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Selsdon Park Hotel, Selsdon, South Croydon
South Croydon
CR2 8YA
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 2½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Nick Davies left this review about Selsdon Park Hotel
The Selsdon Park is run by Principal-Hayley (who's Hayley? You expect to find the Brummie girl from the Archers on reception). Their end of the market is 'landmark' hotels like the Russell in Bloomsbury and the Palace in Manchester. They tend to look after their buildings responsibly and keep the more rabid refurbishment teams in check. They're often worth a nose round for their own sake. Certainly the Tempus Bars (no I don't know either) in their other hotels I've visited have been in keeping with the rest of the building and civilised and sometimes atmospheric places to have a drink. So what on earth were they thinking of at the Selsdon Park, well described by PSM below, though a pint of Wifebeater is now a fiver. If you go in the main entrance past reception you're greeted by baronial splendor which continues as you wander the corridors. Then you go through a door and enter what looks like an airport VIP lounge. You've found the bar.
A couple of random points. Those of a certain age may remember Ted Heath being called 'Selsdon Man' by some: this is to do with a Tory party meeting held here in the seventies, and there remains a Selsdon Group within the party. And those blinged up girls with the fake tans you might see smoking outside aren't necessarily residents of Croydon's more notorious estates just a stone's throw away. Palace uses the hotel as lodgings for away teams....but then again...
On 20th January 2013
- rating: 2
[User has posted 567 recommendations about 559 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Selsdon Park Hotel
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.
On 17th May 2012
- rating: 3
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]