MERCURE WHATELY HALL

I’m on my second of three nights here. We’re in the middle of a heat wave with no air conditioning in the room. Opening the window provides no breeze but lets in road noise. It gets worse.. Arriving back at midnight the room has not been made up. Tea cups are dirty and still where I left them. Bath mat is soaking and towels still in the shower. When I reported this I’m shown a note on the front desk that says on more than one nights stay the room is left untouched. This is a ‘green approach’ apparently. Or to put it another way cost cutting and derisory service. I still have another night here and I wish I didn’t.

I am writing to express my disappointment regarding our recent stay at your hotel. This weekend was a birthday present for my husband and formed part of a package to attend the Silverstone MotoGP. We had both been looking forward to it immensely. Thankfully, the MotoGP and the nearby motor museum were excellent, as our experience at the hotel fell far below an acceptable standard. When we arrived, staff were unable to locate or correctly allocate our booking. We also asked whether an evening meal was included in our package, but nobody could answer this basic question. We were eventually shown to our room in the Garden Suite, which was only superficially clean. There were faeces left on the toilet, and the extractor fan was covered in a thick layer of dust, suggesting that it had not been cleaned for a considerable time. I cleaned these areas myself because I did not want to spoil a weekend that we had both been looking forward to. I attempted to speak to the receptionist about our concerns, but they appeared unwilling to engage with us. It felt as though the birthday party taking place at the hotel was receiving all the attention, while other paying guests were being overlooked. We decided to make the best of the situation and concentrate on enjoying the MotoGP. Later, we went to find out where our evening meal was being served. The main restaurant was being used for the private party, and there was no clear information or direction for other guests. After looking around, we discovered that our three-course meal was being served in Horton’s Sports Bar. The television was blasting out football, creating a noisy and unsuitable setting for what had been presented as part of a special birthday weekend package. For my starter, I ordered soup with a bread roll. The roll was so stale and hard that it was virtually inedible. The main course was described as rib-eye steak. Although the steak itself was pleasant, it did not appear to be rib-eye. The Eton mess ice cream was enjoyable. Breakfast was adequate, but it did not make up for the other shortcomings. The hotel is beautiful from the front, with an attractive old building, lovely gardens and mature trees. However, the outside furniture was in a very poor condition. We had to spend time searching for a chair that was not broken before we could sit down. This hotel could be an amazing place, but unfortunately, there appeared to be a significant lack of care, management and attention to detail. Many of the staff looked as though they did not want to be there. Whenever we asked a question, we were either given no answer, pointed elsewhere or told to ask at the bar. The same staff then appeared behind the bar and directed us back to reception. As a result, even basic questions remained unanswered. The cleanliness of our room, particularly the faeces left on the toilet, was completely unacceptable. Combined with the confusion over our booking and meal arrangements, poor communication, unsuitable dining environment, inedible bread and broken garden furniture, this made what should have been a special birthday stay extremely disappointing. Thankfully, the Silverstone MotoGP was amazing and saved our weekend. However, based on our experience, I could not recommend this hotel to others. I would appreciate a formal response addressing the concerns raised, including the hygiene standards in the Garden Suite, the handling of our booking and meal package, and the poor level of customer service we received. I would also like you to explain what steps will be taken to prevent other guests from having a similar experience.

DO NOT BOOK THIS HOTEL Awful experience very disappointing stay! Here are the reasons why ! On arrival we were given our key to our room and could not believe the walk along the dirty scruffy carpets and walls along the corridor clearly they have not been replaced or cleaned for many years despite various changes of use. Our bedroom door was covered in handprints and dirty marks. Our room was absolutely filthy had to change rooms which was not much better carpet was unbelievably filthy with entire bedroom and hallway carpet covered in stains. The sofa in our room was heavily stained with what looked like urine not tea as it was circular all over the fabric. Dust everywhere in our room paint work very scuffed and dirty marks all over the walls! Window sill was covered in pigeon faeces which is a health hazard! Toilet had permanent brown marks in the bottom bowl leak stained ceiling in bathroom and shower light not working! Very low water pressure in the shower and empty shower gel bottle. £183 for this absolute disgrace for ONE night Felt sorry for the chap on reception who dealt with a constant stream of very unhappy guests with exact same issues as us! Overall an unforgettable experience for all the wrong reasons! A beautiful building that is being managed into disrepair! Clearly repeat business is not a priority !