St Albans has hotels to suit all pockets.....

City Centre hotels (around 10 minutes drive from venue, depending on traffic):

• Travelodge (on main shopping and market street: newly opened)
• Premier Inn (on main shopping and market street)
• Clarion Collection Hotel (modern hotel in historic building, adjacent to shops and cathedral)
• Ardmore House Hotel (independent, short walk to city centre)
• St Michael's Manor Hotel (older style hotel in historic quarter)

Out of Town hotels:

• The Noke (Mercure, 2 minutes drive from venue)
• Sopwell House (luxury hotel with spa, 8 minutes drive)
• Premier Inn, Smug Oak Lane, Bricket Wood (5 minutes drive) n.b. take care finding this one - use AL2 3PN, not "Premier Inn Bricket Wood", as Google maps fails to distinguish this Premier Inn from the one in St Albans city centre! This Premier Inn hosts the local Beefeater 

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There's also plenty to see.....

• The Cathedral is the oldest site of continuous Christian worship in Britain
• Verulamium was the third largest city in Roman Britain. There is an excellent child-friendly museum, including spectacular mosaics
• The Museum and the medieval Clock Tower are well worth a look
• The street market dates from 1553 and offers a wide mix of goods every Saturday (and Wednesday)
• As a former coaching town, St Albans has numerous historic inns and pubs

For more information see www.enjoystalbans.com

FAQs

• What's changed from last year? just the £5 increase in registration (driven by increased venue hire)
• Why have you ignored my feedback? I haven't (but I may not have actioned it)
  • ​Longer matches in knockout stage?
    • ​The overriding constraint is limited availability of the venue: simply extending matches won't work
    • I've considered moving the first round of the knockout to Saturday evening, but that would lead to a very annoying wait for the majority of players while the Round Robin matches completed (plus the ensuing admin to transfer players into the slots in the knockout flights)
  • Is the seeding "fair"?
    • ​The St Albans Open is unusual (possibly unique) in its use of UKBGF rankings to carry out a full seeding of the Round Robin stage.  Whilst it is true that this benefits the top 16 seeds by avoiding their meeting in the same Round Robin group, it also leads to 16 groups each comprised a similar skill-mix. Looking at 2022's winners, the Main was won by seeds 18 and 31, the Conso by seeds 7 and 24; seeds 46, 47, 57  & 59 all made it to the money. In 2023, not one of the Round Robin outcomes matched the seeding!

 

• I register and subscribe to one of the entry tiers, and to some side-pools, then find I can't attend, can I have a full refund? Yes of course, provided your seat can be filled by somebody else.
• What catering will there be? The Lazy Llama cafe adjoins the venue, is open daily until 16:00-ish and sells paninis, rolls, cakes and ices. When the Lazy Llama is closed, tea, coffee, biscuits and microwaveable snacks will be available in the venue kitchen for a nominal charge on an honesty-box basis. There is a pub (Three Hammers), also Co-Op, bakery, Indian and Chinese takeaways at Chiswell Green (7 minute walk).
• Can I bring my (non-guide) dog? Well-behaved dogs are welcome to the ample green space of Greenwood Park; they are not allowed anywhere inside the building.