Mercure Doncaster Centre Danum Hotel

The breakfast was overpriced, overcooked, cold and in short supply. There were only six items, and people queued for the one-slice toaster. The restaurant wasn’t open, so I had to eat out. I was given an upgraded room, though nobody explained what made it an upgrade or why. Inside the room, there was no heating, the mattress was so soft I could hardly move once lying down, and the quilt was thin and old. The TV was tiny for the room. There was water in the kettle, which was a no-no, and someone else’s things in the fridge. In the bathroom, there was hair dye on the bath, hairs on the walls, cobwebs, an unsealed floor, loose pipes under the high sink, and a loose, low toilet seat. The first impression in the hotel foyer was very good, but things went downhill from there. There was no parking available for wheelchair users because of bins and rubbish, so we had to use the wheelchair ramp. Then the car park turned out to be empty and there were no bins in sight. The ramp is short and steep, making it impossible to hold the door and get up it at the same time. My companion had to pull the wheelchair and nearly fell backwards. The lift was just big enough for a wheelchair, but not a companion. I won’t be visiting again. This was a very disappointing letdown.

The bed was comfortable, and breakfast was okay. The rooms, though, are basic and tired, with cheap furniture, and could use repairs and updating. You can hear people moving around the building from your room, as well as water running through the hotel pipes.

The city centre is ideally close, but the surrounding clubs and bars can make evenings noisy. Our stay was two nights, and I left the door sign out the next morning asking for the room to be cleaned. Nobody came, and nothing was replenished, so there was no coffee, fresh towels or toilet paper. The service was disappointing for a hotel described as three star. We’d already waited an hour past check-in because the room wasn’t ready. When we finally got in, it smelled of sewage, and there was a half-eaten pack of biscuits left on the tray by the previous guests. Reception arranged for housekeeping to come back and sort those problems out.

The staff were excellent, and the location was ideal for Doncaster town centre. The room was tiny and dirty, with dust on most surfaces and a grubby carpet. The door was hard to close, the bathroom extractor didn’t work, and it was incredibly hot even in January.