simonsmith

Just back from a Saturday / Sunday night stay for gardeners world . This hotel has always been a favourite, mainly for some great memories and the staff are usually delightful. Indeed it was nice to see staff that have been there for over 20 years again .

Car Parking Ł12 per night . Camera controlled and can go in and out.

Main entrance currently closed , some tiles have fallen off





We booked 2 Jnr Suites and could not select rooms at online check in . On arrival one room upgraded to a King Suite . Sadly the other Junior did not have a Bath which I had been told it had in prior communications. The only remaining room that had one was an executive room but mum and dad were quite happy with the downgrade!

Our suite was vey comfortable see pics below
My only comments were , no bathrobes , an oddly small shower given the size of the bathroom , no top of tissues and Nespresso capsules on the second day . Turndown service provided with chocolates !








Great bath


As ever a great pool





Breakfast reasonable with delightful and very caring staff. Sunday until 1030 and rest of the week 1000 so a little early .






Executive lounge as others have pointed out now on ground floor . Kevin was wonderful and went out of his way to look after Mum
Packed on Saturday and empty on Sunday .
A nice crowd of people and food never ran out
Cheese plate , fruit , hummus and veg , samosas and spring rolls , interestingly soup . No spirits just Prosecco and cheap wines etc . 1800 to 2000 canapés and alcohol daily




staff every where wonderful



Bar

wizla

Looks a huge improvement doesn’t it, I saw some photos of the suite refurbishments on another forum and they are quite impressive, I’m there 7th July, kinda looking forward to checking it out and reviewing.

treppenlaeufer

Thanks for the detailed review - used to stay there very regular and always had a bit of a soft spot for it.
Only the relocation of the exec lounge to the ground floor is a bit disappointing, it was nice to sit in the previous very bright space with a view over the lake etc.

wizla

I’ve got to admit I thought that too, I liked the location and vibe of the old one , I guess the new one is technically better but I have so many great memories of the old one , especially when Kay used to run the show, it was exceptional.

wizla

I’m here tomorrow night. ( Thursday) , got an event to attend in silverstone but thought I’d drive over here and stay to see what the new refurb is like .
Should arrive around 3pm and plan to use all the facilities so I hope to do a decent open and honest live review for you guys.
Booked twin deluxe as I have a friend with me and not expecting an upgrade as room must have two beds.
Will report back!

wizla

Arrived 2-45pm, digital key arrived on my phone @ 1-20pm.
Got physical card as reception quiet and I have a friend with me.

TWIN DELUXE ROOM - slightly disappointing, yes refurbished and clean but air conditioning is poor and not much space , requested two robes via message service last night and assured they would be in room , they are not.
Now off for a swim will report back!

wizla

Pool area not changed but sauna is new and changing rooms are now very nice indeed, they are also swapped around, the males is now where the females changing room used to be and vice versa .

Had a nice couple of hours relaxing, it was moderately busy but not noisy..... big thumbs up from me, sauna very hot and great ice shower too.

Did pop in the new executive lounge on way to pool, but didn’t hang around as I had shorts and flip flops on....however, nice selection of sandwiches and cakes including scones...... looked great!.

Now getting ready for the lounge....will report back with my findings.

wizla

EXECUTIVE LOUNGE - arrived @ 6 :30 ( happy hour 6-8pm ) and had trouble entering, Kevin on the door said we wasn’t on the list, quick call to reception and we are in, mildly irritating but understandable..
The lounge itself to be fair is great, it’s quiet in here tonight and only a quarter full, the offerings are very good indeed and the clientele are all professionals , it’s a nice vibe.

CANAPÉS - tortellini ( spinach/cheese) , lemon sole strips and sausage rolls.
There is soup, a great salad bowl and a reasonable cheeseboard with crackers and grapes.....there are some crudités too.

BEERS - Perroni and Budweiser

SPIRITS - none

WINE - savion blanc , red, and cava.

Not much else to report it’s clearly new, great decor and the perfect temperature......will report back!

wizla

Well , we are coming to the end of happy hour and it’s been a thoroughly pleasant evening, the staff in here are great, food nice, no issues.
We are going to have a wander over to resorts world to have dinner.....lounge closes at 10pm , will report back!

wizla

Had dinner in bar last night, good food and service , was there until around midnight, very lively place.
Slept well bed very comfortable, now off for another sauna as I have a hangover then breakfast.....will report back!

wizla

Sauna/poolside very quiet this morning and quite blissful .

BREAKFAST ( 7-10am weekdays ) - fairly busy, nice selection of food here and tasty too.
Started with some granola with honey and Greek yogurt, then a few things from the hot section, all good here.
Finished with a coffee in executive lounge which I noticed also had a small selection of hot and cold breakfast items too….. coffee from this machine is great .

CHECK OUT - @11am , at front desk as had to pay for parking, it’s Ł12 and no longer comped for diamonds.

ROOM NO - 2068 ( don’t choose this room during OLCI as air conditioning is poor )

CONCLUSION - pleasant stay, new executive lounge is great and breakfast particularly nice too, couple of issues as no robes initially but when I phoned down they did send them up only no belts and air conditioning was poor…. I would happily return and recommend.

NEXT PLANNED STAY- Hilton Canary Wharf ( 18/7/22 )

hugolover

I can't fathom why the managed hotels are the most prevalent brand standard violators. You'd expect the franchised hotels to be the worst but its not my experience. There should be four spirits in the lounge during happy hour, gin, vodka, whiskey and rum.

There is an alarming TA review where a Diamond guest was refused access to the lounge during their authorised late check-out. The GM responded in a way to say that this is the norm per HH conditions. Is that a new brand standard too, no more lounge access during the duration of a late check-out? Find the review here https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Profile/sajid01422

cjd

Had an interesting one night stay last Saturday. Arrived early afternoon and was surprised to see the lobby full of people in strange dress. Witches, wizards and many others in basically "anything goes!" Found out we'd arrived on day 2 of the 4 day Discworld convention at the hotel and quite a few of the people we spoke to admitted they were crazy! Was upgraded from a standard King room to a King Executive room which was quite pleasant and recently refurbished. However when I tried to set the room temp, the a/c was not working. A call to reception and they said we would have to move rooms. Ten minutes later, the concierge arrived and moved us to a King Suite which was very nice and was the same as in Simon's photos above. Had afternoon tea in the lounge and then returned to the Exec lounge in the evening which was very busy, with some strange Discworld characters and also some "normal" guests. Food and soup were good and regularly replenished. As previuosly mentioned, red and white wines and prosecco were available with beers, but no spirits. Breakfast could be taken in Exec lounge or restaurant and both were busy on Sunday morning. Been quite a few years since we were here and the Exec lounge was on the top floor, but since the refurbishment, we liked it and would return.

flyoff

Stayed the week before Christmas. Upgraded recently renovated room was provided. The Executive lounge had a good range of lagers and ok wines. No real ale or cider - I was told they are looking at this. Sandwiches and snacks available during afternoon tea and hot snacks during evening drinks

i was in a rush in the morning so got some breakfast kn the lounge. The range was limited but I was told they would get other dishes from the main restaurant on request.

I didn’t get billed for car parking - I assume this was an unadvertised Diamond perk.

The only couple of negatives were the amount of wine bottles , glasses and beer bottles in the corridors. There must have been a big party the night before. The other being the parking spaces are extremely tight and I had to choose a place carefully to even get my car door open.

I would stay again.

hugolover

Does the lounge have spirits again?