Signature Suites

We booked one of the deluxe suites at the last minute for a weekend away. The apartment was spotless, with great facilities and lots of thoughtful touches, especially the kitchen supplies. It felt very private, and the staff were polite and attentive whenever we needed anything. Restaurants and bars in the busier part of town are less than a 15 minute walk away. We'll definitely be back.

The room itself was modern and very nice, with a beautiful bathroom. Check in was straightforward, the key card was easy to use, parking was adequate, and the location gave easy access to town. But the room was much smaller than we expected, and there was no window that opened. We stayed at Signature Suites during the two hottest days of the year so far, so we had to prop the door open, which wasn't great on a fairly busy side road. Fans were provided on the second day. There were no microwave instructions, so we couldn't work out how to use it.

We'd looked forward to our bank holiday weekend because the reviews were so positive, but the stay was awful. The heating wasn't working, so the room was freezing, and the AC unit only blew cold air. The kitchen sink was tiny and awkwardly placed. There was no hot water either, and the shower pressure was so low it came out in droplets. We reported these problems repeatedly and kept having to explain them again. Reception said they'd contacted the engineer, but nothing got fixed, and they told us we'd have to wait until check out to find out what could be done. On bank holiday Monday, our check out day, we spoke to the manager. She talked to me over the intercom, so I had to ask her to come to reception. That was very poor customer service. When I described what we'd dealt with, she said we could have gone to another hotel. I thought that was a poor response. Who has money to just spend on hotels? She then offered a full refund for our three nights. I asked her to process it there and then, but she said she'd do it later and told me to take her word for it. I asked for a confirmation email because we were travelling from london and I didn't want to chase her for the refund. She kept refusing and saying to trust her, which meant nothing to me. If a hotel offers a refund, it should process it on the spot. My partner said we should take her word, so we left and drove back. I heard nothing from the manager, and had to message her late that evening to ask about the refund. She texted that she'd refunded only two nights. I reminded her she'd offered the full amount, which neither my partner nor I had requested, but she hasn't replied. I texted again today and still haven't heard back. We took her at her word, but she didn't keep it. It was a dreadful stay, the manager's customer service was appalling, and she lied.

I've stayed here regularly before, and the rooms are great. On my latest booking, I travelled two hours to get there after seeing plenty of rooms listed on their site and booking.com. I booked at 3pm, then got a cancellation email at 7:30pm when I was already near the apartment building. When I arrived outside and called to check in, the receptionist told me there were no rooms available. A phone call would surely have been better. It seems to me someone cancelled my room to do their 'mates' a favour. Shocking service. I won't use this place again.