DoubleTree by Hilton Sheffield City

The bar staff were lovely, friendly and welcoming, and two women at breakfast spoke to the manager after we were woken early. They comped breakfast, which was kind of them. They seemed more concerned than the manager. We barely slept during our two nights. The pillows were uncomfortable and the mattress hard. On the second night, a loud banging started at 5am, like King Kong dancing on the roof. I told reception, but the person there argued nothing was happening. I asked them to sit in the room, and my husband recorded the noise. The TV offered YouTube, but when it didn’t work, reception said we needed an HDMI cable. Who carries one? They should make that clear. The interior is like any Hilton, but we won’t stay here next time we’re in Sheffield. At £135 a night, that’s a lot for little to no sleep.

From the breakfast table I could see the south Stand, which was nice for an exiled Blade. Our room faced the Bramall Lane side, though, and the view was dismal. The rooms were spacious and tastefully done, and service was good, but the bed was rock hard and we slept badly both nights. Breakfast was pretty poor on the first morning, as though the food had been sitting out too long. It was better the next day, so maybe we just caught it at a bad time.

The breakfast staff were great. The rest of the service was poor, and they seemed understaffed on Saturday evening too. When I reported that the room was cold at 17°C and the heating and aircon weren’t working, staff said maintenance would fix it. They did, but left it at 25°C. I got back late and couldn’t cool the room until after 0300. Staff didn’t seem to know what to do and just gave me an email address.

The music and low rumble from an event in the stadium, plus bottles rattling as they were taken to the bin, kept making it hard to sleep. It was a Friday night event, not a full match, which I’d checked beforehand. Our room was on the fifth floor overlooking the stadium’s front entrance. I trusted the Doubletree name and should perhaps have researched more before booking. Reception said they hoped it would finish around midnight, and wouldn’t look for another room until after then. I went down three times because nothing seemed to happen after my first two visits, and promised calls to the room never came. Staff said they couldn’t do anything about stadium noise. It finally stopped at 23:50, so if you want to sleep before then, this isn’t the place.