I recently spent 1 night at the Parc England in Alexandria while in the area on a business trip. I selected the hotel because of its proximity to the airport and the free shuttle service offered to the airport.
The hotel is renovated VIP housing from the former England Air Force Base. The hotel is nicely decorated with antique furniture, and the front desk staff were very friendly. My room had a king size 4 poster bed, a large desk, sitting area, and jacuzzi tub. "Wow" was my first thought -- the roomed looked very impressive. My ground floor room had French doors opening onto a covered patio.
However, upon closer inspection I noticed that the walls were nicked up with lots of paint missing, the antique furniture was scratched up very significantly, and the carpet was stained and poorly vaccuumed. The bottles of water on the desk (bearing price tags of $3!) were coated in a thick layer of dust -- extremely unappetizing.
The bathroom looked like it had been partially renovated. The tile around the jacuzzi tub was new, but the countertop was definitely 1980s era composite -- and the countertop was sticky and poorly cleaned. I was delighted to find a makeup mirror in the bathroom, but it was on its last leg and did not light up. I found the lighting in both the room and bathroom inadequate and dim.
The mattress was comfortable, but the sheets were shabby and worn very thin. The duvet was stained in several places. And the pillows were just pathetic -- very old, very lumpy feather pillows. They may have been nice at one time, but today they're ready for the dust bin.
Temperature control in my room was horrible -- no matter how low I turned the thermostat, my room stayed at an uncomfortably warm and VERY humid 79 degrees. And the air system was very very loud. I suspect the HVAC in the hotel hasn't been upgraded or maintained in a very long time.
The free breakfast was very sparse and unappealing -- mini muffins from the local grocery, some tired looking ham sandwiches, pre-made waffles, fruit, yogurt, juice and coffee. This surprised me, given that the adjacent Bistro on the Bayou restaurant and hotel are owned by the same folks.
Speaking of the Bistro on the Bayou, I had dinner there with coworkers. The food was very tasty (recently written up in Southern Living magazine), but I thought it was quite overpriced for the setting (former Air Force Officer's club) and the service. The waiter was not terribly attentive and tried to be snooty, but he just came off as uneducated when pressed about various ingredients, wines, and dishes. My advice to the Bistro: lay off the attitude. You're NOT the dining room at the Ritz. You'll get more fans by playing up the southern charm.
If you need a room while waiting for a flight out, then the Parc England is convenient. Other than that situation, I would not recommend it.
- Parc England Alexandria
