LizG85
I have stayed at the Hillcarter a few times in the past 4 or 5 years and sadly the place has slipped a little every time, this most recent stay will now be my last which is sad as the hotel was previously a great little find. ||||I paid £105 for an executive suite (I travel a lot for work so like to be at least as comfortable as I would be at home) and I know what is usually expected if a room of this type. In the past I have stayed in the standard rooms at the Hillcarter but last time the standard room was, in my opinion, substandard so I opted for the more expensive room. The room was clean but it left a lot to be desired, the worst thing for me (though it might sound petty) was the lack of a drinking glass. There were two mugs for the tea tray and one small plastic pot on the bathroom sink. Having paid £105 for a night I would expect at least a drinking glass (and usually bottled water). So I had to go to reception to ask for a glass, the receptionist did go to find a glass but it really should be a standard feature in a room, in my opinion. Usually in a superior room you would also expect higher quality tea tray, maybe fruit tea or hot chocolate but this was a standard tea and coffee, acceptable, sure, but not what you expect in a superior suite. ||||The young lady on reception was pleasant and helpful however there was an issue with the general level of service. I will start from the beginning - upon arrival at the hotel there was no clear guidance as to which of the car park spaces in the pay and display car park are for the hotel, I only knew from previous visits that it is the 'permit holders' section. So that I didn't park in the wrong space and land myself with a ticket I thought best to call the hotel and check. It was tipping it down with rain so I didn't want to be running between the car and hotel unnecessarily. I called the landline number as registered on Google but it seems to be a dead line. So I found a mobile number on the Hillcarter website, no answer the first time, called again and there was an answer. The receptionist, I think her name was Katie, answered and was helpful with my query.||||Check in was fine, the receptionist was very pleasant. I had room 11 on the 2nd floor. Then I got in the lift, wowzers, the smell in the lift was just weird. Whatever the cause of the smell it seemed to have been covered by lots and lots of air freshener or something but, my life, it was vile. The kind of smell that immediately turns your nose up, yuk.||||I got up to my room, nice enough room, very spacious and clean. The noise from the road was a little more than desirable but I guess it may be a listed building so they may be unable to do much about the glazing. Nice bathroom, a tad dated, but fine, clean and with a big bath. The shower (over the bath) was good (though lacking in pressure) and hot. When I got into the room I switched the TV on to find a problem , the TV would turn on but wouldn't move off a DVD screen, I tried everything. So I called down to reception and the same helpful lass was up to the room like a flash. Agreed the remote was dud and quickly got a replacement. Problem solved. The TV, aside from not working at first, was also disappointingly small. So small that from the bed you can't read the channel guide (even with contact lenses in). Of course there is no obligation to have a TV at all but in the top price room you would hope for a decent sized TV.||||Whilst she was in the room I asked the receptionist about the bar on the ground floor, which I have eaten in in the past, to be told that it was closed for renovation. This, in my opinion, should have been made clear to me upon booking as I had intended to eat there and now either had to go out to find a restaurant in the dark on my own or order a takeaway. I asked if I would be ok to order in. So at around 6.45pm I ordered a pizza for delivery and called down to reception to ask if they could let me know when it arrives. There was no answer at reception, fine, maybe she was busy, but then there was no answer for the next half hour either. In the end, thankfully, the pizza delivery driver called me to let me know that she couldn't get into reception (as nobody was there) so I went to let them in. ||||There was a similar distinct lack of service in the morning. I went up to the breakfast room on the top floor (great views) which was empty. I waited, no sign of any staff, so I helped myself to some breakfast knowing that I didn't have a lot of time to waste. The offerings on the buffet breakfast were limited to say the least. Cereal, four satsumas that looked like they had been there a while, and two apples. If guests are to be left to help themselves then at least provide a decent range of options, maybe pastries or yoghurts or a toaster so that we can at least make some toast. After 15 minutes the chef appeared to offer a cooked breakfast. The chef was a lovely chap but it was just too late, I didn't have time. It didn't help that there was no instruction to the guest, no menus on the tables or anything so I was left wondering if it was just a help yourself affair or if I was supposed to wait for anybody. ||||I hoped to see someone at checkout to provide some feedback but there was nobody at reception, I probably shouldn't have been surprised. I simply couldn't be bothered any more so I left my key on the desk and left.||||To conclude I think the management need to consider being more generous to the hotel guests, when spending over £100 for a night there are expectations in place and this hotel fell short on a few levels. The staff that I met were lovely, no complaints there, but there is a lack of attentiveness, or care, or they are simply short staffed. It is a shame as the hotel is in a great position, it is a lovely building and has so much potential but I fear, if run in this manner, the hotel won't thrive and probably won't last. The management have to understand that without customers the business will not work and they are letting the place slide, quickly.
