Crowne Plaza Royal Victoria Sheffield (ex Holiday Inn Sheffield)

The staff were lovely and very efficient, and the hotel covered the cost of the ample parking. The building itself is stunning, with the sort of grand feel that suits weddings and balls. My room was one of the basic ones, but I still found it a bit cramped and small after seeing the rest of the building. The bathroom didn’t have a fan.

The wedding ceremony space looked lovely, although cobwebs on the chandeliers stood out. Dinner at the wedding breakfast was good, but the later buffet was a letdown for me: the mustard sausages and pizza seemed undercooked. Our room had nice furnishings, soft bedding, and extra pillows with different levels of firmness. The bed itself was a bit hard, and the room felt small for £250 for two nights. The air conditioning didn’t work, so we bought a fan. We opened the window too, which normally switches off the AC, but that didn’t matter since it wasn’t working anyway. The bathroom felt cramped when two people were getting ready. The tub was a decent size, but the shower was compact, with weak water pressure. Shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel were supplied. The room was mostly clean, though there was dust, some cobwebs, and the shower wasn’t quite clean. Housekeeping came around 2pm after we’d been out from 9am until 1:30pm. When we asked them to come back in half an hour, they said no, which was disappointing. We only stayed two nights, so we didn’t bring any of these problems up with hotel staff. We were there with a wedding party on Saturday. It was a pleasant enough stay at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Sheffield, though the upkeep and attention to detail could be better for the price and hotel standard.

The car park was a pleasant surprise. There’s plenty of space beside the hotel, even though reviews don’t make it very clear. Breakfast was lovely too, and I thanked the female chef for making it. The hotel’s welcoming scent was nice when we arrived, but by the second day it had become overpowering and sickly. The room shook with loud bumps in the night. At first we thought it was noisy neighbours slamming doors, but the second night we realised it was the air con. As other reviews say, it’s noisy, and at times it gets very loud and sounds like the motor is crashing. The shower gets hot but has almost no pressure. I joked to the kids that I could wee harder. At breakfast, the waiter offered the couple ahead of us tea or coffee for their table. When it was our turn, he said it was all self-service and moved on, so I had to ask him for tea for two. It felt like too much trouble. He then offered tea or coffee to the people behind us, and being treated differently annoyed me. Later, a different male waiter cut in front of me and my child as we were picking food. She’d decided she wanted toast, so I turned to the bread box, and he pushed past without a word. He put four slices in the toaster; when the first one popped up, he asked if it was mine. I reminded him he’d put four in, then he took his toast and rushed off. On another breakfast, that same waiter asked if we wanted tea or coffee, perhaps because my wife was with me this time. The room was dusty, and the shower pressure was poor. Still, it’s a good hotel to stay at, with breakfast and parking as its best points.

Ethan, the general manager, made sure the stay felt warm and welcoming, and the staff clearly work well together. Yamin checked us in with a lovely smile and a very professional manner. We had booked bed, breakfast, and dinner, and all of it was delivered to a high standard. Chef Harry, who I believe is 19, made our evening meal perfectly, and breakfast was excellent too. Our room was spacious and clean, with a view of the hotel’s front entrance. We had a fantastic stay on Christmas Day in 2025.