Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Looks good from the outside |
| Disadvantages: |
The room ! |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
no |
As a regular (if reluctant) visitor to Coventry I have sampled one or two of the local hotels with mixed results. I had been putting off writing this review because I don’t really like running down a place on the basis of a one-off visit. However, in checking out the Corus chain's web for current prices etc, I find that I’m not the only one to be disappointed. Confirmation is out there, for those who may need it.
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Log on to the hotel’s own site and what you see is pretty special (for Coventry!). Half-timbered mock-Tudor frontage, spacious grounds, lavish suite, well-appointed restaurant…it mentions, but doesn’t show, the timber-panelled bar. Wander around this site though, and one thing should strike you. There are a very limited number of photographs. A hotel that is really something special should be capable of providing enough views for each page…it isn’t that extensive a site.
THE GOOD, & the NOT SO BAD
From the outside, The Chace is a picture. It looks the part. As you enter, the mood, the theme, is continued. The aforementioned bar is situated in the grand entrance hall. Oak timbered and very atmospheric. Squirreling the reception away into a corner is almost a good idea, because it maintains the atmosphere of this public space ~ and keeps all the modern electronics and harsh lighting away from the public area. It would work better if it didn’t leave people entering the building quite so bemused. Yes, it’s only a half-second hesitation…but just how many cool points do you lose in those few seconds, if it’s a business meeting and you’re out to impress? It was, and I wasn’t, so it didn’t matter ~ but it might have. A little better signage please. (Yes, I know it has to be obvious and unobtrusive at the same time ~ that’s what you pay professional designers for!)
The bar itself works very well. Warm oak panelling, comfortable sofas, fire place, grand staircase from the upper floors (should you be luck enough to be up there). Service was prompt, friendly and efficient during normal hours… a little reluctant, after hours. We did keep a late night, but this reviewer feels hotels have a choice: to offer the service or not. If choosing to do so, then it should be equal to that at peak periods. That said: prices whilst not cheap were not excessive. The range was of drinks was excellent. On asking for a glass of red wine, I was given options rather than assumptions.
I dined in a party of seven. The restaurant is pleasant enough ~ though a little too brightly lit for my taste in the evening. (The meal tariff was on a general invoice which I’ve not had sight off, but memory serves that price-wise a la carte options were, again, unremarkable. Neither great value, nor extortionately expensive.) The menu selection was broad enough to suit all tastes. Around the table: steak, chicken and fish were sampled in various guises and all pronounced themselves well-pleased. With no vegetarians amongst us, I cannot comment on that aspect. The service was attentive but not intrusive...delivery of the courses themselves was somewhat slow. The latest information on the Hotel’s own website suggests that they are currently having kitchen difficulties with no dining facilities available for many Friday nights & Saturday nights during November/December. Or are they perhaps cashing in on the seasonal ‘event’ trade at the expense of their guests?
THE DOWNRIGHT UGLY
Where this hotel completely lost my support, and my future custom, was in the room. I am not the fussiest of customers when it comes to such things. My starting point is always: the bed is clean, the door locks, the plumbing works. On that level, fine. No complaints. Sadly, this allegedly three-star hotel barely reached that level on one count, and certainly didn’t strive above it.
The fact that a used-coffee mug had not been washed up or replaced was irksome.
That the room was on the ground floor, and the door frame suggested that at some time in the recent past it had been jemmied open was, frankly, unnerving. It did seem secure enough ~ and it may be simply that the lock had been, shall we say, inexpertly, renewed. Not a good impression though.
The room itself was dark and dingy. Having opted to use part of the outer façade for the en-suite, left very little space for the room’s window. The absence of natural lighting is not something one can compensate for with any amount of electric ingenuity ~ and The Chace doesn’t bother to try. There are the usual options of overhead or beside, or over mirror. No combination of which managed to dispel the overall gloom.
The en-suite (bath, shower, WC, basin) did benefit from having a little of the natural light stolen from the room being on the external edge, but that didn’t compensate from a generally low-grade décor & fittings scheme. No imagination, no style, no recent renewal. I had an ample supply of towels (a criticism I’ve seen raised elsewhere) but they had seen better days. It did “what it says on the tin” ~ the plumbing did all work…but to be honest, budget motels generally do it better.
Added to which the room was overheated, and offered no control other than opening a window (which one generally doesn’t do on the ground floor in a strange neighbourhood).
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I would love to tell you about breakfast…but I wasn’t much inclined to stay around for it.
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Indicative Current prices, booked directly on line (2 adults):
Standard Room: room only £77
Value room: Bed & Breakfast £64
Value room: Dinner Bed, & Breakfast £88
Location: about three miles from the centre of Coventry and within easy reach of the M6/M69 interchange.
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hiker@Ciao!
26.11.04
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