Clayton Hotel Belfast City

For what we paid, I expected a bit more. Check-in was easy with self-service, and reception was good. The corridors and carpets looked nice. Our bedroom was clean and comfortable, with a big TV, tea and coffee, biscuits and water. In the bathroom, though, some grout was mouldy and the white door was dirty, so it needed a deeper clean. We also got asked to pay for keys despite having paid online, then had to get a refund. It was sorted, but shouldn't have happened. Breakfast was a mixed bag: the black and white pudding were excellent, the mushrooms and tomatoes good, and the sausages fine. The bacon was thin, hard and cold, while the green-looking scrambled eggs didn't smell or look appealing. Continental choices were limited, and there were only boiled eggs, no fried ones. Nothing was a disaster, but the price set higher expectations.

The staff were lovely, friendly and really helpful, which was the one saving grace. When they saw we'd booked through a discount partner instead of directly, they moved us to another room. I can only assume it was one of the older ones. It was clean enough, but needed updating. The shower had only two settings, very hot or freezing, and no amount of adjusting changed that. Worse, the water turned hotter by itself while I was in there, and I got burned. That’s a serious safety hazard. The heating didn't seem to work either, and our room stayed cold even after we turned the temperature up. The cold breakfast choices were lovely, but the hot food was very greasy. We ordered a pizza to the room, and it tasted like a cheap frozen one, a big disappointment for £14.50. Even at a discounted rate, it wasn't good value, and we wouldn't stay again. The room facilities disappointed us, and the food wasn't great.

The noise outside was disgraceful. It sounded as if I'd left the windows open. I stayed for six days, and the stairs weren't cleaned once. The same dirt was there throughout my stay. My room wasn't cleaned all week either, so I had to ring reception every day for fresh towels. Staff were badly dressed and lazy. The bar area was so dry, and both the dinner menu and the food were awful. We waited 45 minutes for a starter. There were hardly any TV channels and no Smart TV, which every hotel has now. This has to be the worst hotel in Belfast.

We got there early and the friendly, helpful staff let us leave our bags without any trouble. The location was good, and reception could arrange a taxi if needed. Our room was spacious, but cleaning was poor: the carpet was stained and dirty, with a bit of an earring and other dirt that made it seem like it hadn't been vacuumed properly. There was also a lot of thick dust around the bath. Dinner in the restaurant cost far too much and took 40 minutes to arrive, even though we were the only group there.