Where to stay in Chester: the best areas and hotels

Four main streets meet at the Cross, just as they did when this was a Roman fortress, and along them run the Rows: covered medieval walkways at first-floor level with a second tier of shops above the first. The Eastgate Clock straddles the wall at one end, the red sandstone cathedral sits just to the north, and Lower Bridge Street slopes down past coaching inns to the River Dee.

The Chester Grosvenor is the city's landmark hotel, with a spa and Simon Radley's fine-dining restaurant. Oddfellows fills an elegant Georgian building a few minutes from the river, its rooms inspired by local artists and architects. Macdonald New Blossoms is a traditional hotel in the historic heart, and The Pied Bull is a coaching inn with 31 rooms steps from the walls.

Chester Racecourse, known as the Roodee, lies in a green bowl between the city walls and the River Dee, and horses have raced here since the 16th century. On race days the whole city dresses up. The rest of the year this western side of the centre is simply a convenient place to stay, five minutes' walk from the Rows.

Roomzzz Chester City has 64 apartments next to the course, including five penthouses with balconies overlooking the track. Holiday Inn Express Chester Racecourse stands on the racecourse grounds, with breakfast included. Abode Chester has a fitness centre and 24-hour room service, and the Crowne Plaza adds a heated pool, a sauna and a grill with views of the Welsh hills.

The station is about a 15-minute walk from the Eastgate, along a street of Victorian hotels and pubs. South of it, Grosvenor Park slopes down to the Dee, where the Groves, a tree-lined riverside promenade, has a bandstand, ice-cream kiosks and boats for hire.

The Queen at Chester has been welcoming rail travellers since 1860 and is known for its heritage and handsome public rooms. Hotel Indigo is a contemporary boutique hotel built in 2019, its design a nod to the city's architecture and racing history. Moxy Chester is a playful, good-value choice near Grosvenor Park, and The Boathouse & Riverside Rooms has a terrace and free parking, within a 15-minute walk of the cathedral.

Chester is ringed by country-house hotels that are close enough for an evening in the city and far enough for peace. Most have free parking and a spa, which makes them popular for weekends away, and Chester Zoo and the Cheshire Oaks outlet village are a short drive.

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Spa Chester is a restored 18th-century manor in twelve acres of gardens, a few minutes from the centre. Grosvenor Pulford Hotel & Spa is privately owned, with 75 rooms on the border with North Wales. Rowton Hall has an indoor pool, a steam room and 37 rooms, and Mercure Chester Abbots Well has a health club in two acres of grounds, two miles from the city.

South and east of Chester, Cheshire turns into rolling dairy country cut by a wooded sandstone ridge. It is walking, golfing and long-lunch territory. Carden Park, about 20 minutes' drive from the city, is the big resort: 1,000 acres with two championship golf courses and a modern spa.

The Pheasant Inn sits among the hills with wide panoramic views, a 15-minute drive from Chester. Peckforton Castle is a Victorian fortress turned hotel with two restaurants, and Nunsmere Hall is an elegant Edwardian house a short drive from Delamere Forest.

Crewe, in south Cheshire, is one of Britain's great railway junctions, with fast trains to Manchester, Birmingham and London. Its neighbour Nantwich is the prettier of the two, a market town of black-and-white houses. Between them they have a couple of very grand places to stay.

Crewe Hall Hotel & Spa is a stately home with 117 rooms, including historic suites. Rookery Hall has a full spa with an indoor pool and hot tub. The Crewe Arms, beside the station, is a red-brick railway hotel that counts Queen Victoria among its past guests, and Wychwood Park is a contemporary hotel beside a golf course.