Booked as the hotel is in a decent location and has free parking. On arrival, I parked up in, what the hotel refer to as their car park, but it looks like a public car park and didn't feel particularly safe and certainly not secure. There was rubbish, including bottles, strewn all around the car park so initial impression wasn't great.
Reception looked promising. Well lit and modern. Unfortunately, there was music being piped in that was just too loud (I'll come back to this later). The young lady that checked me in was very friendly and helpful, although it was difficult to hear her over the background music.
My first worry was when I got to my room, there was an open attic / loft with a ladder leading up to it and dirt and debris all over the well worn carpet so it looked like some sort of work was going on.
I had booked a junior suite for a little extra comfort but have been left very disappointed by the room. The room has two windows but was still very dark and dingy. I still needed to put the light on, even though it was early afternoon. On the plus side, there were some treats provided in the room; crisps, chocolate, water etc. The air conditioning worked (thankfully, as it was roasting) and there was a fridge provided. Also, there was a safe in the wardrobe, although it is very hard to see anything in the wardrobe, even with the light on as it is just so dark. That's about as good as it got.
The 'double' bed was two single beds pushed together, with two single mattresses. This meant that I could not sleep in the middle or across the bed and, effectively, had a single bed to use. Once I slept on one side, the mattress sank below the level of the other mattress so there was a massive ridge in the bed.
The bathroom is in major need of upgrade. The floor tiles are cracked, the bath needs to be replaced as it has stains and signs of previous repairs. The tiles need re-grouting as they are stained and black in places, particularly where they meet the bath. The bathroom door doesn't open fully as it hits the end of the bath. The first towel I took off the rail was dirty so was thrown straight into the corner, although I did use this at night to block the light coming in under the bedroom door through the massive gap at the bottom.
You'll remember the loud Reception music I mentioned earlier. Well, it seems this is also bedroom music!! Yes, it is that loud downstairs that it could be heard coming through the floor of the bedroom during the day, although thankfully, it was off at night so didn't affect my sleep.
Next morning, I was woken up at 08:15 by the sound of voices and the noise of the ladder being extended outside the room again. Whomever was working in the attic was back and seemingly oblivious to the fact that people might actually be sleeping at that time of a Saturday morning.
When I got up to leave the room, the dirt and debris were still all over the floor from the previous day and now it had been joined by a black bag with soiled linens left right outside my room. I left the hotel for the day and went about my business in Derby.
When I arrived back that night / next morning at roughly 01:30, I was able to walk straight in off the street, through the open front doors, through Reception and straight up the stairs, totally unchallenged. This did not feel safe at all. Indeed, at 02:35, I was woken by someone knocking at my bedroom door. When I looked through the peephole, I saw a youth in a green parka jacket and a baseball cap, who seemed quite shocked when I shouted out 'what do you want' and turned on his heels and left.
Next morning, when leaving the hotel, I noticed the dirt and debris all still on the floor and the black bag with linen still exactly where they had been since the previous day.
I opted against breakfast at the hotel and went to the café right next door and got a delicious fry-up, with a mug of tea and orange juice for £7.95. Having read other reviews on this page, I think I made a good choice.
Another negative is the check-out time of 10:00. On what planet do hotels think it is acceptable to kick guests out at that hour of the morning?!
Overall, I am really disappointed with my stay at this hotel as I had been really looking forward to staying here, especially as it is part of the Best Western chain. Unfortunately, I will not be back. less