Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Accor Hotels

Friedrichshafen – Ibis Styles

The final night of our European trip a few weeks ago was to Friedrichshafen and so the first port of call was the Accor operated Ibis Styles. I had rather expected it to be a little more centrally located, but if I had looked at a map before booking it that might have been helpful. Fortunately, it was still walkable, even for Richard, so we were happy with the location.

We were greeted at reception with this mention that we could phone someone for attention. I am most certainly not calling anyone, as I’m quite millennial, I’d rather have a nice WhatsApp link to chat away using text. Anyway, Richard then came clattering into the hotel with his big executive bag and so the receptionist heard us so that avoided that problem.

It was all bright and spacious in the hotel reception, the whole arrangement felt modern. The welcome at reception was also friendly which is always a positive start to any visit.

The seating area by the reception desk.

The walk to the room was along long corridors which took a little longer than ideal to actually light up as the sensors seemed to be rather sluggish.

I reached my room first and noticed the lack of welcome gift, but I was reassured when a few minutes later Richard confirmed to me that he hadn’t got one either. I wasn’t surprised, Accor hotels in Germany aren’t as consistently excellent as the ones in Poland. But I don’t go on about that. I would have gone to reception to complain if Richard had a gift and I didn’t though, as I’m like that….

I couldn’t understand why Richard left this when he got his coffee in McDonald’s earlier on in the day, but waste not, want not. So I had it as my own little welcome gift to myself.

We had our welcome drink after returning back in the evening and the set-up here is that they have a joint reception and bar. The staff member was friendly, engaging and welcoming, with the service always being personable during our visit.

I was surprised and delighted at the choice of beers that I could have as the welcome drink, I opted for the Benediktiner Weissbier Dunkel which is a dark wheat beer. This was decent, it was robust with the wheat beer banana notes and I’m genuinely not sure I’ve had this exact beer style before. Richard opted for some wine and he enchanted the receptionist with his grape chat.

We then sat for hours trying to work out how to get the missing images from this blog sorted. That’s nearly resolved now. This blog is sometimes something of a headache, but I have to persist for my two loyal blog readers. And my own memory actually, I like to be reminded where I’ve been.

We opted to have breakfast at the hotel and there was a decent selection available. He’s Richard getting ready for his coffee and Coco Pops.

The bread selection.

I liked those little edible containers (well, I ate them) for the honey and jams.

And the butter machine.

The cold meats and salad items. Sometimes the ham served at breakfast isn’t entirely appetising, but the ham here was so delicious that I might have had about a kilo of it. I exaggerate, but only slightly….

One of my several plates as I’m quite greedy. The Germans do breakfast perhaps as well as anyone in the world, so I was entirely happy with this whole offering. The breakfast area is also spacious and stress-free, so that helped with the calm and laid-back start to the day.

I really quite liked this hotel, although it felt a little soulless for an Ibis Styles and I’m not sure why they picked that branding for this Accor hotel. But, the rooms were clean, the staff were friendly, the welcome drink selection was generous, the prices were reasonable and so I could forgive the lack of a welcome gift. And if Richard is reading this, he’s probably still wondering how he missed his wafer with his McDonald’s coffee and I couldn’t possibly comment.

September 29, 2025
Tirana – Mercure Tirana

I’d just got off the bus from the airport and thought I’d take this photo with the beautiful light. Clearly so shaken by the bus journey, I managed to mess that up.

To make up for it, here’s a replacement shot from the following morning when I was marginally more awake and less traumatised by public transport.

The bar area of this Accor hotel.

The welcome drink and it was another smooth and generic European lager, but I like free things and it was refreshing in the extreme heat.

The room and they only had twins available. To my slight annoyance, this had a connecting door to the neighbouring room, which I hate anyway (and have to pile up furniture to prevent any access), and it was also not properly sound protected. They’ve only just built this hotel, so this just seems like a pointless small saving for the annoyance it’s already caused judging from the reviews. Anyway, I opened my window and the road noise drowned out any conversation from the neighbouring room. Fortunately, I very much like road noise, so all was well.

The view from the window.

If there’s a fire at the hotel, the general manager will get called out on this as the emergency plan is complete nonsense. Which means in the event of an actual emergency a guest might probably wander off in the wrong direction and for a brand new hotel, that’s a rather impressive oversight. They’ve been told about this in reviews and haven’t corrected it. Being quite dull, I always already know where the lifts and stairs are in nearly every hotel as I check in advance, but they’d be better to take these down and have nothing than to have widely incorrect plans. In this plan, the room highlighted is at the rear of the hotel, but I was at the very front.

Breakfast was very peaceful as the dining room was large and quiet, with the staff being attentive and plentiful. The filter coffee was a little drab, but that cherry jam was formidable. It’s one of the punchiest cheeses that I’ve had, but there were plenty of juices to temper the flavour a little. All absolutely fine though with plenty of choice and numerous breads and croissants.

I liked this hotel and would stay again, but they really do need to sort out the sound protection between the rooms as it shouldn’t be like that in a new build. Most people don’t want to open the windows to hear road noise to resolve the issue, I accept that I’m odd in that regard. The air conditioning seemed temperamental, some reviews have suggested it’s because they’re turning it off and on at reception. Either way, the room was tolerable in terms of heat and I set the bar quite high on that, so I suspect most guests would have been entirely happy. The highlight was the breakfast, but as for the fire plan, let’s just say don’t rely on it unless you’re keen on a spontaneous tour of the wrong part of the building.

The hotel is around a one hour walk from the city centre, so I decided that’s what I would do in the extreme heat, although there are buses and taxis available for those who don’t feel the need to walk everywhere.

July 25, 2025
Faro – Faro Ibis

This is the second time that I’ve stayed at this Accor operated hotel, located halfway between the airport and the Old Town of Faro. This was ideal for me as it put within walking distance of the airport, but I suppose it’s also handy if you’re the sort of person who can’t decide whether you want to be near planes or actual civilisation.

Check-in took nearly fifteen minutes because of two guests in front faffing about with their reservation, it felt like that they were negotiating some UN peace agreement.

My welcome drink of Sagres, a generic tasting beer which did meet the key requirement of being refreshing, although the brewery haven’t burdened themselves with what I consider a key requirement of it actually tasting of anything. The staff member, with commendable honesty, told me it was “only available in small” which somehow felt both welcoming and not. I wasn’t exactly planning a major session at the bar with my free drink, but it does feel like the sort of policy that saves the hotel about £10 a year while just very mildly irritating everyone.

The standard Ibis set-up with a desk, which is how I like it.

There was a welcome gift of pasteis de nata and bottled water and it’s hard not to feel welcomed when someone provides me with free custard tarts.

The view from the window over the sun scorched land.

The view from the side window of the corridor and the hotel’s main draw (although not to me) is the swimming pool.

All told, I rather liked this hotel and there were no noise issues, although I had my favourite room location of the top floor far away from the lift. The team members were friendly, the room was clean and I liked the custard tarts.

July 22, 2025
Bratislava – Ibis Bratislava Centrum

I had one night at the Ibis Bratislava Centrum, staying loyal once again to Accor Hotels. It’s centrally located in the city, around a five minute walk away from the city centre with its restaurants, museums and craft beer bars. It’s also quite convenient, as might be obvious from the photo, to the tram line. The slightly odd thing in terms of first impressions is that they drape the mat outside the front door so that it’s over the top step, I’m moderately surprised no-one has fallen down the stairs, especially as some of the tiles are chipped and damaged.

The room is the standard Ibis design, but I’m content with that. The staff member at reception was friendly and helpful, but there was quite a queue to check-in when I arrived. Fortunately, I’m rarely in a rush unless there’s a bakery or craft beer bar involved. As a minor point, they could though do with more power points, they are all over by the desk and they could probably do with them by the bed. I think that’s usually resolved though when the room renovations take place.

My welcome gifts and I particularly liked that chunky fridge magnet. Well, and the chocolate and the peanuts, there’s always a need for food based gifts. Call it an edible bribe.

And my welcome drink from the downstairs bar, the Urpiner Classic 10. It was the only beer that was available as a welcome drink and to be honest, I’m surprised that the fridge magnet didn’t stick to it as it tasted so metallic. It’s a very basic beer which was pretty devoid of any flavour, maybe some malt although I wondered whether that was just some slightly tasty dust. But, it was free, so I drank it.

The breakfast room was relatively quiet, which always makes for a calm start to the day. The staff member at the little desk had a friendly welcome as I arrived, but she said my room number wasn’t on her list for breakfast. She phoned downstairs to the reception desk and seemed pleased with their response as I was allowed in without any further query.

There were a variety of different seating types. This room is only used as the breakfast room as the bar is downstairs and the hotel doesn’t offer hot meals.

The breakfast buffet selection.

Delicious. There was a limited hot food selection, but I ignored that as usual, going for the cold food selection. That baguette was really decent, I had quite a lot of that bread along with half the hotel’s tomatoes, gherkins and pickled onions. I know how to live….

The view from my window over the city. It’s probably not the best view from a hotel room in Bratislava, but I liked looking at the trams going by. I also managed to make my room very cold, which pleased me greatly that the air conditioning was working, as the temperature outside was ridiculous.

I’m not sure that I entirely like “only use the stairs in an emergency” as that clutters up the lifts needlessly and also isn’t exactly the inspirational healthy message to give customers….

The on-line reviews for the hotel are a little mixed, so I thought I’d meander through the negative ones to see if there was anything exciting.

“Horrible noisy hotel, the room is dirty. The guests comprise of out of control kids and drunk Brit’s on stage parties.”

Assuming that’s stag parties, that is a problem and I think is a challenge for the hotel. There was a British stag group when I was there with the stag dressed as someone from Guantanamo Bay, but the staff coped with them admirably.

“I had an absolutely awful experience on the phone with the receptionist. After being sworn at multiple times and being told “I see people like you every day with your bullshit” i couldn’t face going to the hotel itself and booked through an Airbnb instead.”

I find it odd how people manage to make a receptionist react like this, although I’m highly sceptical about this narrative anyway.

“Location is crap.”

It’s in Bratislava. May I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Bratislava hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeasts swinging majestically…

There are a lot of complaints about the air conditioning, so I might have been very fortunate to have a room where it worked so well. I have twice this year gone to reception at hotels to reject a room for being too hot, so I have a lot of sympathy for customers stuck in a room which is too hot. At least the windows open in this hotel, unlike some IHG hotels which seem to so often have sealed windows.

“No mini bar no room service.”

Aspirational.

Anyway, I liked this hotel as it was clean and comfortable. I suspect the staff member was fed up with putting my bag in the luggage store as they did it the day of my stay and the day afterwards, with it being a slight faff to get the key, walk to the luggage room and all that, but she pretended not to be annoyed. The breakfast was decent and I liked the welcome gifts, so another win there. It was more expensive than I’d usually pay at around £60 for the room and breakfast, but I wanted to be in the city centre for at least one night. Hopefully I’ll stay here again, all rather recent.

July 4, 2025
Gdansk – Hotel Mercure Gdańsk Stare Miasto

I’ve stayed here before and it’s one of my favourite Accor hotels in Poland, so as there was a relatively low price I thought I’d opt for here for my single night in Gdansk. Here’s the view from my hotel window as I didn’t take another photo of the hotel’s frontage. The welcome at the front desk was immediate, engaging and personable, a very positive first impression.

The rather lovely seating area on every floor. This is one of those little touches that does make a difference. Thinking of my friend Richard, who gets tired easily, having a chair to sit down whilst waiting for the lift is very useful. Incidentally, he’s now a TV star, I’ll excitedly post links when iPlayer has his appearance on.

I booked a cheap single room, but was upgraded to an executive room and I was surprised and delighted at the arrangement. Clean, comfortable and I love that window seat option.

Drinks in the minibar. I didn’t want to be greedy and so I left the lager. I’m very helpful like that.

I wasn’t sure when I stayed last time if the drinks were free, but it was clear this time.

There were also some welcome gifts, a nice postcard, badge, amber soap and some sort of coffee. A really lovely gesture. Richard very much liked my exciting ‘welcome gifts from Accor’ page when I had it, so I must update that at some point.

The view from the window and one of the free drinks from the fridge, the Złote Lwy from Browar Amber. It’s a light, malty and refreshing drink with the view adding to the whole experience.

The Gdansk shipyards are visible here, formerly known as the Lenin Shipyards and where Solidarność was founded.

The view at night and the city’s main railway station is visible on the left-hand side.

Downstairs at the bar, these were the local beers to choose from as a welcome drink. The helpful team member said I could have any and I was tempted by the Baltic Porter but it was rather strong and I didn’t want to overdo it.

I instead went for the Kozlak from Browar Amber, which was sweet with flavours of toffee and caramel. I very much like it when hotels make an effort to support a local brewery, with Browar Amber being located in Bielkówko which is a little to the south west of Gdansk.

I won’t witter on any more as I’ve already written about this hotel, but I was entirely content at this repeat stay, it felt well managed and organised. And giving me free beer is always a way to get me to write lovely things about anything…. Unless it’s Greene King and then I’m more picky.

June 21, 2025
Vilnius – Novotel

I was fortunate to get a cheap rate for this hotel as it was a Sunday night, an Accor hotel that I didn’t visit when I was last in Vilnius. It’s a very well reviewed hotel on-line and it’s located in the centre of Vilnius, it was all a little more decadent than what I’m used to.

There was a wait of a few minutes to check-in as they had a little rush of customers, but it all looked quite organised in the lobby. They wanted to see my credit card so that they could take a deposit for the mini-bar that I had no intentions of using, but this became problematic as my cards are from Chase and don’t have the number printed on them. This caused the helpful staff member some confusion as she said she hadn’t seen this, so she decided to trust me not to run off with their Cokes.

The lobby bar and this felt modern and on-trend, but it didn’t ever seem very busy. It’s an interesting space that seems under-used, perhaps they should open a craft beer bar there.

They had two beers available as my welcome drink, one of which was some lager and this was the Penki Mazgai from Brick by Brick Brewery. It was perhaps slightly thin, but it had a tropical flavour, stone fruit and was an agreeable pale ale.

The welcome gift from the hotel, cheese, crisps, olives and red wine. I don’t much drink wine, especially red wine, but I did have this the following evening in Kaunas as they didn’t offer me anything there. A lovely gesture though and I fancied a snack. Although I nearly always fancy a snack, but that’s a different matter. I did take a video of the room, but no photos, but I don’t think it’s exciting enough to share. The room was clean, functional and in the bathroom there was a bath as well as a separate shower with the room design being near identical to the Novotel which I stayed at in Athens a few weeks ago. It was an upgraded room on a higher floor, not the cheap and cheerful room that I actually booked.

The view from the window of my room.

And at night.

Breakfast was included in the room rate and it was very busy, although I took this photo during a brief period of calm, although I found a seat without too much trouble. The space here is insufficient though, they have this large hotel and they’ve got a relatively small counter which is hard to navigate with the number of customers they have. At the back is the coffee area which also isn’t really large enough and there are numerous pinchpoints with this whole arrangement.

The hot food, which I ignored.

The cold food selection at the end, which was reasonable choice although not as good as in Dortmund. I liked the choice there, not least as they had guacamole. I suppose one of the challenges is trying to offer people what they want, so sacrifices are made with the quality to offer this level of quantity. Although I would personally have them ditch all the hot stuff and replace it with guacamole, I accept that this might not be a decision that went down with universal approval.

That’ll do. I’d add I might have had another couple of plates of this and at least two litres of orange juice. They had takeaway containers for the coffee which is a helpful bonus so that I could have one for the room as well.

As mentioned, the on-line reviews are very positive although one guest went to TripAdvisor to leave a 1/5 as there was a small hole in their bed sheet. I do wonder sometimes how people cope with life, but maybe I have lower expectations. And the member of the public who wasn’t allowed to use the toilet even though they’ve stayed at an Accor hotel in another location before, so they felt the need to leave a 1/5. Not only that, but he made sure to mention the staff member to try and cause her issues, which feels rather unfair to me. The vast majority of customers were though content with their stay, I just like having a little read of the negativity.

For the price that I paid, which was around £50 for the room and breakfast, I thought that the value was excellent. I’m not sure that they made much on me given they upgraded my room, gave me a welcome wine, snacks and then a welcome drink, but I’ve left them a positive review and I’m wittering on here in a helpful manner. I’d definitely stay again, although the rack rate for this hotel is usually quite expensive, so I might have to pick a cheaper option unless it’s a cut-price Sunday again…..

June 21, 2025
Budapest – Ibis Styles Budapest Airport

I mentioned in my last post that it took just seven minutes for me to get from the aircraft to the reception desk of the Ibis Styles, a building they share with their sister Accor hotel chain Tribe.

The team member at the reception desk was friendly, engaging and welcoming so my first impressions were positive. They use the bar at Tribe for drinks until midnight, so I was able to get my welcome drink there, opting for the Soproni as that was the only beer that they had. As an aside, an on-trend brand such as Tribe should probably have a better range of beers, but I won’t get distracted down that path.

I note that the hotel gets some negative reviews from airport users who want to come in and use the bar facilities overnight whilst waiting for their early morning flights. I’m with Accor here, you can’t really have a hotel which has a heap of people sleeping in their foyer when they’ve got hundreds of rooms on the floors above. For those staying in the hotel, they do though have a 24 hour bar available.

It was a relaxed and comfortable vibe though, Accor have been pretty ahead of the curve on making these foyer areas feel welcoming.

The room, before I had found the light switches. The hotel didn’t have opening windows, but the air conditioning worked well and soon made the room freezing cold just as I like it. The ceilings in the room are raw concrete, with a couple of lines painted on, which has annoyed a few customers who assumed that their rooms hadn’t been finished. I’m all for the industrial look though, although I didn’t follow the instructions plastered on the wall about making a paper airplane. Quirky is positive though, there’s enough corporate blandness in the world already.

And the room after I had found the light switches.

And the rather lovely welcome gifts which were very much appreciated.

Breakfast was included in the room rate and the hot options were better than they often are, with the potato lumps (probably not their official term), the roasted vegetables and the tomato based sauce all having some taste and flavour to them. The sausage was a bit generic but it was all at the appropriate temperature.

The cold elements of the breakfast, always my favourite part. I tested a lot of the cooked meats selection and that met my expectations.

There we go…. After I had collected the various component parts of the breakfast up as there were separate bread, juice and pastry counters. The breakfast area was quite large and it was quiet when I was there, but the opening hours are long and they offer light breakfasts from 04:00 for those with early flights (or those who just get up early).

I liked this hotel, it was clean, comfortable and everything seemed to work properly. The major selling point is that it’s the airport hotel and is just a two minute walk from the airport terminal, which is rather optimal to say the least when arriving into the city late at night. I’d happily stay here again and the pricing seems reasonable for an airport hotel, it’s cheaper than the numerous options at Luton Airport.

June 2, 2025
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
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
Bucharest Trip – Day 3 : Ibis Styles Bucharest City Centre

My hotel for the first two nights of my stay in Bucharest was the Ibis Styles Bucharest City Centre. The others, quite sensibly, managed to stay in the same place for the entire week, but I was on a mission to complete the 6,000 points offer from Accor which involved staying at three hotels for two nights each. Which meant that I stayed here for two nights, then moved to another hotel in the city, then came back again. It’s sub-optimal in many ways, but I like getting Accor points. Incidentally, I’ve been inundated with requests for the return of my Accor blog (well, I had one person asking if I was still doing it) and I’m actively working on that.

The hotel has a modern design and some considerable thought has been put into it. My check-in process was handled by a staff member who was on the phone to a customer the entire time which wasn’t entirely ideal, but I appreciated the efficiency of the operation. The welcome went as expected and I was given a room on the fourth floor. There are low and high tables for those wanting to get a drink, get some work done or meet up with others, with a separate restaurant area at the rear.

For anyone interested (goodness knows who) this is the menu in the hotel’s restaurant.

I didn’t like this room at first sight. I didn’t mind the concrete ceiling and that element of minimalism, but I like having a desk. But, more on that in a moment.

Matters improved considerably when I discovered my welcome gift of cakes and a juice in the fridge. I was becoming rapidly more forgiving. I sent this photo to the group WhatsApp and Bev claimed she thought I had a coffin in the room. She was just jealous that she didn’t have a coffin shaped table in her room I think, she’s quite dark like that. But, of course, I didn’t say anything.

And then I discovered a fold-up desk, so I felt just a little guilty for jumping to conclusions. A few years ago, I was on a panel which discussed the new room design and I mentioned the importance of a desk, even if it just folded up. I’m not saying that they paid any attention to me, as ultimately most people don’t, but they have made a sensible decision here. The other table (on the right of the above photo) is also of an adjustable height, so can be used as a standing desk or a bedside table.

Steve was staying at the hotel, so we had breakfast together on the mornings that I was actually staying there. I don’t much go for hot options at breakfast, so I was suitably surprised and delighted by the cold meats selection. And olives, I like olives. And that red paste, I’m not sure exactly what was in it, added to the proceedings.

The selection from the following morning.

There’s plate one and I did try, despite my previous comment about the hot food, a few of the hot sausages. I wasn’t that engaged with them, so I didn’t repeat that exercise.

Here’s the hot food selection, which doesn’t really inform my two loyal readers as they can’t see what’s in them. There was a choice of, I think, eggs, fatty bacon and sausages. I make regular comments about how bacon should be cooked, including for those who read through my Norwich Market posts. I have agreed, and I am unanimous in this, that bacon should be served crispy and slightly burnt. The Americans know how to do this.

The cereals selection and there was also a juice station with five different juices, served alongside large glasses. This is most unusual, as usually hotels offer little tiny glasses for orange juice which requires me to take around four of them to the table.

Some of the breads and pastries, with a separate doughnut selection which I really quite enjoyed.

And biscuits.

And here’s another plate. I think everyone gets the idea of what I liked….

Anyway, I liked this hotel and my room had a pleasant view. There were no noise disturbances in the hotel either internally or externally and I enjoyed my Ursus Black welcome drink. Steve had a problem with his coffees not being topped up to which he was told that this wasn’t something that reception could do anything about and he had to speak to house-keeping before 18:00. This feels an entirely sub-optimal situation, there’s no reason why the hotel couldn’t have spare coffees behind reception, but there we go, I fortunately didn’t experience any issues.

I’d merrily stay here again and I liked how modern the hotel was, something which Ibis Styles often gets right. The service was friendly, the room was clean and I felt that I received good value for money. I paid £110 for these two nights, including breakfast, but the Accor offer means that the rate was effectively £70 for the two nights. The hotel is very well reviewed and seemed to be at near full occupancy during the time I stayed here, with it being around a twenty minute walk from the city centre.

November 19, 2023