Stayed here with my partner (who booked). Last time I stayed here it was the Village Hotel, and very little seems to have changed except the price! If I'd have known this was the same place I would probably have gone elsewhere. I thought we'd be staying closer to the centre of Blackpool, and I haven't let the other half forget it since! This hotel is out near Stanley Park Zoo - so you're a good 15 / 20 mins drive from the centre.

That said, there was no complaints to be heard from either of us about the hotel. We had a perfectly good room, some nice meals and room service, and found the staff to be helpful. So in a way it was a pleasant suprise. I want to be closer to the town centre next time though....

Positive point- the staff are very friendly and try to help where ever you make them aware of a problem.

Negative points-
Room was smelly and matresses on bed were well past their best - I haven't seen a dip in a matress like that since I was in a hostel in Peru.

It was also freezing cold - the heating only worked when the key card was in the slot so when I came back from a meal to go to bed, the room was stone cold on a night of freezing rain and 2 degree temperature.

Bathroom
handle was broken on shower. very cramped.

Food and drink
Breakfast was overcooked to the point of being inedible. Bar was very expesnive and white wine was room temperature.

We stayed at the Herons Reach on a Friday night so we could take our young son to see the Illuminations. We arrived in the afternoon and were met by the very friendly reception staff. Our room had been recently renovated (as have the majority of rooms) and it was very pleasant. The baby cot we had requested had already been setup in the room and the staff had even left an extra towel for our son! Our room was also thoughtfully at the end of corridor, which was very quiet. We used the great pool on both the Friday and Saturday which our son thoroughly enjoyed. The pool and gym etc have also been revamped recently so the whole experience was very pleasant.
After having the customary fish and chips on the front and seeing the illuminations, it was nice to be able to return to the tranquility of the Herons Reach. The hotel is next to the zoo and model village so is a great location for kids. We spent the Saturday morning in the excellent park opposite the hotel (with boating lake, gardens etc,).
So in summary, would thoroughly recommend this hotel, if you are visiting Blackpool but want to avoid staying on the front!

My family of two adults, one teenager stayed two nights at Herons Reach. We have been to the De Vere Belfry many times and expected the same standard, but unfortunately we were disappointed.

Cannot fault the staff - they were very efficient and very friendly in all areas of the hotel. The main disappointment was the room, it was no better than a Travelodge for a third of the price. The bathroom was extremely small, the shower was terrible. The mattresses were very uncomfortable, soft and saggy in the middle.

Breakfast was adequate but in a De Vere I expected a breakfast buffet with chefs cooking things fresh to order, not eggs left on hot plates. Dinner in the main restaurant was over-priced and the vegetarian selection was poor. We ate in the golf bar on the second night and the haddock and chips were very nice.

We would not go back to Herons Reach.