Should you stay at a Wetherspoon Hotel?

Better known for cheap pints and curry nights, Wetherspoon hotel rooms in its pubs are a bargain, too. 

The pub company came third in our recent survey of the UK’s best and worst hotel chains, beating rival Greene King and budget brands Travelodge and Ibis. It was cheaper than all of them too, according to guests. 

Wetherspoon now has 56 hotels across the UK, often in city centres. We sent our undercover inspector to The Greenwood Hotel in west London to find out what you get for your money. 

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The Greenwood Hotel – JD Wetherspoon, Northolt, London 

Peak price £108

Check rates at The Greenwood Hotel with booking.com

Score 3

The Greenwood sits on a busy A-road deep in west London’s suburbs. It’s not the most scenic spot, but nearby Northolt Park station is only a 20-minute train ride from the centre of London. Like many Wetherspoon hotels, it has a lot more character than the average bland budget chain. Built in the late 1930s, The Greenwood still has its original Art Deco bars and light fittings, and windows advertising ‘Luncheon & Snacks’ and ‘Wines & Spirits’, as well as the usual slot machines and cheap drinks deals. 

Rooms: Only overnight guests can access the first floor, where the 12 rooms are off a corridor lined with black and white photos of Northolt’s RAF base. Decorated in greys, browns and beiges, our standard double room felt small and dull compared with the grand pub below. The decor was more dated than you'd get at an Ibis, but it had all the essentials (kettle, TV and iron) and a comfy bed with fresh sheets. 

The spotless bathroom had a decent shower but no shower gel or shampoo. There was a rumble of cars from the road, but you couldn’t hear a peep from the pub’s punters. 

In our hotel survey, Wetherspoon Hotels clinched three out of five stars for its bedrooms, bed comfort, bathroom, cleanliness and customer service. It only scored two stars for wi-fi, but the Greenwood’s was free and we found it fine for sending a few messages and emails.

Food and drink: The Greenwood serves up the standard Wetherspoon menu of calorific curries, pizzas and pub staples. Our tasty veggie burger came with half a dozen onion rings, a small mountain of flavourless chips and a glass of wine (£11.11). The old assembly room is now a dining room with a gilded ceiling and retro prints by local artists, and the stage where dance bands used to play is piled high with craft beer cans.

The next morning, we paid £4.64 for a (rather greasy) full English and bottomless coffee from a Lavazza machine. A good breakfast rating is almost as rare as a great value-for money rating – Wetherspoon earned four stars for both, but don’t expect gastropub grub.

Verdict: A bargain breakfast, comfortable room and good-value stay for London – if you don’t mind the distance from the city centre. Just remember to pack toiletries.

Reviewed August 2023.

How guests rated Wetherspoon Hotels  

More than 5,000 guests rated their recent stays in large and small hotel chains. Wetherspoon Hotels was the third highest-scoring big chain.

Find out how Wetherspoon compares to other budget chains

How we review hotels

Unlike all other national UK travel magazines and newspaper travel sections, Which? Travel never accepts freebies. We pay wherever we stay. 

All our hotel inspections take place anonymously. We book a standard double room online, just as you would, and we sample the hotel’s facilities, just as you would.

That means no special treatment, no reviewer upgrades and no opportunity for the hotel to influence our verdict. And no matter how badly the hotel fares, we always publish the review, warts and all. 

Our ratings

We use an overall star rating for the hotel based on what we think you should expect for the type of accommodation (B&B, luxury hotel, etc) and price.

All our ratings strictly adhere to the following criteria:

• 0 stars A dreadful hotel. We wouldn't recommend staying here.
• 1 star A sub-standard hotel that we think is well below average in its category.
• 2 stars An adequate hotel that we think has room for improvement.
• 3 stars A solid hotel that meets our expectations.
• 4 stars An excellent hotel that we think is above average in its category.
• 5 stars An exceptional hotel that we think is among the best of its type.

Best cheap hotels for under £100 - as rated by Which? Travel's undercover inspectors