We have had to stay in Nottingham at least once a month over quite a long period, and after trying a number of city centre hotels made the Park Plaza our automatic choice.

Location

The hotel is on Maid Marian Way, just minutes from Nottingham Castle, Market Square and Broad Marsh shopping centre. Victoria shopping centre and the bus and train stations are not too far away. It is possible to book valet parking at the hotel, but this is expensive. The NCP car parks nearby are also expensive. The hotel used to provide a discount for NCP parking, but unfortunately this is no longer available. One possible get-around is to leave the car at one of the park and ride sites (where it can be left for several days if required) and take the tram to Market Square.

Comfort

The wonderfully comfortable beds, which more than satisfy even the high criteria of backache-plagued semi-insomniacs like us, are the main reason for choosing the Park Plaza. I think this is also why so many pilots seem to stay in this hotel. The double-glazing is good and keeps out the noise from the traffic in Maid Marian Way and from the Saturday night revellers. I thinkl the wall insulation must be good too as I have never been bothered by TV from neighbouring rooms.

The rooms are well-appointed, clean, modern and have a generous-sized desk area if it is necessary to work. The only quirk that does not meet with our approval is the strange arrangement for bedside lighting. The light for each side of the bed is located in the ceiling over the other side! An explanatory card maintains this is for increased comfort, however our experience is that when only one of us wants to read in bed, the light will disturb the other person more than if there was simply a lamp on the bedside table.

For an extra payment, it is possible to get an executive room, which provides robes, slippers and bottled water. I think they also provide fruit (only stayed like this once, so cannot remember), however there are always mountains of apples available for the taking in the foyer, so that is less important.

Each room has a mini-bar, which contains whisky, gin, vodka, white wine all for £4.50, plus peanuts, chocolate, juice, mixers and water. Red wine is available from room service at the same price, but I don't know if a delivery fee applied.

Be warned that if you take one of the cheaper rooms available on offer, you are likely to be given a room that is much smaller than standard. This is fine if you are on your own or travelling light, however it could cause major space issues for a couple travelling with a lot of luggage.

We had a strange experience once when staying on the tenth floor. There was a continuous sound for much of the night, which we couldn't really locate. We thought it might be an enthusiastic couple next door, but it went on and on. We and reception then thought it might be someone using the machines in the gym upstairs, but when I experimented up there, my partner heard nothing. The other possibility might have been noise from one of the function rooms. The mystery was never solved and we took to requesting rooms on any floor other than the tenth.

Catering

Breakfast is not usually included with the discounted rooms. If you choose to pay, it is expensive, about £15. It is served as a buffet in the bar area, with the usual cereals, cold buffet, hot buffet, fruit salad, juices, yogurts, etc. At busy times, there is not enough space and restocking can be slow.

The Chino Latino restaurant has a high reputation locally and is often full. It serves fusion Asian food. We ate there once. The food was fine, but expensive. We were not keen on the very dim lighting and loud jazz music. The other downside is that it seems to operate on two sittings per night, which means it is not possible to choose a specific time to eat other than the two times offered.

The Chino Latino bar is also expensive, dim and noisy, but the cocktails are superb :))

We tried room service on a variety of occasions, with mixed experiences. Some of the dishes on offer are very good indeed. I had a lovely "fish of the day" and my partner delighted in crab linguini. He also enjoyed the steak. A chicken dish proved a disaster, being literally just a piece of chicken in not very much sauce, and a couple of pieces of vegetables. The hamburger is very good indeed, being made from prime steak, chargrilled and served in a bun with chips. This is definitely my recommendation if you arrive absolutely ravenous and too tired to bother with restaurants. The main courses cost £12-16. Delivery usually takes about 30 minutes.

Facilities

Internet is available in the rooms and in the foyer. It costs something like £12 for 24 hours. If you are a member of the points programme for the group (Park Plaza, Park Inn, Radisson), you can get it free in the foyer, with a free cup of coffee. I personally believe hotels in the UK should wake up and start giving free Internet to all their guests!

There is a small seating area in the foyer if you wish to avoid the dim and noisy bar. Unfortunately, you will get hassled endlessly by a waitress trying to serve you drinks: not good if you are trying to converse with friends or business contacts.

The gym is extremely basic, with a treadmill and an all-in-one weight training machine that I found too complex to use. If you want to use the gym, you have to arrange this with reception and sign a disclaimer in order to get your key card programmed to open the door. I believe the hotel has an arrangement with one of the city centre gyms for guests who want more extensive provision.

The concierge service can provide lots of useful information about attractions, hairdressers, etc. As mentioned above, valet parking is available but expensive.

Checking in and out can be slow if there are several other people trying to do the same.

Overall

I certainly recommend the Park Plaza as a hotel where it is possible to have a comfortable stay in the heart of Nottingham for the same or little more cost than a budget hotel. If you decide to eat there, or get seduced by the Chino Latino cocktails, you might find the bill significantly higher. However, with all the other possibilites for eating and drinking in the immediate area, this is purely a personal choice.