When i called the hotel to make the booking the person i spoke seemed unsure on some details, however evenutally the booking was made.
Upon arrival at the hotel the blond receptionist was having a conversation with a fellow member of staff and ignored myself until she had finished, not a very good start. When i was checked in i went straight to my room.

Upon entry of the room it was not clean, the bed wasnt made, the bathroom was still dirty, so i went down to reception without an apology i was moved rooms, to then enter a room which ws occupied by someone else. So once again i returned to reception and was just given a different room again without apology. When i finally entered my room the bed was comfortable but my mini bar was empty, there was no shower gel, shampoo or body wash had to ask about 4times at reception for more. There was no remote in my room so once again i had to ask for this.

I choose to meet a colleague and have a meal in the Zucca restaurant as i had heard good reviews from friends to then turn up and find out if wasnt open, which meant i had to eat in the Yard restaurant. The food was terrible, i had ordered my steak to be well done and it came out rare, so had to send it back to have a new steak made correctly. My colleague wasnt happy with her meal either.

I went out for the evenig as the drinks in the bar were to expensive and the bar staff were very slow and i heard other customers complaining about waiting so we just left.

I did have a comfortable night sleep but was woken by the housekeepers early in the morning, they were hoovering outside my room and talking really loud outside my room.

When i went down for breakfast there was a little wait which could be expected as it was busy, but when i was seated i was given a dirty table which was cleaned once i asked, but when i went to get my items for my breakfast i had to wait whilst they were topped up as many items had ran out. In the end i only had toast and some fruit because i didnt have the time to be waiting around.

On checkout it was the same persn who checked me in, i explained all my issues to her and the reply i got was "ok then, i will pass that on" there was no apology or anything. For the price that i was paying all of the service was terrible.

I will never ever stay at this hotel, to be honest i would rather stay at the Premier Inn as i got better service from a budget hotel. I would not class this hotel as 4* at all.

After reading the positive reviews about this hotel our expectations were high, perhaps that in part was why we were a little disappointed.
Check in was ok although the lady on reception was a little difficult to understand. Our room was not quite ready, but we were told it would be in 5 minutes. We took the opportunity to have a look round the gym and spa and were given a guided tour by one of the gym staff.
On entering our room we found the safe to be out of order (battery missing) and the toilet seat was broken! Not huge issues, but I would not expect this from a hotel of this standard.
The gym and spa were good although the keys given to activate the machines had no been charged and had to be returned and charged.
Leaving our room on the way out for the evening we noticed room service trays still awaiting collection in the corridor. Our car was still parked outside the hotel some 3 and a half hours after we'd given the keys in for it to be parked at the NCP Car Park (£15 for this service)
On returning to the hotel later our car had been parked. Even though we had been warned we were still staggered by the price of the drinks in the bar!
On the plus side the room was clean and quiet. On checking out we brought the issues in the room to the attention of the lady at check out just to be asked "did you tell us?" no apology offered!

I think they'll have to do better to maintain the high ranking on this site!

Great location right in the city centre.

Amazing breakfast - dont miss this part - I could have sat there all day eating the various things they had on offer.

The room was clean, new, had a great view over the city and peaks. The spa club was nice too - good pool and funky ice rooms,sauna etc.

We would go back without hesitation. Got a great deal on the mercure website too.

First, this is a good hotel for a single woman - an attractive location in the heart of the city only 5 minutes walk from the rail station and with plenty of unthreatening eating and drinking options on your doorstep. I mention those because the room service menu, which I often resort to when travelling alone, didn't really appeal and seemed eye-wateringly expensive for what was on offer.

The room and bathroom (a good-sized separate shower was a bonus) were quiet, spacious and well kept but I don't think it would affect their profit margin too much to give some bottled water and a shower cap.

Breakfast amused me: to read the hyperbolic descriptions on the menu you would think that a veritable feast would be on offer - but it was the usual buffet with a minimalist twist. The lamps that kept the cooked food warm were so fierce that the scrambled egg seemed still to be cooking...not nice.

The concierge was warm and helpful - other staff seemed a bit distant.

All in all, although it's hard to put a finger on it, the hotel is nowhere near as good as it could be. But it was a pleasant enough stay.