Ramada by Wyndham Leeds East

Because I’d made an honest date mistake more than five weeks ahead, I ended up paying twice for the same night. I was already physically staying at the hotel, and my company had booked and paid for the rest of the week. While urgently arranging travel, accommodation, and emergency repairs for my broken van, I accidentally reserved the wrong dates for 29th March. I contacted the hotel straight away and explained. They said the refund decision was up to Booking.com, but Booking.com confirmed twice that it was entirely the hotel’s discretion. Both requests were declined, the date couldn’t be amended, and no refund was issued. The way this was handled felt deeply disappointing and unfair.

It’s a motorway hotel, and that’s about it. The carpets throughout look worn and overdue for replacement, giving the corridors and rooms a tired, unclean feel. The biggest letdown was the advertised “gym”: a few 1 kg dumbbells, a treadmill, and a bike. By any reasonable standard, that’s just a little corner with basic equipment. Anyone booking for proper workout facilities will be disappointed.

The buffet dinners over four days were basic and poor quality, with no starters or desserts. I even got diarrhoea after eating their food. On burger night, the burgers had been left out so long they were cold and hard, and food wasn’t replenished often. The coleslaw wasn’t refreshed daily, and the hot food had gone so brown it was bad. When I left my brand new iPhone 17 type c charger and lead in the bedroom, I contacted them immediately, but never got a reply saying it had been found, so presumably housekeeping pocketed it. Most staff looked unhappy and didn’t seem to want to be at work. At arrival, the reception guy tried to charge the £15 early check-in fee even though a corporate booking had reserved over 50% of the rooms. The front of house wasn’t helpful or accommodating. Our Admin manager spoke with him about room changes and waiving charges, but he said it was above his pay grade, so we had to wait for a manager who didn’t start until 3pm. Very poor service. We stayed over Christmas while a corporate booking took up most rooms. I wouldn’t stay again or recommend the place.

The cleaning staff and reception team were lovely and friendly, and the stay gave us a chance to explore somewhere new. For under £400, our last-minute six-night summer holiday with a family of four was very affordable, so I can’t complain too much. Still, the “family” room felt cramped for four. If there’s no room to walk between the two single beds, it’s basically just a double. The bins beside the lifts on the first floor often smelled unpleasant, and the main corridor carpets badly need a deep clean.