Nothing Typifies the Regent splendour of Cheltenham like the Queens Hotel.

Sometimes being a reviewer is a hard job - you get to stay in all the places you've fancied for years! This particularly is a case in point since seeing all the celebrities and famous faces stay there from my time as a press officer at the Festival of Literature.

At one time in its history, the Queen's was the largest hotel in Britain according to a historic advertisement in the lounge. It's got an old colonial feel to it, reminding me of Earnest Hemmingway's favourite hotel in Cuba, the Ambos Mundos.

We had a large room at the top front of the hotel, with views across the Promenade and Cotswold Hills. It was comfortable and co-ordinated, with a large bed (I'm always impressed with hotel beds with cushions, sets it apart from the usual chain hotels!), sofa and walk-in-wardrobe. Perhaps some of the wardrobe space could have been given to the bathroom, which was a little on the small side.

Although the rest of the hotel may have old world charm, the Napier Restaurant felt like a slice of Cheltenham chic. The modern browns and creams played well with the Regency-style architecture.

To start we had a creamy pea and rocket soup, and pressed ham hock terrine with piccalilli. For our main courses, pot roasted corn fed chicken and roasted lamb. For pudding I opted for glazed lemon tart with lime crme fraiche. This was nice enough but really wished I'd ordered my husband's choice - mouth-watering trio of chocolate with rich chocolate sauce (I ended up eating most of it).

The staff were efficient and friendly - absolutely essential whether there for business, pleasure - or even a wedding, as some were on the Sunday. The hotel has its own parking which, in a large town or city, can save the guest a fortune.

The joys of staying in a town hotel is that you get to splash out money (any day of the week) at trendy shops, take a break at any number of cafes (the privately run Boogaloo's opposite House of Fraser gets my vote), enjoy an evening at the Everyman Theatre, Town Hall or more, and go on to a bar or club.

Then, the next day, walk it off in the award-winning Imperial Gardens directly in front of the hotel or do it all over again.