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Category: Accor

Accor Hotels – Newcastle Accidental Booking Review

I was eating breakfast this morning at the Mercure in Warsaw and because I’m really exciting, I thought I’d look at reviews of Accor Hotels on Trustpilot. I saw this review and thought that this must be nearly impossible to do and I was initially sceptical how someone could do that.

But I did a dummy booking and, actually, I can see exactly how someone would do this. Accor displays the price in GBP as standard for customers in the UK and as their hotels have similar external designs globally, I don’t see anything in the photo that would immediately stand out. I feel quite sorry for the guy, if he spent over £1,000 on room bookings for a hotel he couldn’t use, that’s really quite sub-optimal and I’d certainly be disappointed as it’s obviously not completely out of their hands. It’s actually very much in their hands.

April 20, 2025
Wrocław – Ibis budget Wrocław Południe

For my final night in Wrocław, I switched to the Ibis budget Wrocław Południe which was £30 including breakfast. Fortunately, I had enough points to pay all but 0.8zl (about 15p) which it was noted was the cheapest room they’d charged at the hotel for a while. On which matter, the receptionist was friendly, engaging and spoke beautiful English (as in, she spoke it beautifully rather than me making some general comment about how great English is as a language….).

I forgot to take a photo of the room as I was distracted by the welcome gift, which the hotel doesn’t really need to offer but I always appreciate it. Especially when it’s food. I have stayed at this hotel before, but it was around eight years ago and all I remember is the three mile walk to the city centre. I made sure to leave a five-star review because they gave me a doughnut and that is why hotels should give doughnuts…..

From my extensive collection of photos that I keep….. This is the room in 2017 when I last visited and it hasn’t changed much to be honest.

To quote the great philosopher Frank Spencer, a trouble shared is a trouble doubled, so there are other things…

The view from the window and it’s a peaceful location. The building in front is the Novotel, but it’s quite a bit more expensive than the Ibis Budget and I’m not as decadent as Richard.

The breakfast buffet arrangement, albeit at a slight angle.

Very hearty. Bread, butter, gherkins, salami, a hot dog sausage, tomato, cucumber, cheese, coffee and apple juice.

This is a photo I took in 2017 of the breakfast room, which also hasn’t really changed much. The on-line reviews of the hotel are generally positive, although I suspect that some people have some perhaps excessive expectations for a budget hotel. Such as….

“No brush or toothpaste. No water bottle or drinking water.”

I mean, there is drinking water out of the bloody tap. And there’s a Lidl a short walk away, but I’m not sure many hotels supply toothbrushes in rooms.

“No shelf under the sink”

I really don’t know how some people cope.

“The distance of the hotel from the most important points of the city of Wrocław. Everything is far away. For people who do not have a car at their disposal, it will be incredibly inconvenient.”

I’m annoyed on behalf of the hotel (I’m like that) about reviews like this. Why on earth book a hotel which is three miles out then? It’s a 45 minute walk into the city centre and there’s a bus stop which is a two minute walk away for those who want to use public transport.

“Breakfasts are a big disappointment, a few concise vegetables and cold cuts. I do not recommend buying!”

I like the hotel’s response which was “We would like to remind you that we are an economical one-star hotel that offers basic products for breakfast. However, this does not mean that there is nothing to choose from. In addition to cold meats and vegetables, we also serve yellow and white cheese, pâté, two types of salads, fruit, three hot dishes, breakfast cereals, yogurts and jams. However, if you are looking for more variety, we encourage you to check out the breakfast offer at our partner hotel Novotel Wrocław City, which is a three-star hotel. We believe that the breakfast offer of this hotel will meet your expectations regarding the variety of dishes”.

Anyway, I really like this hotel which is in a peaceful area of the city, it’s keenly priced, the staff are friendly and there were no noise issues. All really rather lovely and I managed admirably without a shelf under the sink.

March 26, 2025
Athens – Novotel Athenes

A sleepy bear at the Novotel Athens where I spent three days and I will say in advance that this hotel surprised and delighted me. I was very pleased to discover on arrival that they had upgraded me to a room on the top floor with a balcony and a free mini-bar of soft drinks which would be refilled daily, which is hardly bad when paying under £50 a night. Richard checked in later and they had shoved him on a lower floor and not given him a balcony, but he did have a view of the Acropolis if he looked carefully in the right direction. They gave him two macarons (one of which I had) and some wine to distract him from noticing how small his room was, but I didn’t say anything.

I liked that the receptionist pro-actively told us of the potential problems the next day and it was also signed around the hotel, but more of that later.

The room and it also had a large bathroom that had a bath and shower. I’m not a design expert, but the light colours were cooling and the carpet was clean and seemed a sensible colour to me. That’s it, that’s my design opinion.

The balcony. As one of those people who likes city noise, I rather liked keeping this door open at night. I didn’t have any noise issues internally or externally, indeed, it wasn’t entirely clear how many other guests were actually staying here. There was air conditioning, but I didn’t much need it on which was handy as opening the balcony door turned it off.

The receptionist said that they refilled this daily, although the cleaning staff forgot on the second day, but I won’t hold that against them. They were probably shell-shocked when they entered Richard’s room early without knocking, although he quite rightly went to reception to complain about that situation. There’s also a kettle for those wanting hot drinks.

The view from the balcony and I will say that it’s not the best location within Athens as it’s not the most salubrious of areas and it’s about a twenty-five minute walk to the Acropolis area. The hotel was built in 1988 and received a large renovation in 2007 which has given it more of a modern feel. There are some design quirks, there are two sets of double automatic doors which the hotel doesn’t use, but which guests keep trying to use as they don’t sign they’re out of use. The layout of reception, the restaurant and breakfast room isn’t in keeping with how the designs are arranged now, but everything was easy to find.

I did also have a view of the Acropolis (it is there if my two loyal blog readers look carefully), although I accept Richard’s was clearer than mine. There’s a swimming pool on top of the hotel, although I didn’t go and investigate it, nor did I burden myself with visiting the gym.

The welcome drink and I went for a Paulaner Weissbier which I’ve never had before, it was rather good, smooth with banana notes whilst being light and fluffy. Richard had a red wine which he hated. Bonus points to the hotel bar for the chilled glass and also the free nuts.

There is an underground car park over two levels and it’s free of charge, which is unusual. I won’t go into too much detail of the little crisis that Richard had when trying to drive out of the car park up the ramp, but I was very brave in very challenging circumstances where I thought we’d be there all day. All told, I thought that this was one of the best Accor hotels that I’ve stayed in. The staff were friendly, the hotel was spotlessly clean, the room exceeded my expectations and the service was on point. All rather lovely and a credit to the Accor chain.

March 3, 2025
Athens – ibis Styles Athens Routes (Visit 1)

The outside of the Ibis Styles in Athens where I was staying for one night, although I stayed there again for my last night in Athens. The staff member at reception was exceptionally friendly, explaining about the hotel and offering a positive first impression. It’s relatively centrally located and not far to walk for the Acropolis and other city centre delights.

The room which was an upgrade to the one that I booked. Spacious, cool, clean and with a desk.

It also had the benefit of having a balcony which brought about a rather pleasant breeze and I’m also one of those people who likes road noise.

The welcome drink and I was offered a choice of three beers, although they’re effectively all lagers. I went for the Mamos from the Athenian Brewery, a generic but not unpleasant clean and light beer. I also like the free snacks that are provided with drinks in most locations in Athens, this is one of the little policies that I wish was followed in the UK.

The on-line reviews are very positive and not many customers seem annoyed with them. The area is agreeable and doesn’t feel like you need a stab jacket, with the design feeling modern and on-trend. Their restaurant isn’t open at the moment other than for breakfast, although the bar is trading as usual. I didn’t have breakfast, as unfortunately the days of free breakfasts at Ibis Styles have long gone and the cost of over £12 seemed a bit high. I enjoyed the stay so much I booked to return for my final night, although matters weren’t quite as decadent on that one. But more about that another time…..

March 2, 2025
Rotherham – Ibis Rotherham East

This is now routinely the cheapest Accor hotel venue in the country (although it’s the fifth cheapest tonight, Ibis Lincoln is down to £34), priced even lower than the Ibis Budget hotels. I’ve now stayed here twice and the room rate has averaged £26 a night, which is to be fair not very sustainable. However, they don’t need it to be sustainable as the hotel is coming to the end of its 25 year lease and it’s on the market for £4 million and will cease being an Accor hotel in a few months.

I had a seven minute wait for check-in as there were no staff visible. It’s never entirely optimal, but I don’t think they were expecting many guests to check-in. I had two bookings, one of four nights and another of one night, but they didn’t have the technology to merge the two bookings and I often think it’s just best to keep them separate to avoid confusion. All the staff members were helpful and personable, it was probably the main thing that was keeping everything together at the moment.

The room is dated, but serviceable. It’s the old style Ibis design which was phased out several years ago, but I imagine there was little point making a large-scale investment at this stage. The broken hairdryer holder in one room had its last electrical safety check in 2007 to show how little has changed here. The bathrooms need a refit and they need to have the traces of mould removing as well, that’s a slightly sub-optimal arrangement.

I was disappointed when I e-mailed the hotel to say I might not be there for the first night (it was the day of the storm) and they didn’t burden themselves with taking the time to reply. I will be disappointed if I have to chase up the 200 points I got from the above ‘skip the clean’ offer, but I suspect I’ll have to. As a comparison, I e-mailed Ibis Budget Warsaw Centrum a couple of weeks ago to tell them I might be arriving at 01:00 (I’m aware they didn’t need to know this, but they do say to let them know) and they responded within three minutes.

They didn’t mention the welcome drink at check-in, but it was willingly given when I asked for it.

For my purposes, the hotel was generally clean and it represented excellent value for money when taking into account this is boosting my room stay nights at a very low price as I return to Platinum this year. It offers breakfast and meals, but they don’t try very hard to push these, and when I walked by the restaurant area was nearly always empty. It’s a challenge given that they’ve got a McDonald’s literally in front of the hotel, and a Greene King pub next to it. It’s a tired hotel and a country mile behind the standards of Ibis in Poland in particular, but at the price point they’re charging, I was entirely happy. There was some internal noise, but no external noise, with the temperature in the rooms being appropriate. There’s a good chance that I’ll stay here again before they cease being an Accor venue, especially as the regular First buses to Maltby to Sheffield go by the main road adjoining the hotel.

January 31, 2025
Manchester Trip : Wetherspoons Closed Early but Ibis Budget to the Rescue

Goodness knows what Richard was doing, but the doorman at Wetherspoons said that the manager had decided to close thirty minutes early, so we weren’t getting in there. We suspected that Richard annoyed them, but Liam and me didn’t say anything as we don’t like to cause offence.

Back to the hotel on the tram and Ibis Budget don’t usually give free welcome drinks, although one of my favourite hotels, the Katowice Ibis Budget, gives me a free coffee. However, here, they are going all out with any drink in the fridges available to status holders. Richard does anything for free alcohol, so he grabbed a Prosecco in an attempt to convince them that usually he stays in Sofitel branded hotels. Liam and me had a more relaxed experience, I went for a Hoegaarden wheat bear, a reliable choice. It wasn’t entirely clear that they expected many customers to want to sit in their seating area as it was rather dark, but it did for our late night drink. We had adventure the next morning that required me to be brave and so I needed a good night’s sleep. Well, at least four hours anyway.

December 30, 2024
Poznan – Hotel ibis Poznan Polnoc

I’m restarting my project to start visiting every Accor hotel in Poland (I mean, everyone has to have a hobby?), something which I was half-way through, and I might bring back my little Accor web-site that got a little bit lost in a server upgrade. Here’s the list that needs updating about which Accor hotels I’ve got to in Poland (which I accept isn’t riveting for anyone, but it’s handy for me to know). Or server downgrade as it evidently became. This hotel is located around six miles from the centre of Poznan and cost £34 for the night, although I got it free with rewards points from previous stays. I didn’t eat at KFC, but it’s certainly got a handy takeaway option nearby for those who want it.

The check-in process was a bit convoluted as it took a little while to be welcomed, but the team members were friendly and helpful. Unusually I didn’t get a keycard wallet, they just put a small post-it note with the room number on the keycard which seems an interesting way of going about matters. The room is the older style of Ibis design, but it’s one that I don’t dislike and it’s better than some of the newer designs in my mind. It was clean and organised, everything worked and there were no noise disturbances either internally or externally.

I had to ask about the welcome drink as although I wasn’t overly in need of one, I’m interested to see what the options there are. As expected as this is now commonplace, they’re using the app to do this, which makes matters easier. I noticed this list at reception which seems to be implemented at a few Accor hotels in Poland, which is odd as I thought they were all operated by Orbis, which limits the choice that others offer.

I went for the Żywiec Białe, which is a very agreeable wheat beer that I’ve had on a few occasions. For a small beer there was quite a faff about the procedure to get one, involving me signing a bit of paper, getting a receipt from reception and one from the till.

The reviews for the hotel generally are positive and I thought it represented a suitable and lower priced stay in Poznan. It’s not the easiest hotel to get to as it’s not located in the centre of Poznan, and it’s perhaps better for people with cars, but there is public transport there for those who want it although it requires a tram and a bus (or a tram, three buses and a walk if you decide to do things differently like me). And that’s another Accor Hotel ticked off the list, a list which I’ll get updated and fixed so my two loyal blog readers can follow along. Anyway, all suitably uneventful and a pleasant evening.

December 8, 2024
Katowice Trip – Ibis Budget Katowice

I’ve visited this hotel many times before, and have written about it many times before, and it’s always one of my favourite accommodation options in Poland. The staff are friendly, the rooms are clean, it’s peaceful, the breakfast is reliably decent, the prices are low and it’s just relaxing. This time, the hotel kindly upgraded me to the largest room they have, something I know because I had a little look on the fire escape plan, which for the low price is entirely functional for my needs.

I accept it’s not the most beautiful or luxurious room going, indeed some visitors have said they thought they were in prison, but I don’t have very decadent standards. My friend Richard is only happy if the hotel provides blueberries hand-picked by Finnish monks which are left in a bowl made from wood sourced in the Falkland Islands, placed next to a collection of towels made in the shape of swans. I’m generally happy with a door and a bed. Incidentally, this will be a handy way of seeing if Richard is reading this blog, as that might be my third loyal blog reader!

I won’t witter on here about the generalities of the hotel, as I did that on my last stay here in 2022.

Kettles don’t come as standard in Ibis Budget rooms, so I appreciated this kind gesture. They also provided sachets of honey with the tea which is something that I’m not sure I recall many other Accor hotels doing.

The obligatory breakfast photos from across my three night stay. It’s not exactly a gastronomical treat, but it is reliably filling and contains a range of pickled items. Sometimes the simplest of things, especially if they’re keenly priced, are the best. Coffee, orange juice, cold meats, something pickled, rolls and maybe even some fruit to shock and awe my body.

You can choose to not have your room cleaned and you get 100 Accor points each day for this. I went for this, and the allocation of the 200 points to my account was done same day, it’s sometimes something that I have to contact the hotel about after the trip. But Polish efficiency rarely fails them. There’s a Novotel which is literally next to the Ibis Budget and I’ve never made it there, partly because this hotel just feels the better value.

October 14, 2024
Gdansk Trip – Hotel Mercure Gdańsk Stare Miasto

OK, so this Accor hotel doesn’t blend into the background of Gdansk, but at least it’s easy to find as it’s visible from most of the city centre.

My room was on the fifteenth floor. The staff member at check-in was charming and I was surprised and delighted when I was told that I had been upgraded.

The room was a bit jam packed of stuff, but it was clean and comfortable.

Beautiful. That’s it, that’s all I’m going to write, this is beautiful.

Welcome to my complex world. I had been upgraded to a privilege room which usually come with free drinks and a little snack. However, the minibar door mentioned they were chargeable and there was no bottle opener. I was fairly confident that they were free, but I didn’t want to go to reception and ask as that would lead to a potential staff member having to disappoint me. And I usually carry a bottle opener around with me, but I haven’t been recently, although I’ve now fixed that omission. So, I compromised in case the mini bar was chargeable and just had the chocolate and coconut pieces. It was a suitable compromise with myself.

The hotel bar. My free drinks voucher wasn’t working on the app and the barman politely mentioned that I’d need to speak to reception. The helpful man at reception said that Accor had rolled out a load of stuff that didn’t work properly, promptly writing a voucher out by hand for me.

There were a decent amount of craft beers, I was suitably impressed, it felt testament to someone wanting to please beer drinkers by giving some thought as to the offering.

The view from my hotel room at night. Pretty special I think, the amber glow of the street lights, the spires of churches illuminated and people milling about. I rather liked being able to trace the footsteps of the city’s history below, the areas that had been rebuilt after the war, the buildings that had survived the centuries. It was possible to sit in the window and just watch the world, I struggled to recall many other hotels that I’ve stayed with such views of so many city landmarks.

This is what the rooms the other side of the hotel had as their view. I’d add I didn’t invite myself into someone’s room, there was a window by the lifts.

I loved this hotel, it was around £65 a night, but I thought that was entirely reasonable given the elevated views. This hotel was one of the few Accor hotels in the Gdansk wider region that I haven’t visited before, but I’m sure that I’ll be back here.

Oh, and I wasn’t charged for the chocolate in the minibar to avoid either of my two loyal blog readers having sleepless nights with the worry.

September 30, 2024
Belgrade Trip – Mercure Belgrade Excelsior (Accor Hotels)

Oops, in my enthusiasm I published an unfinished version of this post. My two loyal blog readers must have thought I had very little to say.

The reception area of the hotel, which is a grand 1920s affair which is an Accor hotels franchise. It has just celebrated its 100th birthday as it first opened on 15 March 1924, having been planned as a clinic but changed to a hotel during the building process. It was seized by the Nazis during the Second World War and used by the German General Staff, then it returned to a hotel in 1948 and it was owned by the employees. Privatised in 2008, it fits nicely into the Mercure branding and I like that they’ve retained its heritage.

The welcome at reception was immediate, friendly and engaging, which was handy after my little expedition to get to the place. The staff member excited and delighted me by telling me that I had been upgraded to a better room, which was very optimal.

Before I reached my room, I knew it would be just a little decadent as there was a seating area outside the room in case I needed a rest before arrival.

The room, which I admit looks a little drab in the photo, but it was dark outside and I hadn’t turned all the ambient lighting on. It was quite sizeable, with a large bathroom and it felt well building as I didn’t hear any noise from inside the hotel.

I had a balcony that I didn’t want to fall off as it looked a little low to me.

And the view of the Serbian Parliament building. I accept there are quite a few trees in front of it, but it’s definitely there.

The exterior of the hotel, my room was the second floor balcony room on the right hand side.

There were welcome snacks provided. I like welcome snacks.

And welcome drinks as well, all for free. As can be guessed, I like welcome drinks too.

I treated myself to breakfast in the mornings, and although I didn’t try any of the hot options, here they are as I have a sense of completeness…. Note the pastries, I tested those and was pleased.

They also had a fruit selection, which of course I could hardly keep my hands off.

Woooo, food photos from across the three mornings. I like continental breakfasts and mounds of bread, cold cuts and random cakes. The sauce in the penultimate photo is Ajvar and I suspect the hotel staff wondered where it kept going, but I got slightly obsessed with it. It’s a roasted pepper sauce with some chilli added, and I think some tomatoes and herbs. The breakfast room wasn’t very large, but it was a sedate experience that was all calm and comfortable.

And my welcome drink, which I actually had on the last evening. It’s a generic European lager, but it was free and the bar area was rather relaxing. I should have brought a book to read, but I didn’t, so once again I stared at my phone for thirty minutes.

I really liked this hotel, it wasn’t cheap, but the value for money was excellent and with the upgrade I was very pleased. The staff members were friendly, the room was spotlessly clean and I really rather liked my little balcony. If I return to Belgrade, I think I’ll come here again.

September 16, 2024