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The County Hotel (JD Wetherspoon), Ashford
Ashford
TN24 8TD
Pub Type
J D WetherspoonReviews (Current Rating Average: 5½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The County Hotel (JD Wetherspoon)
I made a couple of visits to this pub during my recent trip to Ashford. The first visit was on Friday evening when it was noisy and absolutely heaving with people, mostly youngish types presumably embarking on a night out to sample the Ashford high life. Or perhaps they were just getting tanked up on cheap booze. The second visit was on Saturday morning for a breakfast before catching a train, when it was a much quiter and civilised place.
It hasn't changed since the previous reviewer's visit. It's got the typical 'spoons furnishings of tall tables/tall stools, and dark varnished tables and normal chairs crammed into the place. I didn't note all the beers, or prices, but as I recall there was a good ale selection on both of my visits. On the question of prices, I noted that the traditional breakfast was £3.35, which is the same as I encountered in a 'spoons in Peckham recently. Not sure what to make of that.
I found it to be a typical 'spoons. It was a very different place on the two occasions on which I visited, but most pubs are like that. I'd be OK with visiting it again if I end up in Ashford again.
On 20th October 2017
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about The County Hotel (JD Wetherspoon)
My Kent beer guide from over 20 years ago revrals that this place sold Courage Best and Harvey's Best so one must assume this was a Courage pub. If other original pubs JDW have taken over are anything to go by one it would have had a chequered past.
Essentially this one is a large split level room but the front part is divided up into smaller areas. The bar is towards the rear on the right and straddles both levels. There is a patio at the back. Overall the place seemed to be running OK on my early Friday afternoon visit.
The lower section of the bar has six hand pumps then there are two rows of four in the upper part. Despite all of these the choice was not that great with the JDW Trio Of Doom plus one of their International beers doubled up and four Available Soon. This left just the local G2 Crux & Otava IPA. I tried both of these (£2.80) and they were in good condition.
This place is expensive for a JDW with a standard guest ale price of £2.65. I could live with that if it wasn't for all the Available Soon options. This could be a very good Spoons but with the poor beer choice it's slightly above average.
On 23rd September 2016
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The County Hotel (JD Wetherspoon)
I have had issues with this place in the past (including a complete absence of real ales on one occasion and just one on during a previous festival), but it was fine on my last visit five years ago and OK again today. Split-level layout, with a variety of seating areas in the opened-out interior of the former hotel. Also has a patio beer garden to the rear. Seven beers available from a total of 12 handpumps on different parts of the counter, including a decent pint of Cotswold OSM (£2.40). All-in-all, not too bad for a town centre pub with a bit of a dodgy reputation.
On 28th September 2014
- rating: 6
[User has posted 8086 recommendations about 8086 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about The County Hotel (JD Wetherspoon)
The County Hotel is a huge Wetherspoons that was busy with a young party crowd on Friday night last week. There is a large front seating area and then steps up to the bar where standard draught and a mix of guests and usual JDW ales are available. Beyond the bar is more seating and a patio area that was mobbed with young’uns is found out the back.
Cheap beer and cheap food served all day.
On 18th March 2013
- rating: 5
[User has posted 5228 recommendations about 5196 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
E TA left this review about The County Hotel (JD Wetherspoon)
An inn since the late 19th Century, The County Hotel is now one of Wetherspoons's better outlets and is one of the better pubs in Ashford. The building is a lovely old Victorian hotel, one of the few decent buildings remaining in the town. The front bar has a restaurant-type ambience, although the food doesn't quite match up to the image and the profusion of gaming machines spoils the atmosphere. There is a large seating area and outside patio to the rear. The main bar is a decent size and has snugs dotted around to give the illusion of privacy. There is of course the usual small cadre of in-breds and down-and-outs that JDWs attract (which flags up that "The County Hotel" anagrams to "the toothy uncle"...) but the majority of the clientele are shoppers and the more mature element. There were 5 ales on - I had Staffordshire Knot Brown for its novelty value, which was much too cold for my liking but was still a fine pint. A definite for inclusion in a town crawl and OK to drop in for a swift one if passing.
On 16th March 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3281 recommendations about 3246 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Manky Badger left this review about The County Hotel (JD Wetherspoon)
It's a Wetherspoons, and for a lot of people that's enough to put you off.
But as JDs go, it's one of the better ones. OK, so the beer might occasionally be past it's best, but they understand this and will swap your beer for another whilst taking off the iffy barrel.
And (to be frank) there's not much else pub-wise in Ashford that comes anywhere close to this place.
Re-visited the place in December 2010. I stand by what I said before...
On 19th December 2010
- rating: 6
[User has posted 155 recommendations about 154 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john mcgraw left this review about The County Hotel (JD Wetherspoon)
Large spoons with lots of separate drinking areas including an outside area.On my visit not much in the way of real ales only "available soon".How soon is anyones guess.
On 16th May 2010
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2044 recommendations about 2025 pubs]