Donington Manor Hotel

Very convenient location and friendly staff. Easy to find as my navigation system told me where it was.

Feedback on room 25. We arrived Wednesday night quite late we were welcomed very well & provided with plates for a carry out pizza as too late for bar food. Breakfast was great again the staff were good. Room 25 however is very tired,smells damp.the double bed is old, creaks & very uncomfortable. My pillow was opened at one end and stained really made me feel quite unwell. I informed the staff in the morning as it needs to be binned. The bath panel is coming away, is very stained & there is dampness & brown stains on ceiling above the sink. Above the entrance door the wallpaper is coming off. Windows dirty cobwebs dead spiders. I stay away in many hotels but I have never experienced such poor accommodation. On their web site the room is described as a suite costing us £139 for the night, the one photo of the room is quite decieving. The hallway outside is also stained & wallpaper coming away. I wrote to the hotel yesterday giving them the chance to respond but I have heard nothing & I have decided to put up an honest review would never go back awful. Elaine

Spotlessly clean room, yes it’s a bit tired, but it’s been quite luxurious in its day, where else would you get a hugh room, comfortable bed, lovely sitting area, overlooking a sweet garden for this kind of price, we didn’t eat here but wished we had when we came in after going for a meal at a nearby pub, the fish and chips looked amazing the staff couldn’t have been more welcoming … would definitely stay again thank you.

My room wasn’t clean. There were cobwebs hanging off lamps. Leaky tap. No way to contact reception. No room in car park. Wi-Fi didn’t work. Left note of complaint - no one got back to me. I see there are good reviews on here about the food so please don’t be fooled into those 4/5 stars!! Breakfast was very good. But do not stay the night in this hellhole.

Food is gorgeous (when the kitchen is open) but unfortunately that is literally the only positive about this place! Such a shame. I worked here for a short period of time but left due to never being paid on time and was only paid once I’d chased my wages up each month, this quickly got tiring and tedious and it wasn’t worth sticking around. Guests complained continuously and I was often left alone to work reception, restaurant and bar. The owner never put any effort, time or money into making this hotel as great as it could and should be. I also agree with the comments made on the review beneath with regard to the behaviour from the owner towards young females (both staff and guests) as I witnessed it myself on many occasions during my time working there. I am disgusted at reading the hotel’s response to the review in question and feel it should be removed immediately as that is an appalling way to treat a guest especially one who is raising such a serious issue! Then again I am not surprised that an establishment with such a terrible reputation would condone such behaviour and act so petulantly in defending such practices. Honestly speaking from experience DO NOT waste your time or money stating here.

When we arrived we checked in and went to our room, when going up the creaky stairs my footing was caught on loose carpet. I ended up gracing my knee and face much to the guest service assistants delight who could only laugh at the mishap and not ask if I was okay. I was mortified, but not as mortified as when the owner James Blick walked past my daughter in the bar area when we were trying to enjoy some nibbles where he obviously took a shine to her. When I stated she was 16 years old and that he was making her feel uncomfortable, he still wouldn’t leave us alone. We ended up leaving that evening and not staying the night as planned. We are 2 females and felt quite uncomfortable by the ‘nice gestures’ Mr Blick was trying to give despite us making it known we wanted to be left alone. I’m unsure if this was ‘alcohol courage’ or if he treats every guest in this manor- but it was not okay. We had to find alternative accommodation that evening.

The outside of the hotel is nice on arrival and the couple (I assume?) who run it were very friendly and chatty. There is a decent number of parking spaces for guests and we didn’t struggle to get one during our stay. The reception is well decorated and quite modern in design. The stairs are quite creaky and some of the carpets in the corridor were very old and tired. Some of the floorboards creak quite loudly too. The room we had was large and spacious, with windows facing out into a peaceful garden area - a squirrel was foraging outside and was not spooked by our presence. There were two televisions in the room, one for the sofa and one for the bed. There was wifi included and details were on the table, but we could not connect to it at all - perhaps we were too far from the server? The furniture and decor of the room was dated and tired, but it was generally clean and tidy. The bed was reasonably comfortable and it was very quiet at night. The bathroom appeared to have been refurbed more recently than the room, but the shower was very low and had very little pressure. The room clearly needs refurbishment and modernising, as I am sure the owners are aware, but it’s easier said than done in the current financial climate. I hope they can do it soon and breathe new life into their business. We did not eat at the hotel, but there was breakfast available for an additional payment. Nor did we use the bar. The price is reasonable enough in terms of the size of room, quietness, and location - with the centre of Castle Donington on the doorstep and Donington Park a short drive or bus ride away.

Before arrival - couldn’t get hold of anyone via phone, email or Facebook to try and confirm booking. Arrival - someone on reception who didn’t really know what they were doing, didn’t know what forms we had to fill out etc. The room - suppose to have been a superior room. Definitely wasn’t. It wasn’t clean. It was like stepping back in time. Heating wouldn’t work, we had to ask (after it took us 1hour to find someone as the reception was not manned) for someone to come and look the boiler. They did manage to fix this. All the electrical products in the room were all past their test date. Best thing about the room was the bed, it was actually comfy. The hotel - like stepping back in time, old, smelt musty, floor uneven everywhere. Was not worth the money at all. Have emailed several times to ask for a partial refund. Heard nothing as expected.

A welcoming reception and friendly host. Interesting style room with an old traditional design. Whilst a few areas need a bit of TLC, the room was clean, the bed was comfy and the shower was hot and powerful. Breakfast was to order and arrived very quickly. The bacon, egg and sausage seemed to be premium high quality and the hash brown was nice and crunchy. It’s not like your ‘traditional’ Premier inn or Hilton, so if you do stay here be prepared for a different, but positive, stay.