The worst hotel…

Recently stayed overnight in a hotel in Manchester.  I travelled up by train with someone from West Berkshire, train was packed but we had booked a seat thank goodness!

The hotel was The Place, Portland Street.  This is how it looked on the website:

http://www.accorhotels.com/3142

http://www.accorhotels.com/3142

http://www.accorhotels.com/3142

Cheap hotel you think, looks nice and bright, clean has food, what more can you ask for?

When we arrived the front door sported a big shiny wellington boot for door handles….then inside the foyer many white umbrellas are hanging from the ceiling..and then I guessed that the theme of this hotel is RAIN.  Yes, I kid you not!   Within two weeks of the hotel being bought by the IBIS chain it was refurbished.

WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?    Did some design company sit round a table and thought, I know because it rains a lot in Manchester we will make a theme of it?    Which one of the designers thought it would be a good quirky idea?   WRONG.

It is certainly quirky, also in the foyer a low ‘wall’ in front of seating is a pair of black glasses, not sunglasses but clear glass.  What is that about?

Moving down the corridor to the lift the walls are now dark teal wallpaper with a weather map on showing highs and lows.   The wallpaper in the lifts are most odd, one which I liked was again dark teal with cats and dogs all over it – get it?  Raining cats and dogs; and in case you don’t understand it the words are etched on the mirror at the back.  The 2nd lift is yellow with clouds over it, not particularly pleasant looking.

I was fairly speechless when I saw the doors to the rooms – words can’t quite describe the hideous yellow decal covered doors made to look like front doors…and no it doesn’t stop there because the inside of the door was the same, and the bathroom door.   Now I would like to ask which idiot would think this is a good idea?  Have you not heard of disabilities that incorporate visual and cognitive impairments – these doors would certainly be a nightmare of confusion for people with dementia.

Inside the room. Dark grey walls, the bathroom door is the same.

This is the picture inside the clothes hanging space

The wall above the bed. The writing is the nursery rhyme “rain rain go away”

With dark and drab walls, with pictures of rain it is the most depressing hotel room I have ever stayed in, in my life.  Would I recommend it or stay there again =  NO NO NO.  In fact there other regular visitors to the hotel who said the same.

Hang on, I haven’t finished – Breakfast.  What a miserable looking attempt there was.  No cooked breakfast on offer, even though they have a restaurant at night there, just continental.  No imagination, cheap products, not particularly enticing.   I am Gluten Free and Dairy Free so was there anything I could eat?  I asked if there was any GF bread to toast and got the reply that they didn’t think so.  However they managed to find me 2 slices, no dairy free spread so, sorry Vegans you aren’t catered for either.  Thin slices of processed ham, cheese, some chopped up tomatoes, cucumber and hard boiled eggs.  No point me looking at the cereal, milk, or yoghurt.  So I had a slice of ham, tomatoes and cucumber with dry GF toast.  Quite frankly that is simply not good enough.  Bed and Breakfast for a single person around £108 for one night.

IBIS you have got this so wrong…..

Author: Gill

I photograph things that take my eye. View all posts by Gill