AN INSPECTOR CALLS

He pays his way... and tells it like it is

LINCOLN Cathedral — described by the Victorian polymath John Ruskin as ‘out and out the most precious piece of architecture in the British Isles and roughly speaking worth any two other cathedrals we have’ — towers over the White Hart Hotel.

You can see parts of it through the glass ceiling in the dining room — and medieval Lincoln Castle is nearby, too. Overall, a perfect position in the historic ‘uphill’ part of town.

Local businessman Andrew Long bought the White Hart in 2022, after which it went through a major renovation, especially downstairs where now you walk off the street and into the Colonnade Cocktail Bar, with red leather armchairs and stools, and mirrorbacked bar. It’s bright and cheerful, but you can’t order a drink at the bar.

‘Please take a seat and we will take your order,’ is the restraining refrain.

Our room is not so cheery and the heating is on the blink. Dark curtains, dark carpet, dark headboard. But the bathroom, with tub and separate shower has clearly benefited from Mr Long’s largesse.

The restaurant, Antlers, is part of the hotel, but also has its own entrance on Bailgate. The menu is short. Asking for some bread and butter seems to cause concern. After a long wait, something stale arrives accompanied by butter that’s almost frozen.

But no complaints about the fillet steak with all the trimmings — and the service is notably friendly.

At check-in, we had been advised that the TV is fitted with a Fire Stick and that both remotes need to be on.

‘It shouldn’t cause any problems,’ the receptionist had said. But it does.

After trying in vain to get an ordinary BBC channel, I phone down and ask for help. The receptionist arrives and she, too, is perplexed but eventually gets BBC One, after which we don’t dare change a thing, not even the volume.

At check-out, a different receptionist is on duty, but there’s clearly been a good handover.

‘I gather you had problems with the heating and the TV,’ she says. ‘And so we would like to take 50 per cent off the cost of the room.’

I call that generous, but a gesture that will be remembered when next one comes to town.