We had been looking forward to staying in an up-market four-star hotel in up-market Harrogate; we were sorely disappointed. Things started to go wrong before we checked-in; we enquired about secure parking; we were told that the secure parking was directly in front of the hotel, not our idea of secure. We were, somewhat curtly, informed that it was full and that we would have to park on the street. No mention was made of use of the off-street parking availability at the sister hotel a few hundred meters down the hill, which we later understood could be used at the residents’ rate (£15 per night). We checked in to our “Deluxe Double Room”, our idea of “deluxe” is at complete variance to what we found; there was absolutely nothing deluxe about the room. The heating was off and the room cold. It was sp****ly furnished with, furniture that at best was Ikea, but more likely MFI. The windows were ill-fitting and had large gaps at the sides and bottom, allowing cold air in. The bathroom was sp****ly equipped with taps that are more style than functionality, it was impossible to turn the shower tap off with wet hands. The toilet seat was loose. The towel rail barely took the chill off the room. The room was not serviced on day two, for no apparent reason. We were later informed that the room was deluxe as it has a view to the front. The breakfast facilities are grossly inadequate, such that guests are required to request an allocated time. The self-service area is cramped and congested. There was only one toasting machine that required the bread to be put in twice to achieve acceptable results, increasing the congestion. We were allocated a slot towards the end of the breakfast period, some of the cooked food was not available and we were told that because it was the end of breakfast, no more would be cooked. Very far divorced from four-star service. To my mind, an English breakfast requires marmalade, the little pots of orange coloured jelly are what I might expect in a cheap boarding-house, not a four-star hotel. This hotel is one to avoid, it lets Harrogate and Yorkshire down in a big way. p.s I sent a copy of this to the duty managers for their comment before I posted it; they did not bother to reply.
Very Good
111 Reviews