No.10 Preston

The location is perfect for the trains and city centre, and the staff have always been very helpful. But the hotel definitely needs a spruce-up, especially the air con. I've stayed here several times since it first opened and have had rooms in different parts of the hotel. This time there were a few gripes that really stood out. Parking was our first problem since we brought a car for the first time. The car park is a five-minute walk away and costs extra, which isn't ideal if you're staying longer with luggage. You can't drop your bags before parking either. Also, the road is a bus lane until 6pm, something the check-in message doesn't mention. If you're visiting from overseas and aren't familiar with the signs, keep that in mind. The rooms are showing wear. In the middle of winter, ours was unbearably hot, with the fan blowing warm air. The air con barely worked, and when it did, it only blew air at the floor. We stayed in Goldfinger, which has a cosy vibe, but the spotlights kept flickering because the bulbs need changing. Both the air con and TV remotes had dead batteries, so I had to buy replacements. There's no closet space at all, and the rooms aren't especially big, so you can feel boxed in by suitcases. That makes it better for short stays, especially since there's no lift for upper floors. You can genuinely hear everything from every room, so bear that in mind too.