Hilton at St George's Park, Burton Upon Trent {GBR}
 

Just wondering if any FTers Stayed here this week during the opening of the England Football Centre?

Hilton at St George's Park, Burton Upon Trent {GBR}
 

I'm sure I've seen a previous thread on this property but I cannot find it so mods please feel free to merge if there is one.

Anyway my review...

This property opened in August 2012, and is based near Burton Upon Trent, UK.

We completed a one night stay here on leisure on Saturday night having been to Alton Towers for the day to attend the fireworks event. The hotel is approximately 19 miles south of the park and fairly straight forward to get to with sat nav, it is certainly an option if you are looking for accommodation to use for the park – but probably only logical if you’re after the Hilton brand because there are a number of cheaper and closer alternatives – works if you’re travelling to/from the south like we were though.

The St. George's Park complex is fairly well sign posted as you approach a few miles away but moving off the main roads and turning up smaller country lanes, we began to wonder if we were in the right place. Eventually we saw the sign for the complex for both the Hilton and Hampton Inn which are situated next to each other.

The hotel is not next to the road. After you turn into the complex entrance you follow a very long ‘driveway’ for a few minutes which winds its way through fields and past training pitches. You wouldn’t think anything of it in the day, but there are no lights for the main road entrance signs or any of the road signs along the ‘driveway’, and the sign posts are higher than head light level which meant we had to slow down every time we got to a junction to try and read the signs. There was a car a fair way ahead of us doing the same thing, stopping and switching on his headlights to full beam every time the road split!

Next issue – find the hotel. Now having seen pictures on the Hilton website the building infront of us looked very much like the hotel but there were others in the same style – there was no visible (certainly not lit) Hilton sign or anything on the building – indeed nothing over the entranceway, but through the glass I could see a reception desk of some sort so we figured it must be the right place, parked up in the fairly empty car park and went in with our bags.

We were given a warm welcome as we arrived, and I can only say I was really impressed by the building. Sure it’s new and purpose built so you’d expect something good, but I felt it struck a nice balance between modern business style, whilst being bright, spacious and housing a large football theme throughout.

The reception desk is located in a large lobby area, the staff were very friendly and when I told the girl on the desk we had been to the fireworks at the park, she said a number of people staying had done the same.

I booked a standard King without breakfast, the very nice girl informed us we were upgraded to an executive King on the top floor, and that we would therefore also have lounge access. She explained that the evening food would have been cleared by this point, but that we would still be able to get drinks, also we were able to have breakfast there tomorrow morning. I asked if we were able to use the restaurant for full breakfast – no problem at all she said.

A swipe of the key card was required to use the elevator, which made a lot of sense as on the second floor you walk straight out into the executive lounge area which sits as a ‘balcony’ overlooking the lobby and reception area. Unfortunately it turned out the lounge closes at 20:00 on weekends which was a shame as a nice cold drink would have gone down nicely. You need your key card again to access the door which leads to the rooms.

It goes without saying the hallways and everything are in as new condition. We were both impressed with the room, it was very spacious, clean, and very modern. A little bit like the T5 property there were a number of features and switches all over the place to remind you this was a modern property but I was particularly impressed by the very large TV, the amount of space in the room, and the second climate control unit next to the bed which means you don’t have to get out of bed to change the temperature settings – great idea. My girlfriend was impressed by all the dressing gowns etc all nicely laid out on the bed… but was unsure about the large canvas of gazzer on the wall lol

Too tired to bother heading out to find somewhere to eat (and bother trying to navigate our way through the complex again) we headed down to the bar area to grab some food. The prices were as you would expect at such a property, but I have to say the food was of a good quality and we didn’t feel too short changed – this was of particular interest to me as I had seen a number of negative reviews about the food here. The bar area had a large TV showing football, and likewise as with the rest of the hotel, a number of England related player pictures all over the wall.

Back to the room, the bathroom was very smart, and there were a number of Peter Thomas Roth amenities such as a toothbrush and toothpaste set which I’ve not seen before at Hilton properties.

There were a number of items laid out on a tray on the side in the room (bottle of water, small wine bottle, couple of choc bars and some nuts). We had the chocolate bars and water, assuming them to be complimentary – as they were the same ones I normally get in my room at other properties.

Very tired from a long day, we headed to bed. The bed was very comfortable, and our only complaint was that the air con was fairly noisy and we couldn’t work out how to turn it down/ off to reduce the noise… eventually we gave up and just went to sleep, being tired it didn’t matter and we both had a great nights sleep.

The next morning the paper had arrived and the bill had been slipped under the door. I had a look and was a little surprised to see we had been charged nearly £20 for the stuff on the side. Now I knew the stuff was on a device which detected being lifted off (and had lifted/ moved everything), but given the ‘complimentary’ water was on there I didn’t worry, what’s more there was no sign, no prices displayed, and nothing to say it was a mini bar or chargeable… plus it was less stuff than I’ve receive at many other properties so I didn’t worry.

A trip to reception before breakfast and it turns out only the water was complimentary (although we had been charged for that too), the mini bar tariff booklet was on the desk in the room instead of next to the items where it apparently should be. Having explained all this (and that we had only had a couple of the items) It was all removed from our account to apologise which I thought was a nice gesture (I would have been a little upset to pay £1.80 per MarsBar!).

Breakfast in the main restaurant was spot on. Service was excellent, it wasn’t particularly busy and everything was well stocked. There was a chef on hand to do fresh to order items, although I didn’t require the service, but suffice to say I made good use of the buffet.

All in all, I was very impressed by the property, the staff matched the quality of the property and I would certainly stay here again if in the area (or visiting Alton Towers). My only issue was the lack of lighting from the main road, but perhaps this was exaggerated by a tired driver late on a 3°c November evening to be more of an issue than it actually is(?). Hope the review is of use to some people!

Sounds like you got the "Diamond" treatment here, nice and sounds promising.

Thanks for the tip off on the choc bars etc next to the water- one to watch there so no future mistakes from us FTers!

Had 2 recent stays here, one in February and one just last week. Not much to add as ab007's report is pretty comprehensive. We also arrived late at the weekend so didn't get the benefit of the evening Exec Lounge facilities. However, both times, we were upgraded to suites and they are huge. Both were very similar except the second suite (named the Sir Bobby Charlton Suite) had a large balcony with table and chairs, which could be nice in the summer, but too cold during our stays. Suite also had a dishwasher and fridge in the kitchen area. On each occasion, we were given full breakfast in the restaurant. They did not serve any breakfast in the Executive Lounge. Not sure if this is normal or just because hotel was quiet. Staff were all very pleasant and helpful. The hotel itself is strange because in the same building, there is a Hampton by Hilton hotel. Access is into the main Hilton foyer where the Hilton reception desk is, but you turn right and take the elevators up to the first floor Hampton reception.

Have stayed twice, third visit booked ;)

Excellent. It is a little in the countryside (not far from the A38 though), down a long drive- extensive grounds/ sports facilities (as it is part of the National training Ground), but quite nice for a stroll around.

Exec lounge host excellent, rooms both times excellent. Full of praise for the hotel at present!

Likewise I've made a couple more stays here since my review and can't fault the place, I look foward to my next stay, a shame I don't have more work taking me that direction as it is far better than anywhere else I'm staying (Hilton and non Hilton properties!)

Can anyone clarify the situation re this Hampton? According to Hilton.com. the hotel is "coming soon" and advises to book at the site for the Hilton on the same site.

However plenty of reviews for the Hampton on Trip Advisor then if you click on the links to see how much it costs, it takes you to the Hilton hotel on hilton.com or whatever site you choose.

Seems a bit redundant to ask when it is "coming" since ab007 has seen it and lots of Trip Advisor users have reviewed it. So maybe a better question is "how do I book it, or even see the prices for it?"

Might be wrong, but I thought I read somewhere that the Hampton at this location has now been incorporated into the Hilton hotel. The Hilton site seems to advertise the Hampton rooms as Compact rooms. I'll be there again in a few weeks in July, so will make some enquiries unless anybody else has more info. Seems very strange that the Hilton site advertises it as coming soon, when it was open for some time!

Ah that makes sense thanks. I see those "compact" rooms vs "guest" rooms. So it is not "coming soon" it is "already incorporated into the hotel next door." Sure Hilton.com could have made that clearer.

I presume Hilton brand elite preferences and benefits apply instead of Hampton.

Thanks once again for the reply

You are correct, the ex- Hampton rooms are now the Hilton Compact rooms, apparently it was becoming difficult where guests went between the two.
As a Hilton gold or diamond, a very useful addition to the room inventory.
All rooms now use the Hilton facilities,

Stayed here this week. In the middle of nowhere so SatNav didn't help. Huge property. Great reception staff very nice and helpful - had problem with keycard that was quickly resolved. Fascinating place even for a non football fan with lots of memorabilia.

Upgraded to a large suite (corner) with exterior balcony. King bed, desk area, lounge, bathroom with walk in showe and bath and separate WC. Two TV's - one in lounge and in bedroom. Dining table and 4 chairs on balcony.

Drinks voucher, water, nuts and jelly babies and access to the Executive Lounge. Very nice dragon in lounge. Good selection of hot and cold food and full bar.

Dinner - chose from standard Hilton menu but well presented. Breakfast was in restaurant - really good buffet.

No charge for parking.

Had another nice stay last week taking daughter and grandchildren to Alton Towers, which is about 20 miles away. Booked 2 rooms using points and managed to book a suite for 40000 points and one standard room. Although the hotel is 2 years old, rooms are still like new. King suite with sofa bed was one of the end rooms with large balcony which got well used for after dinner drinks in the beautiful evening sunshine. Children enjoyed the swimming pool and children under 10 eat free in the restaurant. All six of us were granted access to the Executive Lounge where we had some nice starters before dinner in the restaurant. Wine, spirits and beers available in the lounge. Again both rooms (4 adults and 2 children) given full complimentary breakfast. Very pleasant staff all round and great service, especially for an Award stay. As discussed above, the Hampton rooms have now been incorporated in the Hilton hotel as compact rooms. No mention of Hampton once you get inside the large hotel reception area, but the Hampton signs are still at the main road entrance to the very long driveway down to the hotel. Hotel was quite full, with a Dutch youth football team making good use of the training facilities at St Georges Park.

I believe the Barcelona Football team are using the hotel and training facilities until Saturday as their pre season training camp

Raffles did a nice review with some pics for those that don't follow his blog:

http://www.headforpoints.com/2014/07...s-park-review/

Worth a read, will have to try this gem out when next in the area, sounds great. ^

As much for my benefit as anyone else's but given this place is in the middle of nowhere, I am going to have a round up of local attractions.

Alton Towers 21 miles
National Brewery Centre (former Bass Museum) 6 miles
Marston's Visitor Centre 6 miles
Drayton Manor Park and Zoo 21 miles
Donnington Park 25 miles
Uttoxeter Racecourse 10 miles
Former Branston Pickle factory 6 miles
Marmite factory tour? 6 miles
Toyota Burnaston factory visit 13 miles
Lichfield (website broken) 14 miles
Tamworth Snowdome indoor skiing 21 miles
The Potteries Stoke on Trent 32 miles

I'll edit myself it I think of any more.