Hotel Van Dyk

“Amazing”

Had the most amazing experience ever from start to finish. Staff amazing and so friendly and helpful as well as professional. Wildes suite was amazing. Food and cocktails wow! Good choice for breakfast, Hopefully will be booking soon for the AbbA weekend 🙏 well done Marc x

“A Popular Wedding Venue”

First impressions are of a modern and stylish hotel. It was initially puzzling that reception was beyond the far end of the car park. It soon became obvious that reception was actually between the new and old (Georgian?) sections which then catered for two separate weddings simultaneously. The l… lisää

First impressions are of a modern and stylish hotel. It was initially puzzling that reception was beyond the far end of the car park. It soon became obvious that reception was actually between the new and old (Georgian?) sections which then catered for two separate weddings simultaneously. The large reception area was surprising but part of the wedding picture. Staff were friendly and welcoming when you could hear what they were saying. The new build public part is devoid of soft furnishings (carpets and curtains) and sounds are magnified to the extent that when groups of people appeared everybody had to raise their voices to be heard. The excessive noise was apparent in all the public rooms. Fortunately, ‘our’ wedding was in the old part of the hotel where the ambience was perfect and you could hold a normal conversation. Finding our room was not helped by the very gloomy corridors which were barely lit and reminiscent of a haunted house! The sign for our room was not in front of us but on an unlit side wall so we missed it first time. Opening the door into our room we had two strong impressions: it was a good size and gloomy (the curtains were drawn!). The designer had been working overtime with dark walls and dark furniture coupled with inadequate (and mostly useless) lighting. The bedside lights were again of little use and badly designed for their supposed purpose (again they were ‘designer’). The bathroom was better as it was well lit although it was again a win for form over function. In no particular order: no shaver socket (we did ask reception in case it was hidden); 2 toilet roll holders but only a small hand rail for towels despite there being 2 hand towels and 2 good size bath towels (and 2 occupants); the sink was overly large but the spout left little room between the end and the sink; the sink taps were widely spaced on the wall behind the sink which meant water etc going down the back of the sink; to wash your hands there was a small tube of liquid body wash; the shower was good but only an overhead waterfall (that ‘designer’ again!) and you had to use the shower to fill the bath because the bath flow was very slow; being softer water the bath was also slippery getting out but nowhere to hold on to avoid slipping. The soap and shampoo problem could easily be solved with wall mounted pump containers that you normally see in hotels these days. The room seemed to be on the hotel air conditioning system which made a noise continuously and the wall temperature controls had no effect (but you could crack the window open). The dining room was pleasant and the food excellent. The wedding was well catered and staff managed brilliantly (despite the ‘designer’ soup bowl and plate which are almost impossible to lift off a tray with one hand). The bar prices were eye watering but maybe that is a sign of the times! If you are going to a wedding then enjoy it, if you are staying be prepared for the many oddities and beware that rooms on the front are overlooking a busy main road.

vähemmän

“Personally wouldn't class it as a 4*”

My other half booked this as part of a £99 Valentine’s deal (room, bottle of prosecco and breakfast), and we were genuinely excited. We attended a wedding in the older part of the hotel last year and I’ve often driven past thinking how lovely it would be to stay there. First impressions were promi… lisää

My other half booked this as part of a £99 Valentine’s deal (room, bottle of prosecco and breakfast), and we were genuinely excited. We attended a wedding in the older part of the hotel last year and I’ve often driven past thinking how lovely it would be to stay there. First impressions were promising, reception smelled wonderful and check-in was smooth. The young man on the desk was quiet but polite, took our £50 deposit and directed us to our room. Unfortunately, things dipped a little from there. As soon as we stepped through to the lift area we noticed dirty, stained carpet. I appreciate it’s a high-traffic space, but given the hotel’s rating, I would expect it to be spotless. On level 2 the corridor was very dark, which felt a bit gloomy and could potentially be unsafe for older guests. The room initially looked nicely presented, I liked the colours and wallpaper choice, but it didn’t match the photos from the booking (ours had no bath, which was shown in the listing). If not all rooms include a bath, that probably needs clarifying. On closer inspection, the wallpaper was torn and peeling, and there was black mould along the bottom of the wall behind the chair and around the window. The bathroom was mostly clean, though there was something hanging from the tap spout which wasn’t pleasant, and we had no hand soap. I’m sure reception would have sorted it if we’d asked, but we just made do. The shower looked stylish, but the water pressure was very poor. That said, the bed was comfortable and we did sleep well, until just after midnight when people were running up and down the corridor banging on doors, including ours. At breakfast we were asked if we wanted tea or coffee before being shown to a table, which felt a bit unusual but fine. It was a self-serve buffet; I’d assumed it might be waiter service, so that was slightly disappointing. I enjoyed my breakfast, though my partner found parts of it a bit greasy. Overall, for £99 it was an okay stay. However, I wouldn’t pay more than that, particularly as we’ve stayed in better-maintained and better-equipped Premier Inns. The rooms were very warm, with no air-conditioning, especially in such a modern build hotel, and the WiFi was useless as it kept dropping. In my opinion, the 4-star rating feels a little generous.

vähemmän