Overall, staying here was a most enjoyable experience.

Looking at the many positive aspects first, my number one observation would be the universal friendliness and helpfulness of the staff. This started with the doorman rushing to help me in with my disobedient suitcase and continued with the cheerful check-in person. The restaurant waiters seemed delighted to see us and on the second evening knew just on seeing us which restaurant we had booked.

The room was plenty big enough for our two night stay and was smart, quiet, and with lots of storage space. The main section of the Independent was delivered at no charge and there was apparently a free Internet connection in the room, although I did not try it.

The Number 5 restaurant was very light and spacious, with comfy chairs. The service was attentive and both the breakfast and evening meals offered food that was a joy to eat. The bar also looked pleasant but we did not use it.

The hotel is in a very convenient location for both the tourist attractions (part of the city walls being right outside the restaurant and bar) and the West Quay shopping area. Parking was easy in the adjoining free car park.

There were a few negatives. Our second evening meal, in the Allerton's restaurant, was not as enjoyable as might be expected for the £35 for two course price (£42.50 for three). The butter was a little runny, the food itself was a little disappointing, the waiter who served the food always had to ask who was having what, and my empty wine glass stayed unfilled for almost ten minutes.

The bath, which contained the shower, was just about big enough but we are both quite slim so how comfortable someone of a more, shall we say, modern shape might find it is an interesting question. We were perfectly happy with the temperature but there was no air conditioning so what the room might be like in the summer is another question (though there was a fan, to be fair, and it would have been possible to open the door onto the balcony if that did not allow too much noise in).

But even with these speculations, the many very strong plus points make this hotel easily worth recommending, based on the two night stay we enjoyed there.

As usual, the good, bad and ugly.

The good:
- Room size. Nice large room (205) facing the harbor.
- Cleanliness. Overall, the room was clean and made appropriately each day.
- Free lobby WiFi. Also free wired in-room broadband.
- Catering. I was at a conference that had breakfast and lunch served. The food was very good, offering a nice mixture of foods which I assume would have a bit for everyone's tastes.
- Location. About a 10 minute walk from Oxford street area where I visited some restaurants. Immediately across from the harbor. I could have walked from the central train station (about 2 kilometers-ish) but grabbed a cab for about 6UK.
- Conceigere service. These gents were always very nice and helpful. Whether it was with my luggage or giving me walking suggestions for a bite to eat. Well done gents.

The bad:
- Limited WiFi. Only in lobby areas and not in rooms.
- Check-in service. I arrived to the hotel at about 13:30 and was told that no rooms were ready. No problem, and asked if when a room was ready could someone alert me as I would be in the lobby sitting area. Two hours later no one had alerted me and when I asked for a room (now well after 15:30) the assistant seemed a bit flustered. But I did up getting a room, and a nice one at that.

The ugly.
Nothing!

All in all, an OK hotel. The rooms were a bit dated but still nice. The bathrooms were good size and appeared to have been recently revovated.

I would stay there again without hesitation.

The hotel was generally Ok, staff really friendly and professional but the room was a bit tired and certainly wouldn't have warranted more than £100 a night - we were there on a Travelzoo offer.

What was excellent, however, was the breakfast. It was in a really nice dining room and was everything you'd hope for in a hotel (or anywhere else) breakfast.

We've stayed at many 4 and 5 star hotels, so this was interesting. We are comparing it to the likes of Sofitel St James, Conrad Hotels, and Rotana.

The rooms were a reasonable size, but the bathroom was not 5 star, it was basic, with adequate but not good cleanliness.

The room had no a/c, which is a big problem for a 5 star hotel. It was hot, and when you opened the windows, the road noise was significant.

The Restaurant "Five" had a really limited menu. My starter was poor, the mains were ok but I'd call it gastropub food, not high-class.
Overall a disappointment for a 5 star.