Sheesh - seems like ages since I've been here. So many changes, business up and running - bred my f...
Sheesh - seems like ages since I've been here. So many changes, business up and running - bred my first litter of labs - moved house - guess I had better work on catching up now!
Member since:20.03.2001
Reviews:275
Members who trust:170
OK - poor show on the title - sorry!!
A late finish in London followed by an early start in Swindon meant an overnight stop en-route back home. Not a city I am familiar with, I did know that prices seemed generally high, and therefore was a little worried about our destination.
A few phone calls later, and I had secured a room at the De Vere Hotel, Swindon. Part of the De Vere chain (who also own and run the Village Hotel chain) for some reason I had an underlying belief that many of the outlets were, shall we say tired, so I was pleasantly surprised, on arrival, to find a well packed car-park, and a modern looking pleasant hotel.
=====================BOOKING This room was booked through a third party, however, you can book on De Vere's own website at www.devereonline.co.uk - or of course, you can reserve through the old faithful, www.activehotels.com.
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LOCATION & GETTING THERE The hotel is well situated on the edge of Swindon West Centre, an out of town commercial development, and is within 5 minutes of junction 16 of the M4. As the hotel had been booked for us while we were on the move, we were restricted to verbal directions from hotel reception, and they worked perfectly. We also established at that point, that they stop serving food at 1030pm in the bar.
There is ample on-site parking for around 200 cars, and there is a commercial area alongside, which I would imagine could be used for overspill during busy, out of hours parking.
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CHECK-IN
& RECEPTION Reception is a grand spacious affair with a reception desk to the left and the concierge to the right. Be warned if you are a smoker and staying here, the machine in reception charges £5.80 for a pack of 16 Silk Cut!!!! (Guess who got caught!)
This was swift, efficient and friendly, requiring completion of personal details, a swipe of the credit card, an offer of an early morning call and newspaper and despatch to our rooms.
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THE ROOM My initial impression of the room was WOW; it was all decked out in green with windows that opened (but no air conditioning), desk working area, large double bed, comfortable seating area, wardrobe, iron and ironing board, remote controlled colour TV offering a range of terrestrial and sky channels including Sky Sports, a safe and en-suite bathroom.
The bathroom was a spacious affair with sink, bath, toilet and thermostatically controlled power shower (aka weak drip!!). Towels were provided in abundance and were sufficiently large enough for me. Interestingly, the room was quite cool despite the absence of air conditioning.
High-speed wireless internet access was available through a port connection (a little unusual!) - and I found the speed slow (around 400K) and the connection ropey, taking me around 20 minutes to connect each time. A swift call to reception saw me pay only a portion of the normal £15 daily charge.
The bed was extremely comfortable, and the pillows and bedding very soft and fresh - a swift visit to reception established that none of it is feather as they are now allowed to use them (interesting, and not something I have encountered at any other chain!).
The main gripe I would have about the room was the poor lighting quality and the fact that I couldn't see the TV from the desk.
There was tea and coffee making facilities in the room complete with various fancy biscuits, and a mini-bar/fridge, which was sadly empty apart from some long life milk for hot beverages.
My colleagues room, on the other side of the hotel, was identical in every way other than it was all red rather than green! ===========================
LEISURE FACILITIES To say I am gutted I didn't have my cossie was an understatement. The De Vere Swindon has a spacious and very inviting looking pool and Jacuzzi, Steam room, sauna, gym and beauty salon. This was a far cry from many of the hotels where the size of what the hotel claim to be a pool would fit in to a small corner of my garden.
=====================EATING & DRINKING Evening meal prices were somewhat higher than our budget, but staying here, this is really not a problem. There is a Pizza Hut within 1 minutes walk, and if you don't fancy Italian, there is a Mexican restaurant at the front, and a Best Western Hotel on the other side of the car-park offering a range of 2 for 1 meal offers. There is also a McDonalds within 5 minutes walk. If you fancy doing something a little different there is a mult-screen cinema literally opposite the hotel. As breakfast was included in the rate it would have been churlish not to partake. On offer was a range of fresh fruits to kill for offering every type of delight imaginable including some berry concoction. There was also yogurts, juices, cereals, pasties, cold platter, and the usual selection of hot foods including bacon, sausage, eggs, hash browns, beans, mushrooms and tomatoes.
All this was help yourself buffet style, washed down with toast, tea or coffee brought fresh to your table. There was also a fabulous selection of jams, marmalade and honey to add to your toast.
Bar drinks were not extortionately expensive, around £3.25 for a bottle of beer, and £5.25 for a large glass of white wine, although I did feel that £3.50 for a litre bottle of water was a little on the excessive side. The bar has a glass wall external surround where you can sit watching the world go by, or watching the swimmers in the pool.
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CONFERENCE FACILITIES The De Vere Swindon has meeting and conference facilities to suit parties of all shapes and sizes from 2 to 300 people. They even have their own dedicated website to deal with all their customer needs available at: www.conferencesandmeetings.co.uk/ =====================
COST I didn't see any standard rack rates in reception, but on their website, prices start from £98 for a double room with breakfast (we paid £85). Deals and offers should be available from their website, and they claim best prices are guaranteed there - having tried Active Hotels, coming in at a cool £105 for a weekday, it seems their claims are believable, ===================== MY VERDICT A few minor issues such as ropey internet connection, and the fact that I couldn't see the TV from the desk area would not be sufficiently bad enough to put me off if travelling with companions of for a romantic weekend, although if I was travelling alone for business, then this would definitely be a deterrent for me.
Its proximity to the M4 coupled with the superb leisure facilities, beautifully furnished, spacious and comfortable bedrooms, combined with its proximity to good reasonably priced eating establishments and distances from cities such as Bath, Oxford and Swindon, not to mention the beautiful Cotswolds, definitely make this outlet worth more than just a second glance. Personally, I would give it 4½ stars, but because of the rating system, will give it the benefit of the doubt and give it the perfect 5.
DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED
De Vere Swindon, Shaw Ridge Leisure Park, Whitehill Way, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN5 7DW Telephone: 01793 878785 Fax: 01793 877822 E-Mail: dvs.sales@devere-hotels.com Web: http://www.devereonline.co.uk
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