As many Ciao regulars know I have just got married and this is my first, and possibly most boring (!), review since then. It was always my dream, from a young child (1) to get married and (2) to go to university at Cambridge. I am now proud to say that I have managed both! What is even better is that as a result of studying in Cambridge I was able to get married there. Although I got married in Sidney Sussex, my old college, commerciality being what it is I was unable to hold my wedding reception there as the "might get a conference booking for that weekend" (clearly more lucrative than a wedding reception)! Still, I was determined to get married in college and so set about finding a suitable reception venue.
+++ Location +++
Cambridge City Centre itself is pretty compact and so almost all of the major hotels that are represented there are easily accessible. The UniversityArms itself is located next to Parker's Piece, about 5 minutes walk from the commercial centre of Cambridge and 10 mins (brisk) walk from the river. Many of the rooms look out over Parker's Piece which is an open area of grass - quite pretty, nothing too special.
+++ Facilities +++
Land being at a premium in Cambridge you will not find many hotels that offer extensive facilities over and above a bar, restaurant and accommodation. The University Arms is no exception. It has three or so function rooms, including a ballroom, although this room and the Darwin Suite (where I held my reception) are often taken over to provide restaurant facilities.
The function rooms are well appointed and communal facilities are first class. Parker's Bar which overlooks the green is spacious and comfortable and is open to the public.
Here the de Vere group, which owns the University Arms, lets itself down. The rooms and adequately sized although not large and are en-suite. They have tea/coffee facilities, a television and toiletries in the bathroom but not much more. The bed was OK, again nothing special. The décor in the rooms is looking tired and although I believe the rooms are undergoing redecoration at the moment those which have not been done need it. At a rack rate of about £150 per night per room (not including breakfast) this is an area in which the hotel really lets itself down.
+++ Food +++
I'll only comment on the breakfast in this section as it is likely to be the only meal that most people will take in the hotel. The service was adequate and the selection of food was good. For me it was the morning after the night before and so my stomach wasn't coping too well but there were still lots of things which looked good! One thing that surprised us is that we saw a smoked fish terrine set out at breakfast which is what we had for our starter the night before…..
+++ Reception +++
The reception staff were very helpful and polite although their checking out procedure seemed to take a very long time.
+++ Car Park +++
Anyone at all familiar with Cambridge will know that car parking is a huge problem in the city - there is just not enough space. The University Arms won't help here either. They do have a small car park at ground level and another below the hotel which they charge guests £8 a day to park in. Attendants will park and retrieve your car for you which is just as well as the car park resembles a scene from the game traffic jam, with all cars being blocked in so as to maximise the space. The service was good (and we had a complimentary space in the car park through our wedding package) although I was surprised at the lack of security regarding car keys which had been left at reception. I did witness one guest being given the wrong set and there were no questions asked other than your room number in order to retrieve your keys.
+++ Wedding Package +++
This, after all, was why I was there in the first place. After a few hiccups, wrong names and confusions, everything went to plan. The hotel offer a comprehensive package which, unlike many of the other hotels includes most of the major items. They include a three course meal with wine, reception drinks, champagne toast, toastmaster, cake stand & knife, table flowers and a room for the bride and groom in the standard package. They will also help arrange photographers, cake, further flowers, evening entertainment or anything else you require although we did not use them for this.
The food was good and the day ran smoothly although there were a few complaints:
- noone was around to serve the welcome drinks and my husband and I ended up pouring the first few drinks for our guests
- the waiting staff were mainly foreign language students which made communication of problems or requests difficult
- the Newton suite was not air conditioned. We were not informed of this in advance (although in fairness we did not ask) but it did mean that the room got very hot.
- the wedding cake was cut into such tiny pieces that it was hardly worth giving our guests any!
All in all though a good day was had, the facilities were good and the staff helpful.
For a stay in Cambridge I would recommend this hotel if you were on business but not if you are there on a short break or holiday - you can get more for your money by staying elsewhere. For wedding receptions it was ideal despite the niggles!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Congratulations and good to see you back. You seem to have had a great time, by the way its a fine op. Mike.
flod 25.04.2001 23:17
Great detailed op. Ta. MC
danradders 25.04.2001 19:32
Hey, welcome back! Hope you had a nice time - I was thinking you may write first about where you went, the hot place, just to make us jealous! Good op to comeback with. DAN
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Advantages: Ideal location, wonderfully luxurious building. Disadvantages: Some of the staff really need further training and/or to work on their attitude to their guests.
very helpful by (96%):
helpful by (4%):
