First of all, no offence to Barnsley but this isn't a major city or a town of recognised scenic beauty and therefore I wasn't expecting a hotel room to compare to those I've stayed in in New York, London, Vienna, Milan etc.

My wife and I stayed in a suite (having been upgraded from an ordinary twin room). But what they call a suite is just a very large room with ensuite bathroom. The room was dated, had a view of a roof, and had one of the smallest beds I've seen in a hotel, accenuated by the vast empty space of the room. I don't even think it could be considered a full sized double, or at least it didn't feel as such. With room for more than one King sized bed, I couldn't understand this bizarre choice. Oh and creaky floors ... you could hear every move from the people above us.

The second bizarre choice was a small television on a tiny stand, so the centre of the TV was at knee height. Bizarre. We lifted it onto the table to improve our viewing. We were pleased that there were tea and coffee making facilities and complimentary biscuits.

The bathroom was old but functional.

The restaurant was large and the food was superb. We couldn't fault it and I've never had so much duck on my plate, and it was tender and lean. Great desert trolley - the food for us put a lot of expensive hotel restaurants to shame. We didn't try the Barnsley chop - it looked overpriced for what it was. Food on the Saturday night was accompanied with live music - one probably retired musician on synths providing programmed music he played along to, and two female vocalists, which enriched the atmosphere providing good family Northern entertainment. There were couples celebrating 50 years of marriage and other birthday celebrations, and whilst this wouldn't have worked in a major city, it was homely and very different to what we're used to. We liked it.

The big plus for me was the excellent pool and I'll always choose a hotel with a pool over one without.

I didn't know whether to give this a 3 or 4 star rating. The room was definitely a 3 or below rating, but the presence of a good pool, jacuzzi, small sauna and steam room elevate it above an average hotel not offering these facilities. I value a pool enormously being a keen swimmer, and whilst a little too chlorinated (especially the jacuzzi) for my liking, I was pleased to have this facility here.

Would we stay here again? Yes I think we might if we needed a hotel near Barnsley again, although I'd probably have a close look at what the others had to offer.