Doubletree by Hilton Hull United Kingdom

The breakfast team deserve a special mention. They’re consistently excellent, the food is very good, and nothing seems too much trouble. Their service is a great start to the day. I stay at the Hilton Hull regularly, and every visit has been a great experience. The front desk team are always welcoming and make check-in smooth and friendly. Rooms are a good size, well maintained and spotless. I’d highly recommend the hotel whether you’re visiting Hull for work or leisure.

The hotel itself was lovely and the staff were really friendly, but I wouldn’t recommend it because of the parking. It costs extra and is overpriced. The machine wasn’t working during the week I was there, so I tried downloading an app, but it didn’t recognise my registration number. Hotel staff said it would be fine not to pay. Now I’ve received a £30 parking ticket plus a £35 admin charge. Neither the machine nor the app worked, and none of that was in my control, but I’m being charged £65.

I wasn’t impressed with how my complaint was handled, and no partial refund was offered. In the first room, damp and mould covered the ceiling above the bed, and the shower tray had filthy dark brown and black marks. I lasted less than five minutes before asking to move. Reception gave me a complimentary drinks voucher, though the bar was closed, and moved me to a “superior” room. The only obvious extra was dressing gowns. Its shower tray was still dirty and the soap dispensers were empty. It was a very poor stay, and I wouldn’t recommend it. Hotels like this survive because they don’t have any reasonable competition.

The Marco Pierre White restaurant wasn’t particularly good, and I got a hard time over the 50% off mains voucher reception had given me. The hotel itself was nice, but parking costs £12 for a night, which is why I took off a service star. There are a couple of car parks nearby and on-street parking if you’re leaving early.