Victoria Square Hotel

The hotel is spread across two buildings, with lovely parks and places to eat about 5-10 minutes away on foot. The staff were great and it's a nice place, but I had a couple of issues. Parking in their rear car park costs extra, which I wasn't expecting. I filled in the breakfast form and asked for 0700. They said the dining room opened then, meaning it only opened at 0700. A couple of us waited in the lobby for 10 minutes because we thought we could sit down to breakfast at that time. My freshly cooked full English arrived at 0720, but it was a very small serving: 1 rasher of bacon, 1 sausage, a little scrambled egg, a tiny ramekin of beans, 1 small hash brown, a quarter of a tomato and coffee. Nobody asked whether I wanted toast or cereal, though maybe I missed that on the form ☹️.

We had everything we needed in the family room, and they even supplied a dog bed and bowl for our hound, which was a nice touch. The hotel is old-fashioned but well located, with parking. Breakfast was disappointing. The cooked food was very average, the buffet selection was poor, and the waitress didn't ask if I wanted more coffee.

Our stay left us very disappointed. The second room we were given was on the top floor, with poor ventilation, old furniture and several rusty bathroom items. There were also dirty plates and food scraps on the reception desk, while the receptionist was eating from a container there. It felt unprofessional and unpleasant, and gave me the impression she wanted to get back to her meal instead of helping. Staff should eat in a suitable place and at a suitable time. At check-in, I was told our first room was on a lower level because the building sat on a slope. I explained that I have a medical condition and can't stay in a basement room, but the staff member kept insisting it wasn't one. When we reached the room in the adjacent building, it was clearly below ground level and very damp. I went back to ask for another room. The receptionist argued instead of helping, and when I said I had already told the hotel about this through Booking.com, the message didn't appear to have arrived. Her response was, “It’s not my fault.” The young woman at reception was quite rude. Eventually she found us another room, but seemed reluctant and more interested in arguing than assisting.

The location was great, and the garden room was spotless, including the shower room. It was in the building next door, reached through the hotel car park. There was no privacy unless we closed the curtains over the patio entrance, which left us sitting in semi-darkness. Otherwise, people walking past could look straight in. The wonky TV might drive someone with OCD mad. The lighting was odd too: two wall lights just 2ft apart on one side of it, with their switches on the same wall at the far side of the bed. There was only one bedside light.