As other reviewers have said: there are some lovely parts to this hotel and some really dingy parts. The question is: do you feel lucky?
We booked for a one night escape (hard working parents wanted a lie in!) as a treat. We wanted to lounge about in the health club, have a meal and then a restful lie in and from the photos we thought Kenwood Hall would be an ideal place to do it.
When we checked in the lovely receptionist had a look on her face when she told us the room number (either 601 or 606 I can't remember which) and I thought "ooooooh we've either got a really lovel room or a total minger".
As we walked from reception (new building) to the room (old building) we saw the decor get dingier and dingier. Not a great sign.
We climbed the dark and dingy 2 flights to our room (no lift in this part of the building but not a problem for us. (Maybe tell them you have mobility issues if you book so you get to stay in the nice part?). The stairs were dark as there were only a few dim, pretty pathetic lights. There was a big chandelier but not lit.
We were starting to get a bit concerned now but on we went.
We opened our bedroom door and were hit by an unpleasant smell. That kind of old musty,damp, foosty smell covered up by cleaning chemicals. Now our cheery mood did evaporate - we'd booked a rotter :-(
We poked about the bedroom and discovered a massive hole in the skirting board, crumbling window frames which were nigh on impossible to close, and bizarrely, a rusting old hammer on the balcony outside. The wall paper was peeling too. We decided not to complain at the time as were only away for one night, we were both really stressed and just wanted to relax so we decided to treat it as a joke and complain when we left.
We went to the health club. No staff about. Changing rooms were in good condition. Pool side needs a thorough clean and de-scale. They could also invest in some more of those plastic chairs poolside in case more than 2 people want to sit down.By this point we weren't particularly surprised that the health club was also in need of TLC.
We were in 2 minds about whether to eat in the hotel as al the evidence suggested we'd be better off elsewhere but I can't emphasise enough how much we wanted to do nothing so we took a gamble. It paid off. The staff were really helpful and friendly and the food was great. Such a shame we nearly took our business elsewhere!
We mentioned it to the same receptionist when we left. She asked us to complain and we said we would chase it up later. We tried emailing our photos and experience to lindsay.steele as per their website instructions but it got bounced back every time. We then emailed their booking address but got no response. I have just this morning filled in their talkback survey. Yes it's been a couple of months but you might be getting the point that we are stupidly busy people (hence a relaxing break....sigh!)
Anyway - do you feel lucky? You might get one of the nice rooms, eat in the restaurant and think all is lovely or you might get an old room...best of luck.
- Kenwood Hall Sheffield
- Hotel Kenwood Hall
