DoubleTree by Hilton Sheffield City

The friendly bar staff and the two women serving breakfast were the best part. After we were woken at 5am by loud banging, the breakfast staff took our concern to the manager and comped breakfast, which was kind of them. The manager seemed less concerned, and reception initially argued that nothing was happening, despite my husband recording the noise. We had to make three trips to reception, and promised calls to our room never came. The room looked like any Hilton, but we barely slept over our two nights: hard mattress, very uncomfortable pillows, and the TV’s YouTube option didn’t work. Reception said we needed an HDMI cable, which should have been made clear, since who carries one? At £135 a night, it’s a lot for little or no sleep. We won’t stay here next time we’re in Sheffield.

As an exiled Blade, I liked being able to see the south Stand from the breakfast table, though our room was on the Bramall Lane side and the view was pretty dismal. The rooms were spacious and tastefully decorated, and the service was good. But the bed was rock hard, so we had two bad nights’ sleep. Breakfast seemed as if it had been sitting out too long on the first morning, though it was better the next day, so that may have been down to timing.

The breakfast team were great, but service elsewhere was poor, especially on Saturday evening when they seemed understaffed. I came back late to find the room still at 25°C after maintenance had dealt with the heating and left it set there. It had started out cold at 17°C, and the aircon/heating hadn’t worked. It took until after 0300 to cool the room. Staff were no help and just gave me an email address.

The noise from the stadium finally stopped at 23:50, so if you need sleep before then, don’t stay here. We were on the fifth floor looking over the football stadium entrance during a Friday night event. It wasn’t a full match, which I’d checked, but there was a constant low thump of music and the clatter of empty bottles being taken to the bin, making it hard to sleep. Reception said they hoped it would finish around midnight and wouldn’t look for another room until then. I went down three times because nothing happened after my first two visits, and the promised calls to our room never came. Staff said they couldn’t do anything about stadium noise. I trusted the Doubletree name and should perhaps have researched the hotel more before booking.