Bath sits in a bowl, and almost everything you came for is inside a ten-minute circle: the abbey, the Roman Baths, the theatre and the river. What changes from hotel to hotel is which slope you are on. The city centre is flat and busy; Bathwick, across Pulteney Bridge, is quieter; Lansdown climbs towards the Royal Crescent; and the Lower Bristol Road runs west towards the second station. Below are ten hotels in Bath, grouped that way, with the star rating, guest score, address and station walk for each.

Where to stay in Bath: five areas worth comparing

Two stations serve the city, and they are not interchangeable: Bath Spa is central and is where trains from London arrive, while Oldfield Park is a mile west. Check which one your ticket names. The hotels in Bath below are grouped by these six areas, cheapest first within each group. Here for the baths and the abbey, book the centre; for an early train, the station side; for space and a garden, Bathwick.

City centre and the station side

This is the group to book if you want to step out of the door into the old city: the abbey, the Roman Baths and the theatre are all within a few minutes, and Bath Spa station is a short walk for arrival day. The Gainsborough is the one for the thermal spa; the Z is the budget bed. These three suit a late arrival or an early train: the Hampton is a five-minute walk from Bath Spa station, the Travelodge is even closer to the water at Widcombe Basin, and the Holiday Inn Express sits west along the Lower Bristol Road. All three are outside the busiest streets, which makes them quieter at night. The Kennet and Avon canal runs past Widcombe Basin, so a room on this side gets you an evening walk by water.

Bathwick hotels: across Pulteney Bridge

Bathwick is the elegant side of the river: Pulteney Bridge, the Holburne Museum at the end of Great Pulteney Street, and Sydney Gardens behind. The Macdonald is a big grounds-and-gardens hotel rather than a street-corner one, so it trades a fifteen-minute walk into the centre for quiet and space. The Holburne Museum sits at the far end of Great Pulteney Street, with the canal path behind it.

Lansdown hotels: the crescents and the views

Lansdown is where Bath shows off: the Royal Crescent, the Circus and the views back over the city, with the Queensberry the polished choice and the Lansdown Grove the value one. It is uphill from the centre, which is fine on the way out and slower on the way back, so it suits a stay where the hotel itself is part of the appeal. The Circus and the Royal Crescent are five minutes apart, and the walk down to the centre takes about a quarter of an hour.

Before you book: five practical checks

1. Expect peak rates at the Christmas market. The Christmas market, rugby at the Rec and the university ceremonies fill Bath's small hotels first, and weekends run well above midweek. Midweek is when the same rooms cost least.
2. Compare like with like. Breakfast, cancellation terms and parking all change the price at the same hotel, so check what each rate includes. Bath hotels are small, so the cheapest rooms are often the smallest.
3. Sort out parking and the clean air zone. Parking is scarce and often charged in the centre, and Bath's clean air zone applies to older vehicles — check both before you drive in.
4. Check the map pin. "Bath" listings include the Lower Bristol Road and Bathwick, both a 15-20 minute walk out, and some further west.
5. Know your station. Bath Spa is the central station and the one trains from London use; Oldfield Park is a mile west and serves the Lower Bristol Road hotels, with about twenty minutes on foot between the two.

Arriving in Bath: by train, coach or car

One last thing worth knowing: a train ticket to "Bath" means Bath Spa, not Oldfield Park. If your hotel is on the Lower Bristol Road, check which station your service actually calls at.

※ Prices, scores and availability change. Check the linked hotel pages for your dates before booking.