith,maybe a little heavy for breakfast but went down very well nonetheless.Interior exactly as described below as you would expect just six months on and I too have to agree with the sentiments below,certainly one of the better Wetherspoons I have visited. You live and learn.

The Queen Hotel page on the JD Wetherspoon website - www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk