Introduction I had intially wanted to book this place for 2 nights but due to availability when I was checking, I could only get 1 night - although later availabiality did open up, but I did not bother to change and cancel my other hotel and rebook. For me most important was a location relatively close to Heahtrow and complimentary parking. Location The property is located outside of the town centre of Watford and about 20-25 mins drive from Heathrow (traffic situation dependent). Other than that, there did not seem to be any other interesting places close by - there is a Hertz Car rental office within the property and next to the property is a pub. It is situated on a rather busy road (made worst due to ongoing road repairs). Getting down to Wembley area was also not too bad - about 20-25 mins by car. Parking is luckily complimentary (although I suspect previosly it was paid parking from the previous parking barriers at the hotel) - which I don't see why guests should pay for parking when it's not even remotely close to the town centre or any sights. Check In I arrived around 5 pm and there seemed to be some function ongoing that Saturday evening. There was no one before me at the front desk and I was helped immediately by the Front Desk supervisor - who in general i would have expected to be more welcoming, but she was not the most welcoming guest facing staff at the property. The whole process was done within minutes - however the feeling of being welcomed at the hotel was something clearly missing and outside of the compulsory greeting as a en elite HHonors member, no other additional recognition provided, e.g upgrade nor any drink vouchers for the lack of a lounge. They even forgot the 2 bottles of complimentary water which I had to ask for later from a much friendlier front desk associate. The check-in area seemed to be the only area of the hotel which has been brought out of the 80's with a nice refreshed and modern furninshing and layout. Room The room was located on the 2nd floor of this 3 floor high property. I was surprised that from the main entrance the hotel seemed small, but when inside, it was a huge property with 2 main wings. My room was situated on the back wing (which luckily does have some parking spaces and a separate entrance - to save the long walk every time back to the main entrance). The room size was ok - but gosh, the first impression entering the room (actually I hd a bad feeling while walking to the room via the old corridors of the hotel) was just depressing. I really had the feeling like I had booked some forgotten motel room. Very very outdated room and clearly still trying to regain it's 80's glory days. There was no climate control in the room, and the only climate control made available was a table fan - for me luckily this did not become a big issue as the temperature was still cool during the evenings and with the windows open, it was still possible to sleep. Other than that, there was a working desk and a rather single chair and table next to the window. The view was towards the main road - which luckily did not cause too much external noise issue due to the distance away from the road. Sleep quality was ok - the mattrass was luckily not still the same one from the 80's. There was also not too much interior noise. Internet speed was ok and TV channel options were the usual cable channels. The bathroom was the same - dated. There was the usual tub/shower option with a shower curtain. Water temperature and pressure was ok. Amenties were the usual Crabtree and Evelyn. Breakfast Breakfast is served in their main restaurant which is 1 floor down from the lobby area. This is at least to me the only positive aspect of the hotel - the breakfast team was the most welcoming among all the different staff I encountered. Breakfast spread was good - and quality was also good. Outside of the English breakfast hot options, they did also have some good cold selections. Service in general, I felt that service was rather lackluster especially from the front desk staff, as the team front facing directly with guests I felt that especially those I interacted with never showed any sense of welcoming and even seemed like they did not want to be there, maybe they should learn from the breakfast team on getting some training on providing a more welcoming experience to guests. Overall All in all, not totally the most impressed stay - especially with the outdated rooms, lack of HHonors elite benefits and most important, service level of the front line staff. At other hotels which know that their rooms are outdated, they do make up from service point, but this property, they seem to fail on both aspect. For me, I would most probably not return to this property unless I need something in the Watford area or management takes the necessary steps to improve both room standard and especially staff service level.