Hilton, Sheffield

Part One - Two, two, two awful!

It’s Friday night. I’m sitting at my desk in my hotel room at the Hilton Sheffield writing this. I’m booked in for two nights, whilst we visit family to celebrate my mum’s 70th birthday – though you’d never guess it if you knew her – she’s a “game old bird”. The hotel is apparently full. Quite why, I don’t know, but apparently it is. And, to explain the subtitle, I’m sitting in room 222, hating every ...
...but tonight, after watching “Hell’s Kitchen” on the TV, I had to ‘phone the hotel’s duty manager to complain, politely, about “Hell’s Hotel Room” that’s a first. She was very helpful and promised to move us to a decent room in the morning, so this will be a review in two parts. You’ll get the truth of tonight’s experience in part one, and we’ll see what tomorrow’s room will muster in part two. I’m a fair person after all, but so far, everything that ... more

Part One - Two, two, two awful!

It’s Friday night. I’m sitting at my desk in my hotel room at the Hilton Sheffield writing this. I’m booked in for two nights, whilst we visit family to celebrate my mum’s 70th birthday – though you’d never guess it if you knew her – she’s a “game old bird”. The hotel is apparently full. Quite why, I don’t know, but apparently it is. And, to explain the subtitle, I’m sitting in room 222, hating every minute of it. I don’t make a habit of complaining but tonight, after watching “Hell’s Kitchen” on the TV, I had to ‘phone the hotel’s duty manager to complain, politely, about “Hell’s Hotel Room” that’s a first. She was very helpful and promised to move us to a decent room in the morning, so this will be a review in two parts. You’ll get the truth of tonight’s experience in part one, and we’ll see what tomorrow’s room will muster in part two. I’m a fair person after all, but so far, everything that could go wrong has done so. Perhaps tomorrow will bring better things.

We’d booked the two-night stay about a month in advance via the Hilton web site. I’m a Gold VIP Hhonors member and, as such, am entitled to a room upgrade. Room 222 is not only not an upgraded room, it is also – I sincerely hope – the worst in the hotel; for if this is the standard, then Heaven help us. I’m not over-fussy, but the following faults simply couldn’t be ignored:

Carpet went up the skirting board, but was falling off it. (Minor complaint)

There was an unsightly paint repair behind the TV. (Minor complaint)

There was an armchair (just one) but one of the castors was missing, making it unstable and uncomfortable. (Fairly major complaint)

There was no minibar, but a vending machine outside the room – this was out of order. (Observation – may or may not concern you)

The drawer in the desk, and one in the chest of drawers also, was broken. (Minor complaint)

There was no air-conditioning, yet the window only opened about an inch. (Major problem)

TV volume could not be adjusted above half-level. (Irritation)

One of the wall-mounted bedside lamps was totally missing. (Starting to get annoyed now – does this hotel have any attention to detail?)

Door chain was totally absent and hence inoperative. (Major complaint)

Smoking room – booked and re-booked three times had not been allocated and had to be sorted out at check-in. (Irritation – but probably aimed at central reservations)

Add to those facts that dining room service was shabby and unprofessional and that when I visited the bar (of this 4-star hotel), customers were dropping their trousers, you can possibly appreciate why I was not 100% impressed. (Huge complaint, although I’m not sure how a hotel should manage unruly customers.)

The room was unacceptable. Restaurant service was below par. I don’t whine, but it was time to make a complaint, and I ‘phoned the Duty Manager.

To be fair, she was fantastic and arranged for an upgrade the following night. I really hate complaining – all I want is to enjoy the room that I’ve paid for - and wasn’t made to feel like a whiner; I was actually thanked for bringing these faults to her attention – though why it remained the responsibility of a guest to have done so still escapes me – a greater attention to detail is clearly needed. We counted our losses and went to sleep.

It was a hard mattress, yet we slept well and woke up in time for the included breakfast. This was fantastic, and the breakfast staff were terrific, looking after Josh in the way that excellent Hilton staff know how. He was a happy chappy, and happy kids make happy parents.

As instructed the night before, I proceeded to Reception to arrange the promised change of room. Everything was in order but could not, understandably, be actioned immediately. No problem, but we were due to be out with my family for the day, so left our luggage in the room. They promised to move it to our new room. They did….

Part Two – Much, Much More Like It!

It’s Saturday night, and we’ve been effortlessly relocated across the corridor to room 225. It’s a “Club Room”, with free mineral water, filter coffee machine, bathrobe (which I’m wearing as I write this), and a spacious balcony – accessed via French windows – with table and chairs – with a lovely view over the canal and the boats moored in the basin. More importantly, the room is intact; the armchair (still singular) doesn’t rock all over the place, since it has all four feet. In fact, none of my previous criticisms (apart from the door chain) persist.

I’m no “Prima-Donna”, but I am very concerned that it took a complaint to achieve decent standards – upgraded room or not. The second night was fantastic; the first night should not have been so sub-standard. I can’t decide whether or not to recommend this hotel. Based on the first night, I’d probably never stay in a Hilton again – certainly not if I were a “Hilton Virgin”. Based on the second night, I’d really rave about the place.

What, I think, surprises me most, is the fact that on returning to the hotel tonight, it was clear from the outside that room 222 had been re-let. If they had rectified all the many problems that I’d identified, then – all power to their elbow. Otherwise, they’re treating someone else as a complete sucker. I sincerely hope that the latter is not the case. I’ve tried to give you both sides of the equation. Whether you decide to stay here is up to you. You’re the jury and you’ve heard the evidence. Good luck – this is a hotel that CAN deliver. I hope it does for you.

Andrew
 

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