Mercure Tilburg - The best upgrade I've ever had

100   Recommended
Room 227 , Privilege
May 31, 2017 by

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Mercure Hotel Tilburg Centrum
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Room 227

Privilege

Liked:
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Privilege

Just wanted to share this little story with you guys, because this is a prime example of excellency in local customer service. I didn't take many photos, because I didn't plan on writing a review.

Originally, I had booked a 2-day stay at Ibis in Tilburg, The Netherlands. This is a basic, but nice and cheap hotel that I have visited a couple of times already. Apart from a good bar/restaurant with actual cooks, they don't really offer any special amenities.

An hour before I planned to check in, around 6PM, I got a phone call from the Ibis that because of a computer error (surprise suprise!) they had overbooked. The FDA profusely apologised for the situation and offered to transfer my booking to the Mercure in the city center. I happily accepted their offer, because the Mercure is situated in a much better location.

Check In

On arrival at the Mercure I was met with the same level of hospitality as I am used to receive at the Ibis. The check-in went a bit slow and the FDA was strugling with the check-in because this was a non-standard situation. She told me that this was her first day, but I didn't really mind anyway because she gave her best and was friendly. However, her manager did take over the check in eventually and from then on all went smoothly. 

They waived the parking costs of 10 euro per night and since I am a platinum member, I also got upgraded to the privilege room (which has a rate of about 3x the rate I paid for my original room at Ibis).

Spa

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Little did I know that the property since the reconstruction (that was offset last year) includes a complete spa. They only advertised online that there's a sauna. However, the spa includes 4 different types of sauna, 2 Turkish steam baths, a pool, a jacuzzi, different types of showers and a bar/lounge area. Of course they also offer different massages.

Occupants of the privilege rooms get free access to it, if you stay in a standard room, you pay a discounted fee (I believe 7 euro). The full fare for non-guests is 10 euro. This was definitely the best spa I have encountered in a hotel. 

Gym

Just like with the spa, the gym is also fully equipped with many cardio and strength machines, as well as free weights (dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, you name it). This is because the gym belongs to the network Basic Fit, which has many gyms in western Europe.

Just as with the spa, occupants of the privilege rooms get free access to it. Unfortunately I couldn't claim it, because I am already a member of aforementioned gym network. 

Dining

The hotel is affiliated with a grand cafe on the ground floor and a fine dining restaurant in the basement of the hotel's building. Both have a very good reputation locally, with the latter ranking 5 out of 193 on TripAdvisor. Both restaurants allow you to put the bill on the room, so you can collect those glorious le club points ;).

I didn't get to eat in the fine dining restaurant this time, because it was closed on monday, when I wanted to eat there. I have been there a few years ago though, and I recall that it was just an excellent diner. The interior is a bit boring, because the restaurant is located in the basement.

20170529_203659.jpgHowever, I did eat in the grand café and it was absolutely delicious, and affordable as well. I took the most expensive item on the menu, which was the lobster, costing 29 euro. Unfortunately it wasn't too comfortable to sit on the terrace, because it is right next to a busy intersection. Inside was just good. 

The next day I had a few drinks in the grand cafe and also redeemed my drink voucher. Normally they would also give you some cheese snacks with it, but because they ran out, the bartender gave me a second drink. 

Surprisingly, drinks are cheaper in this café than at the Ibis that I had originally booked.

Room

The room was good and spateous. As mentioned before, I got upgraded to the privilege room.

It included plenty of the mercure soaps and other consumables, as well as a Nespresso machine and a kettle. There was a well filled minibar and they charge fair prices for the drinks and snacks. There was also a bathrobe and slippers.

My room didn't get cleaned though, because I had accidentally pressed the DND button when I tried to turn off the lights. 

Overall

In conclusion, this 4-star hotel passed some of the 5-star hotels I have visited in the past, when it comes to comfort and excellence. I think that the Ibis in this town lost a loyal customer, because this hotel is really worth the money. 

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