The Stuart Hotel Derby, Derby City Centre, Sure Collection by Best Western

The meals were a real highlight, fresh, full of flavour, and beautifully presented. Staff were friendly and attentive from the moment I arrived, and made me feel welcome. Service stayed excellent throughout, and the atmosphere was relaxed and inviting. I'd gladly recommend it for the hospitality and dining, and look forward to coming back.

The bedrooms and the corridors serving them could use renovation. The hotel is working on it, though these things take time. For me, the important thing is that the rooms are clean and comfortable. Lauren and the on-site staff are always friendly and welcoming, and do their best to make the stay pleasant. The food is lovely too, freshly cooked, hot, tasty, and plentiful. Thanks, Lauren and staff.

The room was warm, and the bed was alright, but it looked old and had dirty marks. The carpets were scruffy, and the restaurant looked shabby. The hotel itself is run-down and not very clean. Food and drink were expensive, and the shower had no pressure. The team were nice enough, but the lights clearly hadn't been cleaned in a long time, with dead insects and dirt all over them. It wasn't what I expected.

A cancelled train left me needing a hotel at the last minute, and the 4 star rating swayed my choice. That was a terrible mistake. I wasn't looking for luxury, just a basic standard, but the rooms were outdated and poorly maintained, with broken bathroom tiles, paper-thin walls, and creaky floors. The shower was just about bearable if you could find a setting between scalding and freezing. One mattress was okay. I'd moved from another room where the mattress felt like someone had abandoned it on the street and the hotel had picked it up. That experience has put me off ever staying at another ‘Best’ Western hotel. The nearby hotels by the train station also looked shabby, so you may have to take your chances or get a taxi to somewhere more modern further away.