International Hotel, Derby

Review of the International Hotel, Burton Street, Derby - Friday 11th to Sunday 13th August 2006

My partner and I checked into the hotel on Friday 11th August as our friends were holding their wedding reception there on the Saturday. Although I had initial reservations about staying at this hotel due to the many negative reviews I'd read by 'googling' the hotel, as we checked in I thought I'd give it the benefit of the doubt.
...
...Wing several buildings away from the main hotel (which meant that we'd have to walk 5 minutes before getting to the main building to use the bar or for breakfast and also outside a main road bus stop!) but the room was pleasant and with it being away from the main building, it was also quite.

However, first impressions were that the room could do with a good going over with a vacuum cleaner as thick layers of dirt and dust were clearly ... more

Review of the International Hotel, Burton Street, Derby - Friday 11th to Sunday 13th August 2006

My partner and I checked into the hotel on Friday 11th August as our friends were holding their wedding reception there on the Saturday. Although I had initial reservations about staying at this hotel due to the many negative reviews I'd read by 'googling' the hotel, as we checked in I thought I'd give it the benefit of the doubt.

We were given room 81 of the East Wing several buildings away from the main hotel (which meant that we'd have to walk 5 minutes before getting to the main building to use the bar or for breakfast and also outside a main road bus stop!) but the room was pleasant and with it being away from the main building, it was also quite.

However, first impressions were that the room could do with a good going over with a vacuum cleaner as thick layers of dirt and dust were clearly visible under the dressing table, the TV unit and the wardrobe; the room also had not been dusted in a while as I had to wipe away a thick layer of dust from the TV and remote control. We were also afraid to close and lock the bathroom door as the handle was on it very last legs and coming away from the door itself……HOWEVER, this was nothing in comparison of what was yet to come…..

My other half (as best man at the wedding) left to go stay at the groom's house on the Friday night and after a few drinks at the bride home, I returned to the suite and retired to my bed at 11.30pm, leaving the lamp on the other side of the room on as it was very dark.

I briefly awoke at 1.50am and turned around in bed, opening my eyes to find an insect the size of a 20 pence piece right in front of my nose on my pillow…I hate creepy crawlies at the best of times and scream and flicked it away, as I got out of bed and lifted up the duvet I stunned and shocked into screaming as I found at least a further 20-30 insects scrawling around my legs, on the duvet and on the white sheets themselves - all of different colours, sizes, shapes and all which frightened the living bee-jeezus out of me - it was like something out of an Indiana Jones movie, I couldn't believe what was happening to me. I was in tears as I was trying to bat them off me and managed to trap a few bright red louse like things under a glass tumbler. I called reception and the phone was finally picked up by the night porter, as I shouted down the phone at him, tears streaming down my face, he informed me to pack my things and he'd move me to a different room. As I packed I discovered further insect crawling around on my dress cover, around our cases and on the floor, I went crazy trying to pack and shake these things off me at 2.15 in the morning, the porter finally turned up, apologised and had a look at some of the insects that were trapped under the tumbler and also the ones that decided to hide inside my pillow cover when the lights came on. He gave me the keys to room 82 and left, leaving me to pack up my things and drag mine and my partner's cases, bags, clothes and gifts to the other room in my pyjamas!!

After 4 journeys back and forth between the rooms, I dumped everything in room 82 and after scrutinizing the room, bed and covers inside out I reluctantly climbed into bed, by now it's 3.00am and I was so paranoid I couldn't sleep, my skin is crawling and I could still feel these insects all over me, I got little to no sleep and realised I'd developed a nervous twitch in my left eyebrow (which 2 days later is still there!) because of this whole experience. My paranoid nightmare continued as I kept thinking to myself that if I hadn't have kept the lamp on then I would never have seen all those bugs and god only knows in which orifice they might have set up home in and how many I may have eaten whilst asleep as they may have crawled into my mouth, up my nose or in my ears (the thought of this as I type is making me sick!)

On the morning of the wedding I regaled my experience to fellow members of the wedding party who were also staying there in front of the other staff who looked extremely sheepish and embarrassed, giving me sly looks - everyone was horrified. I finally saw the Manager, Sumit, a boy of no more than 25 who escorted me to the back corners of the hotel to apologise and say that they'd just taken over the hotel and that he'd informed Derby City Council of the infestation and surprise surprise that this kind of thing had never happened to them before (!!). I re-explained everything that happened, only for him to say "…what would you like me to do about it" (!!!!!) I promptly replied in anger that there wasn't a lot he could do I've a whole night's sleep, I've had the shock of my life, I've had insect crawling around on my body and I have bites on my arms and legs. He then said that he wouldn't charge me for the Friday night (which was big of him!!), I said to him whether he did or he didn't I still never managed to get any sleep in either of the rooms and it had ruined a big day that everyone had spend the best part of 6 months to organise. He also said that if he saw me around the bar he'd buy me a few drinks.

At the reception, which was held in the Aztec room (aptly named with all those creepy crawlies in my room!!) my other half went to buy me a drink, and I told the bar staff that Sumit the manager had promised me a free drink, she went off to find out and the next thing I know Sumit came up to me and dragged me out of the reception so that he could "…have a word" I followed him up to his office, on the way to stop at the elevator where Sumit helped an elderly couple - man was in a wheelchair, woman stuck in the lift wedged behind the wheelchair and struggling to get out or get the doors to close as the lift was too small (Note to all you people travelling with disabilities, with wheelchairs large, cases or prams - the lifts are not suitable nor fit for purpose, especially as the woman informed me later on in the reception that she'd phoned up weeks in advance to check if the hotel was wheel chair friendly - which it clearly isn't because of the lift, the 10 or so large marble steps outside and the car par which is almost a 90 degree vertical drop!! - seriously no exaggeration!!)

When we got to the Manager's office, he brashly said to me "…I understand from my bar staff that you said that you were promised free drinks all night by me?!" I promptly informed him that I had said no such thing and that I wasn't trying to put him out of business and a free drink was the least he could have given me after my experience the night before. He said that he'd let his bar staff know.

All in all my experience with this hotel was bad, the breakfast, cold, fatty and greasy, the staff and management rude and inhospitable (although their large bar man-come-bouncer was nice) their facilities unusable and rooms left un-dusted and un-hoovered and handles falling off doors and fire doors being slammed from dawn onwards.

I can honestly without a doubt say that I will never ever be staying there again, I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy and for any of you who usually take these reviews with a pinch of salt, I say DON'T! I ignored the reviews of previous occupants which disastrous and horrific consequences!!

Thanks for reading this - I hope this review was useful to you.

(PS: For the love of god and your sanity DON'T stay at this hotel !!)
 

...less