My girlfriend and I booked a two-night stay to the Mercure Hotel in Maidstone, with a view to taking full advantage of the Sebastian Coe Health Spa (which had received fairly consistent reviews of 4 Stars).

Having shelled out over £400 + extras, we could be forgiven for expecting a half decent experience. However, a number of problems occurred that made have been a relaxing spa weekend, a highly stressful one. The problems included but were not limited to:

1. Fire alarms going off IN THE MIDDLE of massage treatments - we were ordered outside in just our swimsuits (no offer of gowns or slippers, bearing in mind this was the last weekend in January).

2. Treatments which we had already paid for but (a) did not last anywhere near as long as the treatments are advertised and (b) were woefully underwhelming, due to the inexperience of the technicians. Freezing cold rooms, blankets which were sticky from where previous clients had used them and got massage oil on them, technicians slamming doors. For £60-70 for a massage, you expect to leave feeling relaxed, not frostbitten and stressed.

3. Hotel receptionists were ambivalent at best. When we voiced our concerns about the fire alarm and the general inadecuate spa conditions with the hotel receptionist, she simply shrugged and rolled her eyes. We had called the manageress since leaving to complain and it has completely fallen on deaf ears. As a result, I have no option but to tell all prospective guests through review sites.

4. PRICE OF HOTEL FOOD. If I could underline and highlight in bold, then I would... If you're happy to spend £15 + service for a burger that any run-of-the-mill pub would be embarrassed to serve, go for it.

£6 for a small bowl of olives too - I would expect to lay on a chaise-longue and have olives fed to me for that price.

There are pubs and restaurants in the surrounding area which I would recommend over this place - you'll find better (and cheaper) food and a warmer welcome.

Conclusion: From what we saw, the Mercure in Maidstone is fairly good as far as business conferences are concerned (i.e. one night stay, breakfast and out). However, DO NOT, under any circumstances, waste your money on a spa weekend: save your money and go somewhere else where customer service is a priority.

Two days of my life I'll never get back!!!

We went to the hotel in late december for an evening out . It was the james bond live and let die night . The whole evening was fantastic . The food was excellent and the disco and singer were very very good . Every one was dressed up to the nines and having a very good time . Would definately recommend this hotel and their caberet evenings .

The Mercure Maidstone is easy to find, located just of junction 8 of the M20. Guests journeying in to Maidstone in the morning rush hour will find the A20 slow and confusing, butt this cannot be said to be the fault of the hotel!

The hotel is not, externally, the prettiest of buildings, but the interior is reasonably well-maintained. The staff were not just polite, but also friendly and accommodating.

The room was rather compact and slightly too warm, despite the radiator being turned off. All the furniture was in good repair, however, and the room was clean and appeared recently decorated. Complementary bottled spring water was provided in addition to the usual teas and coffees. Maximum use was made of all available space, and it was perfectly adequate for one person for one week. A couple might have found it a bit of a squeeze, though. One quibble must be that the walls were irritatingly thin, allowing me to hear a good deal of my next-door neighbour's telephone conversation on my second evening.

The hotel bar/reastaurant was pleasant, with free wi-fi access, and breakfast had a good variety of hot and cold options at the buffet, with yet further hot options available to order. Evening meals seemed off-puttingly expensive, however. Although the usual suspects were to be found on tap at the bar (Stella, Guinness, Boddingtons), there were some reasonably good bottled beers on offer, including Speckled Hen and London Pride. These were, however, priced a little too high: it is really the cost of food and drink which pulls the "value" score for the Mercure down to a 3.

Given the size of the rooms and the cost of food and drink, I could only recommend this hotel for short stays, but to that extent, I do recommend it.

I stayed at this hotel last weekend, and it was fantastic from checkin to checkout. All the staff were very polite and I couldn't fault the service. The breakfast buffet was well organised and food was lovely. Was great value for money, room was very clean. Will deffinately visit again soon