Hallmark Hotel Gloucester

The only good thing about this hotel is the staff who were courteous and helpful. Even before I'd finished checking in, another guest marched to the Reception desk complaining that although he'd reported the lack of hot water to his room, no one had come to rectify the issue. When I opened the door to my room, I could see immediately that there was no chair at the desk, so I couldn't sit there to work, and when I went into the bathroom, the hair on the sink was instantly visible ( You can imagine what sort of hair..... ) It was sweltering in the room because the radiator was on, during a heatwave. On my way to the restaurant, I asked that the radiator be turned off and requested a fan. I had Traditional Fish and Chips with nothing traditional about it. No chunky chips, just awful, skinny French fries, no choice of peas, disgusting batter that I could not eat, and the actual fish was horrible. Again, the staff were doing their best, only two of them serving a large group as well as the other diners, so service was very slow, but they remained polite. When I returned to my room, nothing had been resolved. I called Reception and said I really needed a fan. A member of staff brought a fan that should not have been in use - the casing around the motor was hanging off. A safety inspection fail. The next morning, I tried to run a shower but the water could not be diverted from the bath to the shower because the diverter knob came off in my hand. The buffet breakfast offered very limited choice and didn't taste good. The orange juice dispenser clearly showed a layer of orange water at the top and concentrate below. I wasn't tempted to taste it. I've never before stayed in a hotel so completely unfit for purpose.

Disappointing start as we found after booking that parking was an extra £5/night, this I put down to Expedia's poor search function. Other than a money making racket I can see no reason for carparking charges, as there is nothing around that could take advantage. Check in was easy with staff friendly and helpful throughout, although service at the bar was very slow. Rooms where clean and spacious, hot water took some time to come through but the shower was good. A fridge in the room would have been appreciated. The pool was good with adjacent facilities, no locks in locker room though. Overall the hotel was well looked after but one or two places could do with a tidy up. The breakfast, however was the worst I have ever had in a hotel. We paid in the morning at a cost of £17/person, reasonable supply of cereal, unlimited coffee from a machine, various types available, but all taste the same. Decent amount of yoghurt matched with a meagre array of fruit. The cooked breakfast was, well, we arrived about 9 and there was a fair amount available. Eggs where 'fried' and slimy, watery mushrooms, tasty sausage, bacon could have been nice had it been cooked better. The hash browns where cold, as if they had just been left to defrost and put out ! Only did it the once !

Very dated hotel needs a proper refurb ! Breakfast was very poor and you have to pay for parking ! No local amenities, and it’s practically in the middle of a housing estate. No wonder it’s on wowcher