I recently attended a residential training course at the Croydon Park Hotel. I had stayed there before some years ago and was told it had been refurbished. On arrival I noticed that the foyer and bar area had been re-done. Overall, it looked smart and welcoming. Check-in was fast and efficient.
It seems the refurbishment was restricted to the public areas. The room, which overlooked a building site was as I remembered, right down to the bedspreads. Whilst the room was clean and tidy, it looked somewhat dated. The bed was a standard double, with 3 thin foam pillows provided. The bedlinen was old, worn sheets and a 'nubby' blanket. No extra blankets were provided so as it was February the heating had to stay on all night. The bathroom was also clean and was supplied with basic toiletries, although the bath was very small and certainly not conducive to a relaxing soak.
Given that Croydon is primarily a business district, I was very surprised that the hotel provided no Internet access, something that should be standard in a 4* property in a business area. No hair dryer also and as I had brought my own I didn't enquire with reception whether the hotel could provide one but again, this is something that you expect a 4* hotel to provide in-room. Room service was available but after about 10pm, this is restricted to a small selection of sandwiches.
The hotel restaurant was typical in it's aspirant grandeur. As course delegates, buffet lunches and dinners were provided. I think the cost would have been around £12.50 for 3 courses and coffee, although in the evening this price is only available until around 7.30-8.00. It was good value for money, with a wide selection of fish and cooked meats to start and a choice of 4 or 5 dishes for the main course which were OKish, as were the puddings.
All the staff I dealt with were very courteous however the course leader reported that he had encountered problems in the setting up of the conference room and indeed in spite of the hotel being told repeatedly how many delegates there would be and the preferred formation of the room, the tables were arranged completely wrongly and with a chair short. Complaints at reception were greeted with charming politeness but an inability to understand the problem or do anything about it. We found an extra chair and made do in the end.
Overall, the hotel was fairly good value for money if you get an Internet deal or similar. If you have to stay in Croydon there is very little choice. This is the only 4* property with a central location, and it's position near the train station and tram stops is very convenient. For this reason, I would stay there again.

My husband and I stayed here on a dinner, bed and breakfast package for New Year's Eve. The staff were polite and friendly. The rooms were clean and the food was good although, having eaten in Oscars restaurant on several other occasions, I thought it was not quite as good as normal. The only downside of the hotel I think are that the walls are fairly thin. The people in the room next to ours were very noisy but we were able to move to another room on request.

The hotel overall was disapointing! The rooms were old and needed a lick of paint. Some of the staff were too cold for my liking, however others - especially in the restaurant - were helpful.
I would not recommend this hotel in general - as there are better ones out there for the same money.

Stayed at the hotel on a Saturday and Sunday night in November 2006. We were on a gourmet weekend deal. The room was just a standard hotel room and the breakfast was quite pleasant. We had a gourmet dinner on the Sunday evening. I wouldn't exactly call it gourmet but it was a value for money deal when taken with the cost of the weekend. The hotel is also convenient for the station and shops in Croydon. We were charged for the buffet dinner on the Sunday night even though it was supposed to be included in our gourmet weekend deal but this was swiftly rectified when we pointed this out at the desk. We had originally considered staying at the Hilton in Croydon but a special discount rate we were offered there was 80 pounds per night with no breakfast. The Croydon Park deal was 190 pounds and included two nights, plus four full breakfasts, plus a gourmet buffet dinner for two.