The County Hotel, Lytham Town Centre, Lytham St. Annes

Stayed here when visiting Lytham Beer Festival. Luckily we got the only remaining car park space at the front (there's only 4) but when we entered we found that our room wasn't ready. Went to the festival for a couple of pints and then came back to check in. The rooms are pretty basic to say the least although they were en-suite. Went back to the festival for a few more. The pub itself is very large and was fairly quiet despite being in the GBG and the beer festival being on. A couple of beer from Lytham on the bar and a couple of guests. We decided to eat here and my mixed grill was good value and well cooked. Went out for a couple of pints around Lytham and cam back here for a last one before bed. The pub itself is pleasant but too big really. The rooms are the opposite.

Big pub on the main road had a sports bar feel too it might be because it was the start of the world cup went into the beer Garden at the back its more of a yard with false grass walls all round felt like a kipper with all the smokers just could not take to it

This is a large pub and hotel on the main road through Lytham. The interior is even bigger than you initially expect from outside, with vast expanses of seating to either side of the entrance and the servery back on the rear wall. The bar runs in an L shape, heading down the rear right hand side of the room, past a narrow space with limited seating and eventually opening out into what appeared to be a large lounge, although this area was in darkness on my Sunday evening visit. A large vase full of sunflowers had been carefully arranged on the corner of the bar, which looked very impressive and brightened the place up no end. The rest of the room is haphazardly arranged across several levels, partitioned by various screens, bare brick pillars and sections of half panelled wall painted in neutral shades, and all ideal for anyone wanting to dine, which seems to be the pub's target market. A few old paintings and photos of local scenes can be found around the walls although the place is so large, it's hard to decorate it without it still looking pretty sparse. Several TV screens were showing a fairly uninteresting Spanish football match, although a couple of other customers seemed to be taking notice of it. Music played quietly in the background in lieu of any commentary. The pub specialises in pizzas and a quick look at the menu revealed an extensive and extremely tempting list of options, but sadly for me, the kitchen had just closed, so I had to make do with the aromas emanating from the pizza oven stood next to the bar. There is quite a pleasant seating area out to the front of the pub and the pub lives up to its name by offering 22 en-suite rooms. Ales from the local Lytham Brewery are a permanent fixture on the bar, with Gold and Trinity available on my visit, alongside Copper Dragon Golden Pippen and something from the Vale Brewery. A real cider took the final hand pump. The barman was extremely friendly and helpful, offering me tasters of the Lytham brews and telling me a bit about the brewery. I ended up with a pint of the Trinity which was excellent - the best kept Lytham Brewery beer I found during three days in the area. This is a nice place that seems to have found a reasonable balance between the needs of drinkers and diners. It does suffer from being perhaps a little too big, but then it was very quiet when I visited, which may have made it feel more impersonal than during peak times. A nice welcoming place and worth adding to any crawl around town.