Donington Manor Hotel

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

Booked here for 3 people to share a room near the airport . Advertised with a restaurant , bar , reception etc . We arrived at 2pm for check in to find it in darkness and all locked up . Virtually no phone signal there to ring anyone up. So we went across road to the castle inn to use their WiFi .( loverly pub) . Got hold of someone about 3 pm ish who said she be at reception. We went over and she was there a very friendly girl who showed us to our rooms ? . Sorry do you mean room ? No the hotel is shift so we put you in 2 rooms in an outside bit . Room had 2 electric heaters in it and was like a tropical rain forest with the heat and the damp . The room was shocking as in shocking. . Smelled fusty and damp , plug socket hanging off the wall that had been stuck on with blue tack !!! A extension lead nailed to the bathroom wall for to and kettle . The bathroom what I could see of it as lights didn’t work looked like something out a horror film . Too late to do anything so went to sleep . Told other lad not to bother coming as it’s a dump . At 11.30 pm I was awoken by some guy banging on my window ! . His car was in car park and barrier had gone down and he did not have a code . I took him to reception that was locked up rang after hours number no answer so I went back in . £90 I paid for this and it was disgusting

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.

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.