Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Accor Hotels

  • Warsaw – Mercure Warszawa Centrum

    Warsaw – Mercure Warszawa Centrum

    I’m still working around the last few Accor hotels in Warsaw that I haven’t been to, although this is the last new one of this trip. There’s some odd naming of Accor locations in Warsaw, this one is central, but nowhere near the Ibis Styles Warsaw Centrum or the Ibis Budget Warsaw Centrum, but it is vaguely near (but not close) to Ibis Warsaw Centrum. Anyway, now that’s clear.

    Copyright: Accor Hotels

    For reasons unknown, I forgot for the first time in a long time to take a photo of the room. So, here’s the Accor photo of a similar room…… They didn’t tell me that they’d upgraded me at reception, but they had, this is called an Executive Room I think.

    I did remember to take a photo of this impressive picture above the bed though.

    The view from the hotel room of the neighbouring offices and the Złote Tarasy shopping centre.

    The welcome gift of a large chocolate and fruit, all nicely wrapped up.

    I always like a nice selection of Nespresso coffees, adds a touch of decadence to arrangements.

    And some complimentary drinks in the fridge, and I liked that there was a sign pointing out that they were free, otherwise I’d just worry.

    This signage is a sensible idea as I assume plenty of people have complained about the air conditioning, but essentially, it stops working when the hotel key card is removed and the window is opened.

    My go-to welcome drink of Żywiec Porter in the hotel’s restaurant. I liked that the staff pointed out at check-in that I could have 10% off in the restaurant and put a menu in the room, which was all quite tempting.

    The hotel is well-reviewed on-line and I can find nearly no negative reviews that seem reasonable or are even about the right hotel. And if I sometimes think I’m picky, there are reviews such as this:

    “I am again and each time it gets worse and worse, no disposable slippers, where they were always in the wardrobe before, no cold drinks in the glaciers, before that there was always apple and orange juice in a glass bottle, only one water was left in the room where two people were checked in still for two people, for two people there are two tiny shower gels, so one person can take only one shower in the evening and no gel in the morning. The wardrobe also lacks a set of needle and thread where it has always been.”

    I’m not sure I’d leave 1/5 on a web-site review after a series of positive experiences because of things such as not enough shower gels/shampoos (there would have been four) and no needle and thread, all of which reception could have fixed. Or the very angry guest who arrived at 13:30 and was furious they couldn’t access their room before the quoted time of 15:00, apparently that deserved 1/5 too. I have no idea how hotel managers cope with this nonsense. Anyway, I digress.

    This was another excellent Accor hotel and up there amongst my favourites in the city, although I like nearly all of them to be fair. Friendly staff, clean rooms, well designed building and all really rather lovely. The hotel room was also nearly free as I used up some more of my reward points from the recent Accor offer.

    And more about the hotel and to book it…..

  • Warsaw – Novotel Warszawa Airport

    Warsaw – Novotel Warszawa Airport

    I’ve never stayed in this Accor hotel which is, as the name suggests, near to the city’s airport. It’s also about a one hour walk from the city centre, or it’s easy to get a train, bus or tram into Warsaw as well. The welcome was efficient and polite, although they seemed a little under-staffed on the reception desk.

    I didn’t get an upgrade for the first time in a while for a Polish Accor hotel, but that was likely my fault for choosing a themed room and the hotel probably thought that was the one I wanted. This is the surfer room, which I thought might make for slightly different photos to my normal quite dull photos of the room interior. Incidentally, I got lost going to my room which wasn’t entirely ideal, and I’m blaming the poor signage.

    Certainly quite different, with that board thing on the wall. The white cupboard arrangement on the left appears to have survived from a previous room layout, that did feel quite dated and I’m not sure was part of the renovation.

    Oh, and deckchairs. Probably not really entirely functional, but it added some character to the room.

    This looked quite odd though, I’m not sure I liked that nailed to the wall.

    My welcome gift, similar to that I’ve had recently, some very delicious chocolate coated things.

    The view from my window, made the hotel feel like it had extensive grounds, although it didn’t.

    The free welcome drink, once again I went for Żywiec Porter. As an irrelevant aside, the table was very shaky, but fortunately there were no drinks spills.

    I had forgotten that my room rate included breakfast, so that was a pleasant surprise at reception when I checked-in. It’s quite impressive that I managed to forget this since I only booked it three days ago, but there we go…… Plenty of choice and it wasn’t particularly busy. I mostly went for the cold cuts and bread, all of which was of a suitably decent quality.

    The hot food section, which was effectively a create your own hot dog arrangement. There was an egg section where I think staff make omelettes, although I don’t much like them and I didn’t see anyone try and get anything cooked when I was there. There was also a waffle making machine for those who wanted it, although again, I didn’t see anyone use it.

    Desserts, which are an important part of the breakfast arrangement as far as I’m concerned. There were also cereals as well and milk was available (I mention that as my friend Nathan has announced that cereals shouldn’t have milk on them, although he’s obviously wrong).

    I did wonder at first if there might be noise problems as they had a drunken group charging around the hotel and there was also some crashing about from the floor above. However, they were both one-off noise issues, so there were no internal or external noise issues, so all was well.

    The hotel is reasonably well reviewed, although there are an odd amount of clearly fake negative reviews all about a staff member not giving a customer a blanket. Anyway, the room rate including breakfast was just under £40, which was funded nearly entirely from the latest Accor offer, which all seemed reasonable for me even if I was paying. I suspect that the room prices are a little muted at the moment because of the lack of passenger traffic from the nearby airport, they are likely usually higher. But, I’d happily recommend this hotel to others, although I prefer the Novotel in the city centre.

    For anyone wanting to book or find out more…..

  • Warsaw – Ibis Budget Warszawa Centrum

    Warsaw – Ibis Budget Warszawa Centrum

    I’ve stayed at this Ibis Budget before, although it was a few years ago and before that Ibis Styles (which I’ve also stayed at) was constructed. I stayed here this week inbetween my Sofitel and Novotel visits, so it was a little less decadent. The check-in process was efficient and well managed, so I felt welcome which is always positive. It’s about a twenty minute walk away from the centre of Warsaw and around a forty minute walk away from the Old Town, so it’s not exactly in the heart of the action. There are though buses that depart from nearby to the hotel, although there are no nearby trams or underground trains.

    There’s a bit more colour in the room than in most Ibis Budget hotels, with everything being clean. There’s also soap and shower gel provided, there’s normally just the former in this brand. I didn’t have breakfast on this occasion in the hotel, but it’s a cheap and cheerful arrangement which offers reasonable value for money. It’s best though to check that the Ibis Styles next door isn’t too much more expensive, as the breakfast is included there and so can sometimes be better value and also provide a better room.

    The view from my room of the road and river, and I’d be quite happy if they tore this road up to make the riverside area feel a bit more appealing (and also so I had a nicer view if I’m being selfish).

    Given that it is a budget hotel, the reviews are surprisingly positive in the main although there’s inevitably perhaps some grumbling about how the shower opens out into the room. For me there were no internal or external noise issues and with the room price being under £20 per night, I had nothing to complain about (not that I go around looking for things to complain about). All really rather lovely and although very different to the Sofitel, it has its own charms.

    And here’s a link to find out more and book.

  • Accor Hotels – 6,000 Points Bonus

    Accor Hotels – 6,000 Points Bonus

    Well, that was lovely. This is an offer that Accor were running a couple of months ago, where they would give 500 points for a two night stay, 2,500 points for a second two night stay and then 3,000 points for a third two night stay. I achieved this and so the 6,000 points have been added to my account. That’s €120, which is enough to pay for three nights in a decent Accor hotel in Warsaw, which is very handy, so my stays for three days are all funded by that. It’s a very generous offer and well worth looking out for and signing up to.

  • Warsaw – Novotel Warszawa Centrum (Repeat Visit)

    Warsaw – Novotel Warszawa Centrum (Repeat Visit)

    I’ve visited the Novotel in Warsaw several times before, including last year during the period between the lockdowns. The service then, as with my previous stays, was excellent and so I was in the city for my birthday this year, I thought that I’d stay here. It later occurred to me that this might have been a mistake, as there’s nothing like previously high expectations being dashed. However, all was well, and indeed the service was as impeccable as ever.

    On the morning of the booking I received an email from the hotel saying that I’d been upgraded. I’ve never had a hotel tell me this in advance and it seems a really quite clever thing to do, as the guest gets a warm glow of knowing the room will be better than paid for several hours ahead of their check-in. The check-in process itself when I arrived at the hotel was efficient and the staff member was personable and welcoming, and I appreciated the happy birthday comment.

    My room was on one of the top floors and I had hoped before booking that it would overlook the Palace of Culture, as those views over the city are some of the finest from any hotel that I’ve stayed in. Richard had booked into the hotel the day before and had been upgraded to a larger room which was also rather lovely, so he was equally pleased with the whole arrangement.

    I was delighted to see this view from my window and, perhaps rather sadly, I enjoy watching all of the trams, cars and buses shuttling about.

    The same view at night.

    And the hotel had gone far beyond what they needed to, with a slice of birthday cake (which was delicious) and some welcome gifts and a letter. It’s fair to say that this was really rather lovely and touching. As an aside, the cake seemed to have just been placed there, and I suspect that the call made by the receptionist to someone during check-in might have been them arranging for it to be brought to the room or at least checking that it was there. Either way, this is a nice thing to see when arriving.

    These were absolutely delicious, suitably decadent and they went well with the provided Nespresso coffees.

    The Żywiec Porter which was my welcome drink from the hotel. The member of staff in the bar was polite and helpful, bringing the drinks over to the table for us. Richard had saved his welcome drink up from his check-in the night before, and apparently was pleased with his wine option.

    The room was a little expensive by Polish standards, coming in at £55 per night without breakfast, but I very much like the welcome and comfort of the hotel so I think it’s very good value for money. And as a choice for my birthday, I was very pleased with the entire process, all really rather lovely and I appreciated the e-mail on the morning of check-in telling me I had been upgraded and they were looking forwards to welcoming me back. I think I’ve been to something like 100 Accor hotels, and the Novotel Warsaw is as far as I’m concerned the best managed of any of those locations. Really quite marvellous.

    And here’s a link to book and find out more.

  • Warsaw – Sofitel Victoria Warsaw

    Warsaw – Sofitel Victoria Warsaw

    I’m not normally decadent enough to stay at the Sofitel brand within Accor Hotels, but I had two expiring suite upgrades and thought that this might be a useful place to use them. Although I didn’t stay at this hotel on my birthday, as I wanted to be at the Novotel, it was a little treat to myself to stay here for a couple of days earlier on during the week.

    Richard had checked into his little room earlier on in the day, but I guessed correctly that my suite wouldn’t be available and hadn’t even tried. I tried to check in at 15:30, but the room wasn’t yet ready which wasn’t ideal, but wasn’t a problem. The staff member was polite, although she gave me a drinks voucher to apologise for the wait, although it transpired that this was the voucher they would have given me anyway as a welcome drink. I thought this whole element was botched by the hotel, who could only provide the room over an hour after the standard check-in time.

    There was then a problem that the hotel couldn’t find payment in their systems, even though they agreed that Accor had stated that they had taken it. There was some discussions about what had happened by staff members, but I thought best to just resolve it on check-out, which transpired to work well as I switched to a currency commission free card which saved me some money compared to if they’d used the card on file.

    The hotel’s water feature in the lobby, which kept making me think that it was raining when walking into reception. The hotel was built between 1973 and 1976 on the site of the Kronenberg Palace which had been destroyed by the Germans during the Second World War. There was lots of dithering about what to do with the site and the remains of the structure weren’t removed until the 1960s, and then there was talk of building an embassy here. It’s a large hotel, with 359 rooms and around 50 suites, and other than the Raffles over the road (also Accor, and too decadent for me) it’s the grandest accommodation option in the city.

    As another aside, there has been some drama here, with this paragraph coming from Wikipedia….

    “On August 1, 1981, the hotel saw an attempted assassination of the Palestinian Abu Daoud (nicknamed Mohammed Oudeh Daud), suspected by the Mossad of involvement in the attacks in Munich , who occupied the presidential suite.”

    I obviously feel the need to comment about the drinking options and there was a poor selection of beers available, this is a generic Żywiec in the Victoria Lounge. The whole set-up here felt quite dated, neither on-trend nor classy, and I thought this was the weakest area of the hotel, something more inviting could be done with the bar area.

    At this stage, I wasn’t thrilled with the hotel as everything seemed botched and muddled, but I arrived at my room with sort of high hopes.

    The suite’s living room area, with my first impressions being positive. I don’t usually watch television in hotels, but that’s one of the largest that I’ve seen in a room.

    I didn’t realise when booking that the suite came with two bathrooms, this is the one attached to the living room area. It was probably a little more than I needed since I was in the suite on my own, but it gave me options….

    The suite’s bedroom.

    And the second bathroom, with a shower and bath.

    The coffee machine.

    An umbrella was available should it rain.

    Slippers and dressing gowns were provided, along with a range of other posh toiletries and the like.

    The welcome letter and gift, which I always appreciate (both the letter and the gift).

    These were delicious, chocolate coated orange things, very moreish.

    I very much liked the view of Piłsudski Square from my room and that’s the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to the mid-left of the photo. It’s the largest square in the city and this was once the Saxon Palace, until the Germans destroyed it during the Second World War, but there are some quite surprising plans to rebuild sections of it. Incidentally and back to the hotel, the windows don’t stay open, although they’re meant to.

    Anyway, any annoyance I had with the hotel disappeared with the comfort of the room and two of the best night’s sleep that I’ve had in a hotel. The room can be blacked out entirely so no light comes in and there were no internal or external noise issues.

    And here’s a heap of breakfast photos. There was a wide selection of food and drink options, with the only slight omission being the variety of breads seemed quite minimal. But there were plenty of cheeses, cold cuts, yogurts, cereals and hot options. There was an egg section where omelettes and the like were available, with the staff member making me a rather lovely Eggs Benedict. There were plenty of juices, including some detox ones to give more choices. The quality of the food and drink was high, with the choice meaning it’d be hard for someone to complain about the lack of options. The breakfast room was large and spacious, with relatively few other guests, so it was a relaxing environment, not like the Holiday Inn Express set-up I’ve had this year which is a bit more, well, hectic and lively.

    The cost of the suite for two nights including breakfast would usually be somewhere around £300 to £400, but my suite upgrades meant that the cost to me was £187.16 for two nights. However, I gained 1,600 Accor reward points with this stay, which is around £28, making what I consider to be a charge of £160 or so for this rather lovely experience. At £80 per night including breakfast, I’m going to say that this is excellent value for a (very) occasional treat.

    The welcome was a bit botched, but the staff were helpful throughout and the breakfast was excellent. The room was beautifully comfortable, although lacked a large desk and some of the furnishings were a little rickety, but this didn’t impact on my stay. There was definitely an air of decadence about the whole arrangement and a turn-down service was provided on the first night with a staff member coming in to move slippers near to the bed and put a bottle of water on the bedside table. As an aside, I can’t be doing with that sort of thing and as there was no free chocolate, I put the ‘do not disturb’ sign on the second night. Richard didn’t do that in his room, he likes the turn-down service for reasons unknown to me.

    I’d absolutely stay here again and since I have a couple more suite upgrades to use next year, I might repeat this whole experience in November 2022. Absolutely the best breakfast that I’ve had in an Accor hotel and also the most luxurious room, but since I’m really an Ibis Budget person at heart, that’s probably not surprising. For anyone wanting more information, the hotel can be booked here.

  • Częstochowa – Ibis Częstochowa

    Częstochowa – Ibis Częstochowa

    I stayed at the Accor operated Ibis hotel during my few days in Częstochowa, with the price being about £25 per night including breakfast. There’s a Mercure in the city as well, but that was a bit decadent in terms of the pricing, with the cheaper option inevitably being the one I went for. My first impressions were primarily of concern as the hotel looked quite shut and there were signs on the front door, usually signifying a problem. It transpired it was just a sign in Polish saying that the doors were broken and to enter via a side door, so I was considerably relieved that I didn’t have to hunt for another hotel. The staff member at check-in was friendly and helpful, so my early impressions transpired to be positive.

    The room, all to brand standard, although this hotel doesn’t have hot drink facilities in the room which seems unusual for an Ibis. The room was on the top floor away from the lift, which is always my preference. It’s the older style Ibis room design, but I assume it’ll be updated when there’s refurbishment at the hotel.

    The welcome gift of meringue things, all very lovely as Ibis hotels don’t need to give anything.

    The view from my room, primarily of two petrol stations. The hotel has a policy of not cleaning the rooms because of the current health crisis, but it can be requested at reception if required. I checked the wi-fi (my Vodafone data gives me 25GB per month to use outside the UK which should be enough, but I use the hotel wi-fi when trying to back-up photos and the like) and it seemed to be reliable and at a sufficiently fast speed.

    The food menu for anyone interested who is reading this (goodness knows who though). Hotel prices are inevitably towards the higher end of the scale, but they’re not unreasonable (divide by 5 for an approximate UK amount).

    The welcome drink of Żywiec, which isn’t the most exciting, but it was free and so therefore clearly acceptable to me. I’m easily pleased.

    The breakfast options, lots of cold choices along with a few hot options that I didn’t bother with. The meat wasn’t the most exciting in terms of the quality, but there were plenty of options. The coffee in the hotel is all branded from Costa, I can’t recall seeing that set-up in an Accor property before.

    It all transpired to be a comfortable stay with no internal or external noise issues. I’m pleased to note that the windows opened, this wasn’t one of those sterile hotels where everything is sealed up, and the air conditioning also worked. It’s about a ten-minute walk into the city centre and there are KFC and McDonald’s outlets within a couple of minutes walk. The hotel inevitably isn’t the most luxurious, but anyone wanting that can find other options in the city, not least the Mercure.

    And, a handy booking link for the hotel…..

  • Hull – Ibis City Centre (Visit 3)

    Hull – Ibis City Centre (Visit 3)

    This is my third visit to the Accor operated Ibis in Hull, centrally located and reasonably priced.

    I was able to have a little meander around the reception area when checking in at around 22:30 as the staff were all elsewhere for several minutes.

    The room, which is brand standard and what I expected, although missing a hairdryer but I can cope without that. The set-up is becoming ever more rickety, they’re going to have to refurbish this hotel soon as the rooms are becoming slowly but steadily more damaged and the carpets more stained. Cleanliness was adequate, nothing more, with this being another Accor hotel which isn’t cleaning the room during guest stays. They also hadn’t filled two of the three shower gels in the room, which was hardly a problem, but wasn’t perhaps ideal.

    I slightly suspect a dispense problem here, as the already very average Boddington’s was devoid of any taste at all, almost a junk product. This Accor doesn’t have a very good selection of beers, it’s one of the weakest selections I’ve seen in an Ibis hotel and they should perhaps make more effort here. I can’t overly complain as it was a free welcome drink, but it’s all a bit lacklustre. Also, the chocolate bar they used to give as a welcome gift has gone, perhaps not their wisest move as it’s just a cheap gesture that likely created at least a bit of goodwill (it did with me anyway).

    However, there were no noise disturbances either internally or externally, so I had no issues during my stay. When I asked for more coffee I was given a huge heap of them, so no complaints there either. I didn’t want breakfast here, but I note their old previous offer price has gone, and it’s back to £8.50. I didn’t see anyone having breakfast when I walked by on three mornings, I suspect that the Wetherspoons over the road has stolen nearly all of that trade from them. I shall likely stay here again, but I hope they start a refurbishment programme soon. Oh, and dump their generic beer options, or at least get something marginally more decadent.

  • Shipley – Ibis Bradford Shipley

    Shipley – Ibis Bradford Shipley

    This is from my stay in Shipley a few weeks ago and I chose this Accor hotel as it was the cheapest in the area. I thought at the time that seemed odd, as it’s in a tourist area and there was a festival going on at nearby Saltaire. Just in case there had been a mistake, I decided to check-in early (and all was well), and I heard them answering the phone to numerous people saying that they were full. As an aside, although the hotel is called Bradford Shipley, it is very firmly in Shipley and requires a rail journey (or some other form of transportation) to get to Bradford.

    The hotel was dispensing with the usual practice of giving guests the room of their preference (it’s located in the Accor app settings) and just handing out room keys randomly. That probably wasn’t the ideal situation, as there are some people who would prefer to be on the ground floor and I prefer not to be, but I was given a room near reception. It was adequate, although I wouldn’t say that it was spotlessly clean. They forgot my welcome drink, but provided it after I requested it. The staff were though friendly and helpful throughout my stay, but the whole process felt automated rather than personalised.

    I got a biscuit though, so I was happy.

    This is unusual, an Accor hotel which is actually sourcing local beers. Saltaire is down the road and it’s a good call to stock this beer, which I had as my welcome drink.

    The hotel is located near to a Wetherspoons, and it was evident that numerous guests were going there for breakfast and other meals. This is another of the falling number of hotels that is trying to avoid cleaning rooms due to Covid, a situation that probably needs to come to an end sooner rather than later. The hotel is really also on the edge of needing a comprehensive refurbishment as well, it’s creaking a little bit in terms of the maintenance. However, I was grateful for a reasonably priced room for the weekend and I didn’t have any noise disturbances either internally or externally, so all was well.

  • Bingley – Mercure Bradford Bankfield

    Bingley – Mercure Bradford Bankfield

    Hotel prices at weekends are at the highest levels I’ve seen them in the UK at the moment, which has required me to be quite creative. There’s near 100% occupancy in chain hotels across the north of the country, a result of people wanting to have some weekends away. For my Saturday night stay the Mercure at Bradford Bankfield was showing at £45 for a double room, which was very cheap compared to everywhere else and seems to be a quirk, perhaps someone just cancelling. I also have a heap of Accor rewards points, so paid for most of it with that.

    I walked for twenty minutes from Bingley to get here and it’s an impressive building and I tried to ensure that I didn’t include the wedding party in my photo who were having photos taken outside the front of the main entrance. Unfortunately, Mercures in country locations in the UK generally have a poor reputation, and I had low expectations of this one, usually the grand frontages hide some dated rooms in cheap extensions.

    “Set in a Gothic style mansion house surrounded by landscaped gardens, the Mecure Bradford, Bankfield Hotel is a peaceful retreat and a short stroll from the banks of the River Aire.”

    The above is what the hotel has written, and ignoring the issue they can’t spell the hotel name, they’ve probably set up expectations here of a grand country house that they clearly can’t deliver on. Most of the hotel isn’t in a Gothic style mansion house, it’s in more modern extensions that are quite rickety. That means guests expecting they’ll be in lovely historic rooms won’t get what they hoped for.

    I also only realised after leaving that the hotel has been dumping inventory on Groupon, which in nearly all circumstances I’ve ever encountered is a sign that there are huge problems in getting customers and it’s almost always a last resort. They’d perhaps be better just reducing their prices on Accor’s web-site rather than handing over a big cut to Groupon, but there we go….. It could be claimed that it’s great marketing, but it doesn’t look like that, they’ve got some devastating reviews because they’ve over-promised a country house luxury stay and haven’t delivered on that to Groupon customers.

    Anyway, I digress.

    The main hall. The welcome at reception was helpful and the staff member apologised that he couldn’t offer me a free upgrade as they were full. To be fair to them, I was aware of that as the hotel filled soon after I booked the room that I did, so they were being entirely honest there. They didn’t bother with the welcome gift though, which they should have done, although the drinks voucher was pro-actively offered. I was nearly charged the wrong amount for the room, but it was soon fixed.

    I was aware that the bedroom was small when I booked, probably too small for two people, but fine for me.

    I think that the bathroom was about the same size as the bedroom….. There were some basic maintenance issues that needed addressing here that the hotel probably should have already fixed, such as the state of that window ledge.

    I took my welcome drink back to the room as I didn’t want to get in the way of the wedding that was taking place. As a drinks option, this Goose Island bottle is perfectly acceptable to me.

    The room wasn’t really clean enough, although it sufficed for me as I have relatively low standards here, otherwise I’d permanently be at receptions complaining. The bedding was clean, but the floor wasn’t and they had left half-used shower gels in the little bottles in the bathroom rather than replace them. That was shoddy and cost-cutting they shouldn’t be engaged with. Those mini bottles are a slight environmental disaster as it is, but they should be thrown away if they’re part-used.

    There’s no air conditioning in the room, although it’s an old building and so that’s not surprising. But, they haven’t bothered with putting fans in the room, and even Travelodge and Premier Inn do that. This to me is an omission, they should be doing this. I was also staying only for one night so this doesn’t affect me, but the hotel is saying it isn’t cleaning rooms for Covid cleanliness reasons. This is a little disingenuous, every other hotel I’ve stayed at recently is now moving back towards the usual housekeeping schedule. If they are short staffed then that’s fair enough, but they shouldn’t be claiming they’re doing it for cleanliness reasons, especially when they’re not properly cleaning the rooms anyway.

    The reviews for the hotel aren’t great and they should perhaps be most alarmed about how they’re doing badly on service looking at Google Reviews, that should usually be around 4.2 to 4.6 out of 5, but it’s down at 3.5 here. It’s easy to assume reviews aren’t reliable, but trends like that usually tell a story. There are a lot of negative reviews, although this one was quite blunt:

    “Worst hotel ever, no staff on reception. No food despite being pre booked my room has no lock and the door can be pushed open easily. The bedding was dirty. The curtains were falling down. The walls are like paper thin. I could go on for days. So instead of staying here give yourself a free upgrade and just sleep in a cardboard box outside the conditions will be much better”

    No lock? That’s not ideal. The walls were quite thin, although this was only evident to me in the morning as I could hear the television next door. The doors probably also need door closers on them as well to try and reduce noise, rather than them slamming shut.

    “Getting my bill right was clearly a major problem for the lady and she didn’t manage it (a subsequent charge to my credit card) as, in her words, she was emotional over the death of a disabled pigeon that morning. Clearly the cycle of nature passed her by. Food was adequate (no pigeon on the menu) but expensive as were the drinks. Bedroom was comfortable but the shower was unadjustable – fiercely hot all the time and unusable. A totally unsatisfactory stay and despite its convenience we shall not return.”

    I don’t want to make light of the disabled pigeon, but that review did amuse me.

    I can’t complain too much because the room rate was one of the cheapest in the area, but they often charge higher rates and I’m not confident they’re offering the standard of service that they should be. For my stay, it was entirely acceptable, but I wouldn’t stay here again.