Is the Coaching Inn the best hotel chain in the UK?

Not only has the Coaching Inn Group beaten luxury hotel brands like InterContinental and Sofitel to the top of our table of large hotel chain brands, it's done it at a very reasonable price.

We found you'll pay around £128 per night to stay at one of the groups' 36 hotels across England and Wales, which are mostly housed in old pubs and other historic buildings in town-centre locations.

The hotel chain received an impressive 81% customer score in our in our recent survey of the UK’s best hotel chains, and is a Which? Recommended Provider.

To find out why readers rated these inns so highly, in 2025 we sent our undercover inspector to the Coaching Inn at Great Dunmow, near Stansted Airport.

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The Saracen’s Head Hotel (Coaching Inn Group) - Great Dunmow, Essex

Price: £112.50

• Check rates at The Saracen's Head Hotel

Score: 3.5 

The role of the coaching inn has barely changed since it emerged in the 17^th century – to warm the cockles and slake the thirst of weary travellers. The potential pitfalls are much the same too: inedible gruel, greedy landlords, and sleep disturbed by the sound of a snaggle-toothed local venting their spleen outside your window. 

Enter the Coaching Inn Group – a Which? Recommended Provider and top-scoring large UK hotel chain. Since 1996, it’s been acquiring and restoring historic pubs, retaining their original character and, crucially, ensuring consistent high quality across its 36 market-town locations, including the Saracen’s Head.

Sandwiched between a café and a gym on Great Dunmow’s pretty high street, and festooned with flowers, this 15^th-century inn occupies a prime position – only 10 minutes from Stansted Airport. There’s a sizeable car park behind too, so it’s an excellent option for a pleasant pitstop before a morning flight. Staff at reception and behind the bar were quick to appear and consistently friendly and helpful during our stay.

What are the bedrooms like at the Coaching Inn Saracen’s Head?

The Saracen’s Head is part of the Coaching Inn Group’s ‘Classic Collection’ – its most basic in terms of amenities - but even so our room was clean and cosy with a leather bedhead and local photography on the walls.

Plump pillows and crisp sheets enabled an easy slumber, and the bathroom gleamed, though the over-bath shower, with clingy curtain, didn’t scream luxury. Nor did the faux driftwood wallpaper, which needed resticking in the corners.

Our room had a car park view, which is reassuring if you’ve left your cases in the car, but could be prone to early-morning noise. There’s no aircon, so we had our windows open, but weren’t rudely awoken on this occasion.

What is the food like at the Coaching Inn Saracen’s Head?

It was the pub itself that elevated the experience. With its ancient oak pillars, wood panelled bar, and lively local buzz it was a pleasure to spend time in. 

The menu too was well thought out - pub food with flair. Smoked almond nibbles, Asian duck salad and miso glazed cod sat among its more standard staples and we enjoyed the slightly off-piste pie of the day – a lamb hotpot, served with a delicious summer courgette and pinenut salad (£18).

Breakfast was a cut above too. A fairly standard buffet of toast, fruit, nuts and cereals was supplemented with table-service and cooked-to-order classics, including a full English and our perfectly poached eggs benedict with tangy hollandaise sauce.

Verdict 

It’s not luxury, but then this a bargain price for a convenient location, great food and friendly pub with bags of character. You can see why members named it the UK’s best hotel chain.

Reviewed November 2025.

How guests rated Coaching Inn Group Hotels

More than 4,000 guests rated their recent stays in large hotel chains. Coaching Inn Group is at the top of the table

See full details of the survey and find out how Coaching Inn Group compares to other 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. 

Read more about how our undercover inspectors review and rate hotels

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.
• 5 stars An exceptional hotel that we think is among the best of its type.