please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
For those who like to knock 'Spoon pubs - look no further than here.
Tables not cleared - probably because the surface's are so sticky the plates are stuck.
The lighting is the same as when it was a cinema - you need a torch to see where you are going.
Disappointed first and last visit.
|
It's a Wetherspoons so you know what to expect: cheap but not what I would call a pub. My pint of Red Squirrel Hopfest was fine.
|
Occupying a former cinema, this Wetherspoon's seemed surprisingly empty when we arrived at about 7 o'clock on a Saturday night after a walk from St Albans. But it steadily filled up and became pretty busy by the time we left at about 9.30. As the beer festival was on, we had plenty to choose from and the ales we had (Stonehenge Old Smokey, and Two Birds) were both excellent. Service behind the bar was efficient and friendly and the pub seemed clean and well kept.
|
always has a good range of quality beers at low prices , monday there was 6 beers at £1.85 and 2 more at £1.99. they have beers from the spoons list plus local brewers red squirrel/ tring/ concrete cow and haresfoot. the foods very good and always hot. staff are helpful and keep the place spotless including the loos. easy disabled access and just 2 minutes from the bus depot.
|
very good pub, choice of 15 ales at £1.85 a pint plus regular beers , polite staff , good manager, very clean, interesting and surreal interior,mixture of clientele and no chip shortage like some pubs. just a moments walk from the bus depot and shops.
|
This is a truly bad place.
Of course, it has the great merit of good cask ales at great prices, but is that worth what it comes with here?
The newest innovations are now TV with the sound blaring. And, joy of joys, films with a deafening volume. I wonder what happened to Spoon standards?
Tim Martin should look at this place and close it down again.
|
Full House, Hemel
Large Wetherspoons that used to be a cinema...apparently the last 2 films shown were Star Wars and Labyrinth starring David Bowie!
As to be expected with these pubs there was a large amount of ales on offer...18 pumps some beers were doubled up making a total of 8 different beers available and a couple of ciders.
Busy with a large amount of staff meaning that getting served was not a problem.
Pleasant customers making my visit all good and if i'm ever in Hemel again I will return.
|
looking at some of the older comments it seems the place must have improved recently as i have been in a few timnes now in the week and the beer range is excelent and every one has been in great condition , the toilets also look amazing the staff told me they have been refurbished .
The atmosphere was ok with lots of food being served and the usual wetherspoon regulars dotted around .
|
Packed out for a Sat evening...ale was fine,plenty of it on.big enough place mind compared to spoons back in cumbria. Didnt find anything wrong about the place,but I dont live there.Enjoyed the banter in there. Beer cheap of course only �1.55 a pint with a Camra voucher..cant go wrong for cheap peeve.
|
I visited again, because JDW beer is cheap.
BUT - this is still a terrible place. A few years ago I nominated it as the worst Wetherspoon in the UK. I am sure that is even more valid now.
Stupidly, as I was there I had a "meal". It was absolute rubbish.
Years ago I tried several times to tell JDW managemnt about the state of thsi place - but absolutely no constructive response.
Now we have had a very visible food poisening outbreak So good to see the sense of responsibility. A quote - Wetherspoons spokesman Eddie Gershon said: �This might have been spread in the busy pub, however, there is no suggestion that it started in the pub itself.� What a sad joke about such a filthy place.
Interesting to see that the "deep clean" did not extend to the toilets. They still look and smell as if they have not been cleaned for years. God knows what the kitchens are like?
Normal people should stay well away from this place. It is truly awful
Mike.
|
Popped in last Saturday - thought I'd stumbled on to the film set of a wild west saloon the way the regulars truned and scowled at me - must be the two heads.
Standard JDW offer, full of cheap ale enthusiasts (some had clearly been very enthusiastic!) Why are JDW so successful? Oh, cheap ale, crap standards and 'anything goes' behaviour.
Avoid unless you wear jog bottoms for best.
|
Visited last month but as not impessed with the beer quality. Lots of beers from their recent festival but the Spinning Dog Brass in Pocket was deffinately off. Others tried were Thornbridge Pioneer, Exmoor Antler and Burton Bridge Draft Burton Ale.
|
Big pub, typical reasonably priced simple Weatherspoons food. As Weatherspoons pubs go this pretty good and pretty much a good as it gets in Hemel.
|
Nice building and a great well kept pint of Wychwood, 8/10
|
This place is awful, when you see an 18 year old girl throw up in the bar, goto the toilet, com out and get served then you know something is wrong!!
the staff jus walked over the puke! they didnt clean it up!!
anonymous - 18 Jun 2007 13:13 |
Strangely, the spoons in Chard was also once a cinema.
anonymous - 16 May 2007 13:17 |
Just seen the previous posting.
What a brilliant idea. They have a top 40 listing; why not a bottom 40.
It would not need to be confined to spoons pubs, although I guess they would feature prominently.
Suggest Chard in Somerset as a rival.
anonymous - 16 May 2007 13:15 |
I post this review in sadness because I value and use Wetherspoon a lot. I have sent them many notes about issues with my local Wetherspoon. Usually the elusive (non-exisitant?) "Area Manager" will deal with matters, but years on nothing ever changes. It might be fun to have a competition to find the worst Wetherspoon. The "Full House" would have my nomination.
Clearly houses are affected by clientele. And being in Hemel and next to the DHHS Benefits Office must be a problem.
On balance this is a really grim place. Dirty, uncared for and uncaring (But usuallly keeps good cask ale served ridiculously cold).
In sadness, Mike.
|
I like JDW pubs, but this is one of their blips.
This pub is big and full of all the dregs that Hemel has to offer. The wino sitting on the table on his own growling, the couple of loud drunks in strong Irish voices, arguing about everything whist they sway on the bar. ...and this was Saturday Lunchtime.
In the evening the client�le change, when it becomes a haunt for groups of youngsters. The pub certainly needs the large number of doormen to retain some resemblance of order.
Its one of those pubs that you just sence the atmosphere is just not quite right when you walk in!
JDW, this is not one of your better outlets!
anonymous - 1 Apr 2007 20:07 |
Converted cinema Spoon. As with other Spoons the mood varies with the client�le and the time of day. Sunday lunchtime is usually a relaxed, family orientated time in most Spoons, with a tendency to dirty tables later in the afternoon. Friday and Saturday nights tend to be busy with young drinkers. The decoration here is still bearing up, though the dark lighting is against the modern trend of lighter pubs. OK.
|
What a dreadful place. One of the worst Wetherspoons. I rememeber when this place used to be the old cinema. It also used to have the largest capacity of any pub in the country at one time.
|
Very Very Very badly run pub, i can not believe that a place this big only has about 4 bar staff working there, and to be fair they are run off there feet trying to serve every one, im not kidding when i would say at peak time at the weekend there could be about 80 to a 100 people if not more waiting to be served at the same time !!
what really pisses me off is the fact that they advertise all these great cheap deals to get you to go in the place and then you have to wait for 45 minutes to get served ( not including the 3 to 4 times that people will just push infront of you), and even when you do get served you then end up spilling most of it trying to fight your way through people to get to your seat.
The food I must say is really poor, i ate in here once and never again ! stale and cold.
The door staff have chips on there shoulders, this is not a suprise due to most of the people that drink there abuse them.
For marks out of 10 I am going to give it 1/10 , truly needs a lot of work to be done.
anonymous - 21 Dec 2006 11:28 |
I'd like to say the full house isn't a bad pub. But I am saine of mind and the men in white coats would come and pick me up if I did. There are 2 major problem with the Fully as it known by the hip kiddies that drink there is that no matter what time of day you approach the bar it seems impossible to get served as the ratio of bar person to customer is always roughly 1 to every 100. the other thing that kind of gets under my skin is that no matter when you enter this pub and order a pint it's always off they've run out and you have to settle for the flat crappy excuse for a pint. call me cynical but I think it's a master plan by wetherspoons to get everyone drinking crap beer DONT DO IT KIDS stay the hell away!!!
|
Despite the extremely poor reviews of this pub, we decided to visit it never having been there before. We did not witness any punch-ups but without any doubt it is one of the most cheerless, atmosphere-less and uncomfortable pubs we have ever been in!
This was not helped by the slobbish duty manager who thought it was all a bit of a laugh when we queried the poor display of Christmas beers. There was only one available despite a number of unused hand pumps. He gave no reasons for this.
At the time we were there, mid afternoon yesterday, it was reminiscent of break time in Dante's inferno.
This is definitely one pub in the JDW chain to be given a wide berth. It should be renamed 'The Full of Shit House'.
|
This place should be closed. Police were in four times on my last visit, food was awful (the few items that were available, that is) and the beer was barely drinkable. Worse than the 'Spoons in Margate and that's saying something.
|
I love to come here when i feel bad, i always leave feeling great about myself after looking at all the dirty little scum bags that drink in here.
If you ever really want to be started on for no reason and attacked then come on in, also the idiot doormen they employ can be 'warned' off if there is more that 2 of you.
The bar staff seem to be stuck in the back all night as there is usally about 500 people trying to be served by 1 spotty teenager who cant seem work out how a �5 note works !!!
Shathole !!!
anonymous - 16 Nov 2006 14:14 |
This place is truly awfull, because of the cheap prices the pub attracts all the drop outs and losers of hemel town, i must have heard of about 20 fights in or around that place over the last couple of years. Food and beer is shocking and no music, stay well clear.
|
Really helpful people in this place, why just the other week i was waiting at the bar when a local man stumbled into me and asked "what the F@%K was my problem was" !! when i turned round to move away the bar "lady" kindly informed ME that they didn't want any trouble and could I leave the bar immediately , i thought about arguing with them but i then again why would i want to be able to stay in a place where for the best part of a night there are 3 or 4 arguments/fights going on, i really wouldn't go back to the FULL (of ass holes) HOUSE, oh and also the beer really is the worst in hemel !
anonymous - 15 Sep 2006 12:15 |
Pikey and chav central, second only to Hogshead along the street as possibly the worst hellhole drinking establishments in the south east
anonymous - 15 Aug 2006 14:04 |
I totally agree with the last reviewer. Shithole, shit staff and shit beer generally sums up the place. If you dont get dodgy guts from the out-of-date beer then you will certainly get it from the cheap microwaved slop that they call 'food! Avoid at all costs.
anonymous - 21 Jul 2006 12:05 |
Im almost lost for words with this place ... went here to watch the football on the big screen (england v porchigal) which had a pretty good vibe to it at first then people started to launch things around including pints ! then all hell broke out and there must have been at the very least 70 people fighting, the T'V's where smashed and tables broken, they door staff actually just walked away and the police had to call in the riot squad to calm things, the pub has been closed for two days to "fix it up", this is a complet reflection of the sort of people who drink in this dive, i don't think i will ever want to go back into this place again.
the only good thing about it was that the doormen very wisly turned away families on this day.
|
not a bad pub on a sunday am.cheap breakfast,coffee-nicely spaced.much like other jds great value.u know what youre getting and more often than not they deliver
anonymous - 29 May 2006 00:34 |
good pub for daytime session with bit of cheapo wetherspoon grub to soak up all the cheap drinks, urgently needs music to stop the many conversations bein heard which can be bloody annoying
|
What can you say about this place. During the day the middle row of seating is occupied by the homeless, winos or deadbeats. In the evening the above are either completely slaughtered or have left, leaving a paradise for chavs, meatheads and classy birds - bling bling bling. What ever you do dont enjoy yourself too much as the only noise they like in here is people shouting over each other and the occasional, you looking at my bird?? PONY
|
Go in there on a busy night on your own,stand still and look around,listen,listen hard, the chattering,its like a Hitchcock film. AAAAAAARRGGHH !!
No music to break up that din. And when I breakout of Broadmoor I will never go back,ya hear !
|
Some JD Wetherspoon pubs are very well designed and are also run by attentive staff who seem to care about good beer and good service - that's why they get into The Good Beer Guide. Sadly, this JD's is not one of those, and it will need a more committed management team before it can even hope to become one of the better branches of a good pub chain!
But, because there are lots really dreadful pubs in Hemel and the Full House is a bit better than them, I can't score this one less than 5!
|
I agree with 'lordgreenhill', this place is great for a Friday night drink or ten....in fact its great anytime of the week. To those who say its full of 'posh' people, if you were in such excellent company yourselves then you wouldn't even notice those around you. Personally, I love this place, the drinks are cheap (and the cocktail pitchers taste great!), the atmosphere is friendly & lively at weekends, and the staff are brilliant. Ten out of ten.
|
I cant believe what i am reading. The Full House must be one of the greates pubs ever . IT is HUGE and i mean HUGE. It hasa fantastic modern interior and the range of beer on permanantly plus guests is also HUGE. Quality is nearly always very good.
The morons who have made the unflattering comments about the people who go there must themselves be very sad - --
|
Are there any posh folks living in Hemel?
TheGP - 29 Nov 2004 14:48 |
How can you describe a whetherspoons pub as posh and snobbish?
What sort of spit and sawdust establishments do you normally frequent??
Barry - 5 Oct 2004 13:35 |
the pub is to posh and snobbish. it needs more living in it. sorry but its true
nicheala - 20 Sep 2004 14:06 |
A massive pub, used to be a cinema.
Probably was better as a Cinema to be honest.
|
Typical Wetherspoon's place - cheap, and full of local bums.
However, if you're in Hemel, certainly stop for a pint - just to check out the amazing internal architecture/decor. I believe it used to be a cinema, and is well worth checking out.
For that reason alone, it's one of the better Wetherspoon's I've been to, and will be going back sometime.
|
No music or TV's. some game machines. Loud, normally busy.
Nice food, cheap drinks
Charlie - 5 May 2004 00:11 |
