Hotel berhampiran Bargain Booze, Stoke-on-Trent

We stayed here for two nights while visiting family for a wedding. The studio room itself was fully equipped with just about everything we needed for the stay and it was spotlessly clean… I mean spotless!!! A couple of things deterred from awarding a full 5 stars. 1: The check in is done remotely and was a little bit disjointed. The photo ID sent after booking was asked for again so had to be emailed again before passcodes we’re released. No on picks up the phone so the entire check in had to be done by SMS - although response were quite quick. 2: There was no parking available on arrival and we’d been driving for almost 6hrs so being tired, a bit stiff and hungry this news was a bit of a blow especially as the listing states there is free parking. We Sent a message to the check in team who basically said if there’s no parking well there’s no parking. We did manage to acquire a space a bit later once someone moved their car. 3: Hanley (the area of SOT where the apartments are located) feels a little bit run down, although there is a shopping centre, cinema, market and restaurants /shops to visit and everyone we encountered over the few days were all very friendly and eager to help. 4: The complimentary tea/coffee etc was not replenished during our stay (yeah we know it’s complimentary but in most places we have stayed in they are still replenished daily). Still worth another visit and would definitely book again with the knowledge of what to expect.

Excellent. I cannot thank Kevin & the team enough. I found myself needing accommodation very last minute due to my partner having an serious accident and needing spinal surgery at the Stoke Royal. Kevin went above and beyond to accommodate me for a week due to me not being from the area and needing to stay close to the hospital. Rooms clean, they have everything you need, beds comfy, lovely little place, great value for money. Really welcoming and friendly.

Great receptionist who was very welcoming and friendly. Good location for access to the A500 and A34 roads as well as a bus stop only a 5 minute walk away. Unfortunately, the hotel itself is very dated and lack on soundproofing between the rooms is a major issue. I could hear the guy in the room below talking and could also hear the room next door opening and closing their toilet seat! I was awoken at 1am with an inconsiderate neighbour with their tv on very loud and coughing loudly. There is a main wing and smaller wing to the side. I stayed on the 1st floor in the main wing but I would recommend you ask for the 1st floor in the small wing to minimise the number of people around you and source of external noise. View from the room was nice however.

The price increase in a days spa has prevented me from being able to go to the spa as often as I used to, however, we managed to get an autumn glow package, which included a 7 hour visit, lunch, free drink on arrival and one hour treatment. The same package last year also included the salt room, but this was not in the package this year. I’ll start with the pros, there are many. The staff were fabulous, really helpful, welcoming and friendly. As a vegan, I was more than happy with my vegan mezze platter and the new outdoor/indoor restaurant area is really lovely. The treatment was excellent, we had a facial and back and feet massage. Again the staff were lovely and we had camomile tea in the relax room afterwards. The swim up pool is great however, I found the water a bit too hot. Cons: The day we visited the spa was quite busy and we didn’t get around all of the outdoor rooms/areas but here is my experience of the ones we did visit. The steam room, both my friend and I and two other people noticed that the seats were slimy in places. I don’t know what causes this it might be quite natural but it wasn’t pleasant, it was mostly at the edges. From here we went to the cold bath. I love the cold bath experience and the exhilaration you feel when you get out, however, the bath had black lumps and white gooey pieces floating in it. Again not pleasant and I don’t know what it was but it certainly wasn’t nice. The paving around the swim up pool, was green in places and needed a good cleaning. We noticed stains on the day beds, the edges and the cushions. The floating beds in the indoor pool had black mould on them and one in particular smelled of mould. The cons didn’t ruin our day, but, we noticed them and other people will too. They need attention because the price for a day spa is high and I do expect everything to be perfect as it has been in the past.

We stayed here for a short weekend break, it was excellent from start to finish. The grounds are beautiful, excellent for our dog, the spa was lovely, not too busy. Everywhere was immaculate, the interior of the main building is worth a visit on its own. Steeped in history a truly remarkable hotel, and the staff so helpful and friendly just added to a wonderful break. Would highly recommend this hotel.