An eventful recent (March 2008) visit in order to compile this review, but more about that aspect later.
This hotel is part of the international Hilton chain, and was chosen by my wife and I for a winter/spring weekend break for us along with our 16 month-old little boy. We have stayed at numerous Hilton group hotels previously in the UK and in other parts of the world and have usually been pleased with their standards.
This was a 'last minute' booking, so we had to take what was available, and on initially being offered 'Coventry' we weren't too keen - we had visions of not talking to one another whilst we were there !!
However I can say that we were pleasantly surprised by the hotel.
It was very easy to find, especially with a sat-nav! However without the aid of technology and relying on a good old-fashioned map then it would just be as easy to get to, situated just off the A4600, within spitting distance of the junction of the M6 and M69, clearly visible from the interchange.
The hotel is situated in a commercial estate neighboured by offices and retail premises, however is in its own well-maintained grounds and is quiet despite being close to the motorways. Within a few minutes walk (if you are happy crossing busy roads) is a 24 -hour Tesco, a ten-pin bowling alley, a couple of restaurants
(Nando's and Frankie & Bennys), as well as other shops. A little bit further is an ASDA and a few pubs.
The hotel has its own car park, contained wholly within it's own grounds, and is accessed via one of two barrier controlled entrances. The car park appeared to well covered by hotel CCTV, and certainly whilst we were there we did not see any 'undesirables' anywhere near the hotel. Parking for residents was added to the cost at £3 per day.
The hotel itself is like many of the Hilton chain, purpose built as a hotel and it had the usual understated reception and lobby area, which gave a relaxed but efficient feel to our arrival.
There were 2 reception staff on duty as we arrived and we were acknowledged at the desk almost immediately. Within a couple of minutes we had confirmed our reservation and been issued with an electronic room key, hotel pass-card and given directions to our room on the second floor. Lifts and stairs to all floors were directly off the reception, with the lifts being very spacious and extremely quick.
The room we had was a standard 'Hilton Room', with 2 good-sized twin beds. The room we had overlooked a 3-sided garden court area which was well maintained and had a patio & seating area. It had a large wardrobe, plenty of drawer space and an upholstered easy chair, as well as a couple of ordinary chairs and stool at the dressing table. It was equipped with a large colour TV, showing a selection of digital channels (plus additional pay-per-view/play station facilities), tea-coffee making facilities, iron & ironing board, trouser press, digital alarm clock-radio, and 2 telephones. The room was very clean and all the décor and furniture appeared clean and in a very good state of repair.
The en-suite bathroom, comprising of a bath and over-bath shower, washbasin and toilet appeared spotless, and we were left with plenty of complimentary toiletries.
As we had our 16 month-old with us we had already asked for a cot, which was waiting in the room on our arrival, in good condition and with its own bedding.
Included in the stay at the hotel was unlimited use of the leisure facilities within the hotel. This comprised a well-equipped gym with aerobic and resistance machines, a reasonable sized swimming pool, spa pool, and sauna and steam rooms. The staff at the leisure area were helpful and polite, taking time to explain what they could offer and handing us complimentary towels and showing us to a dedicated 'family' changing room. There were also normal male & female changing rooms. Lockers were on a £1 deposit system, with the cash returned when you opened the locker up. Again the whole area appeared clean and well maintained. It was relatively quiet whilst we were there and had ready access to all the 'wet' facilities without crowding. The locals that also used the leisure facilities were friendly and chatty.
The dining facilities are just off the reception area, through an open bar/lounge area. We ate an evening meal and 2 breakfasts at the hotel so can only comment on these, however there were bar snacks, in-room dining and 24-hr service available if you wanted.
The evening meal we had was predominantly a buffet style, with some dishes served by staff. Starters were either 2 homemade soups or a selection of cold hors d'euvres. Main was a choice of around 5 or 6 roast meats or vegetarian options, with then the addition of plentiful vegetables and sauces. Although the roast meats were cut and served by the chefs they were plentiful and the staff only too eager to get exactly what we wanted. Our little boy was also offered anything free from the children's' menu, which on the surface seemed to cater quite well for the younger ones - the only problem being that as all this food was hand-prepared and cooked to order then a hungry impatient child was not a good fashion accessory!
The drink/wine menu was a little expensive bearing in mind the limited variety they supplied, with the cheapest bottle of wine well over £15, and glasses starting at over £5 - ouch.
The evening meal is where we perhaps had the most eventful part of our visit, and where it showed some good and poor points of the hotel. Our little boy had not been on top form for a couple of days or so, and decided that the best time to throw the contents of his stomach out was during the meal in the restaurant, much to the dismay of my wife whose plate seemed to catch the majority! On getting him to the toilets to wash his face and clean him up he again managed to deposit a couple more little bits of his partially chewed food on the floor of the restaurant. As my wife got to the toilets she was almost immediately joined by one of the Guest Relations staff, who was very concerned for our little boy and offered to do anything they could to help. They insisted on taking his clothes, which had been 'hit', and washing and drying them there and then, which was very helpful and tied up one of the staff for some time. This was the most impressive part of the service we received during the whole weekend and was a very welcome gesture by the staff. I only wish I could say the same for the restaurant waiting staff - I pointed out (and apologised profusely) to one of the waitresses where my little boy had vomited, offering to clean it up just to be told that they would do it. Unfortunately 20 minutes later it was still there and had not been cleaned up.
Breakfast was buffet style, with items ranging from fresh fruit, cereals, the usual 'hot' breakfast items (sausages, bacon, eggs, mushrooms, hash browns etc etc), various cakes, pastries and breads etc. All the food and drink was plentiful, well cooked and presented and the breakfast waiting staff were attentive and polite.
Check-out was simple and easy, with a draft invoice being delivered to our room during the night before our check-out, so that it could be checked.
All in all a hotel to be recommended (if you avoid the baby vomit that may hang around the restaurant!!). The good points of this hotel by far out-weighed the one minor problem that we experienced.
very helpful by (100%):
