wizla

Arrived 11pm, just now.......swift check in, upgraded 1 cat to king guest room, it's really nice, everything seems new, definitely new carpet in hallway....large shower , absolutely spotless!.
Decaf tea then sleep!....... bed comfy and huge!......very nice so far.
Will report back!

wizla

Didn't sleep too well, the bed is softer than I like ( I like a very firm mattress) also I've noticed the walls are somewhat thin , I could hear the girl next door sneezing at various time during the night , nothing really bad but I am a light sleeper.
Room has fridge and the bathroom small , however the walk in shower is huge and powerful ( monsoon style ).
Now gonna pop to gym for a run before breakfast.......will report back!

wizla

Gym good, one of everything, had a run, nobody around........ breakfast was very nice, loved the granola, not quite Conrad/ bankside level but very nice indeed and homemade.
Swift check out and I'm on my way.

CONCLUSION- I liked it and would stay again....nice hotel.

ROOM NO - 233

NEXT STAY - Hilton Newcastle Gateshead ( I'm here now )

NoY

Excellent stay last week. Superb Gold recognition (2 x free drinks vouchers/selection of snacks from trolley at reception/full breakfast). Friendly helpful staff & fresh comfortable/quiet/air conditioned bedrooms. If only all Uk Hiltons could be this good.

GentleGiant

Just had a couple of nights here.

Diamond parking spaces at the rear - not seen this in any other hotel in the UK. Although I suspect anyone parks there. Would be nice to see this in other hotels.

Not worth upgrading to the deluxe room - this is essentially the same as the regular king, except with a bath and a sofa bed. The problem with the sofa bed instead of the armchair is that the back reclines as you lean on it. Not ideal.

I would also avoid rooms that have a view of the pond (front), as you will also have noise from the A610. This is actually a premium cost.

Breakfast was better on the first day - however even the tea is self service and the teapots only hold enough water for one cup - so a bit pointless. Why can't they have proper pots of tea?

I did notice as we were leaving that they were removing the signs outside the rooms on the 2nd floor that say 'Hilton Honors Room'. No idea why.

I would stay again.

delinquentwoody

I'm always happy to stay in this hotel when in Nottingham, and generally the rates are lower than the Premier Inn next door for a better product. A few weeks ago we stayed over as my wife was having an operation at the QMC which meant an early start. A reception colleague overheard us talking about this in reception, and when we returned to our room later found a large box of chocolates left in our room. I love little service touches like this - it can make the difference between an average stay and a good stay. I haven't been upgraded every time I've been here, but I agree that there's very little difference between the standard and upgraded rooms (perhaps a different colour paint on the wall?!), as my most recent stay was in a standard room which had a bath and a bed settee, so I couldn't really see any other difference.

NoY

Yes, we have booked again for next Spring. At 80GBP, flexible, rate, one cannot go wrong!

ExpatSomchai

Just finished a stay. Nice hotel with excellent staff. Offered a selection of treats from the trolley on check in. Room is modern, clean an comfortable although bathroom a little small. Two free drinks coupons and a full breakfast in the morning. Could not complain.

BotB

Staying here tomorrow night (for work purposes). First stay in a Hilton since mid March 2020!

I'd originally planned to stay tonight but had to shift the reservation back a day and that was no problem with current Hilton policy. ^ I did get an email asking me if the stay was for work (as leisure stays at hotels are still not allowed) and once confirmed, no issues. Stay booked is cash and king bed no breakfast so will be curious to see what (if any) upgrade they provide and what breakfast as well. Checked on the app this morning and no upgrade yet so will wait and see if anything changes.

Not sure what I'll do for evening meal, whether I'll brave the outdoors and eat here (if that is even an option), do some room service (or whatever the equivalent of that is these days (I think its order and then come and collect it to take back to the room?)) or go elsewhere / get a proper takeaway from a curry house nearby...

Anyway, I'll post the experience and hope it is of use to others in the UK as there hasn't been much info on the ground about stays in the UK since the latest lockdown in Jan. 2021.

Any questions please do let me know and I'll try to find out.

Stay safe everyone.

NoY

Interested to see how these things are being managed.. did they ask you to submit proof/evidence regarding the purpose of your stay?

adobbing

I long for the days of being allowed to travel and not have to substitute Teams calls for face to face, but at the moment it’s not permitted!

I’m fully onboard with restrictions to quash virus transmission, but all of this “papers for reason of travel” all seems like a 2nd world war film set in Germany.

“Papiere bitte”
“Hände hoch”

Oh for the good old days!

BotB

You receive an email with 'important response required - hotel name' in the subject line and the body of the text looks like this:
--
Whilst the UK is under National Lockdown Restrictions, we are only allowed to accept reservations under certain criteria.Can you please confirm the following details:

• Company Name
• Purpose of visit to Nottingham
• You are travelling alone

Once received, we will then be able to verify your stay and confirm your reservation.

Please note documentation may be requested on check in.

If this stay is for leisure purposes then the hotel will have to cancel the reservation at this time.

If you could please confirm this information to me by return.
--

I responded with it being a work stay and provided the details requested. I am travelling alone and I imagine a 'family or partner' turning up beside you would flag some further queries to check validity of the stay...maybe not. I'll let you know if they request anything at check in (although one could simply do it via the app and avoid the front desk I suppose but hopefully people will only travel when needed and have valid reasons. Hope that helps.

Yes, agreed, one hopes the government and some industries don't get too used to this bit of power and decide they don't want to relinquish it...

Very glad to be travelling again for work, less so about the destination being Nottingham/Leicester area as this seems to be quite the Covid hotspot outside of London...but that is where my new employer is so hey ho...

Safe travels everyone.

P.S. still no upgrade on the app...do find it exasperating that they show in my booking confirmation that an upgrade could be mine for as little as £3 / night...Looking forward to seeing how cheap the hotel will be in this regard and other amenities/food...luckily plenty of choice in the area so it is a nice test for where my loyalty should be in the coming years...(hotel and chain).

Haven't had any emails (yet) from the East Midlands Airport Hilton about purpose of the stay for next week...not sure if that is good or bad!

More tomorrow.

Tocsin

I stayed at the DT Nottingham Gateway in December - overnight on a return from working away to home.

As described - an exchange of emails to confirm a non-leisure reason, and no further requirement for documentation (though I carried a management letter describing the necessity for travel, it was not required at check in).

Evening meal was room service to the door, breakfast was almost normal - hot items ordered and delivered to the table rather than from the buffet. All in all, a better experience than I expected, and it was good to see some of the staff I remembered from a year previously - this was a stop I made about once a month pre-covid.

Oh, and I got an upgrade to a junior suite

BotB

Post stay report and info for those interested:

-didn't get offered an upgrade (neither on the app nor at check-in)...so just allocated the next available room that was free...ended up with a room facing the dual carriage way (not recommended due to the quite loud noise most of the evening and from early the next day.) They have double glazing but it is just too close and the boy racers enjoy those two roundabouts so you'll love it if you are a connoisseur of modded car sounds or HGV noise. Even rooms seem to face the road...odd rooms face away from it so definitely grab an odd numbered room for that reason alone. I was given a room on floor 2.

-status recognised during check-in (well, the lip service element) and a DT cookie was dutifully handed over. (tasted good).

-The hotel has plenty of parking and it's free (thankfully). the Hotel is quite nice inside on the ground floor, bar area and rooms to be fair. Although a few years old now, the room was in good condition and everything worked.

-Some of the staff were quite friendly and helpful, others less so.

-Had to ask how evening meals and breakfast would be handled (but then everything explained in a friendly manner). Also handed a letter at that point explaining most things which is useful.

-evening meals are shown on a laminated sheet in the room (in the desk drawer) and you call room service on the phone and when it is ready they call you back to come pick it up (if you don't want to pay the £5 tray charge they want to deliver to the room at least). You pick it up in the bar area and it was on a large tray with cutlery and condiments kindly added without having to ask. I went for a simple pizza which was decent enough. You could go to the bar and order as well if you wanted and then come back to collect or get it delivered as well. Most people ordered from the hotel instead of getting take away delivered (you can do that too but they can only deliver to the lobby, not the room).

-breakfast (as a diamond or if you booked a rate with breakfast) was a continental breakfast delivered in a brown take away paper bag in front of your door by 7 AM at the latest according to the letter), in reality it was delivered around 6:30 so that was a positive. The contents weren't going to win awards but were just about enough. (no butter, no jams or condiments, no cutlery)...I had to use the tea spoon from the room to eat the yoghurt as an example. The croissant was fresh to be fair and tasty enough, even dry. There is a kettle in the room and some cups as well as glasses. The orange drink was quite cheap and a poor substitute for OJ but at least something I guess. The muffin was actually very good and I had the same 'brand' at the East Midlands Radisson as well so must be supplying the wider area and various chains.

-There were two 330 ml bottles of still water in the room. I also had a bathrobe and slippers (that was greatly appreciated I have to say). An iron and ironing board are also present in the wardrobe. Not sure if every room has these items or just those with status. No other welcome amenity.

-towels were nice and fluffy soft and in great condition. The shower was nice but the water was softened too much so took forever to get any soap/shampoo off. The lights in the bathroom were not bright enough in my opinion and I say that as a bloke that only needed the basic amount of light to shave by...someone wanting bright light would have struggled.

-The room was decently soundproofed from other guests (just not the road due to the windows and older double glazing and wood frames).

-there was a mini fridge (empty but at least turned on) that you can use to store goods / drinks in.

-a corkscrew and bottle opener was in the room.

-everything seemed clean and wiped down and the door was sealed properly.

-the sole elevator is quite slow and so I found taking the stairs far more efficient given the property only has 2 upper floors. There were hand sanitisers everywhere in the public areas and by the elevator/entrance doors which was nice to see.

-the windows do open here (partially) so someone wanting air from outside can get it here (not sure about that being a good idea but its possible).

-I did get the feeling there were quite a few tradespeople staying that were from a bigger company and frequented the hotel so maybe they had already snapped up the better rooms (fair enough if they are staying quite regularly).

-I did a check out at reception to get a paper copy of the receipt and the chap working the morning shift wasn't thrilled to have to do that but was quick and efficient. You could check out via the app of course as well.

I'd stay again if it was convenient but it won't be my first choice and the noise from the road, lack of upgrade and limited breakfast mean I'll go elsewhere until things at least open up more on the 17th May (at the earliest). When it is fully open I imagine it could be quite nice enjoying a pint in the lobby or bar area. The heavy traffic use, noise and limited/lack of benefits are points to consider though.

Stay safe everyone, Next stay is the Hilton East Midlands Airport (I've stayed there several years ago but not recently). Not had any emails asking me to confirm it is for work purposes yet...

BotB