Nottingham Arena (London Road) hotel

Stayed over forward work event this week. I knew when booking a few weeks ago that there was no air con but the price was cheap so I took a risk. Unfortunately the heatwave hit and the room was boiling. The window only opened a crack and the fan provided made now difference at all the room was 30 degrees plus all night. Generally the hotel was a standard older style premier inn it was all fine but the decor a little tired around the edges. I would only use this hotel in winter in future!

On arrival I was checked in and given my room key and sent in the direction of the lift. I was asked would I be dining there later, I said I would let them know a little later. I was up on the fourth floor and on entry to the very dark room, was hit by the heat and the noise from a desk fan, at full speed. After depositing the key card in the slot, and turning on the lights, I began to look for the AC control panel, but to no avail. I then looked at the fan which was just recirculating the 30C air (there is a temperature gauge on the wall, for if you need to turn up the heat) and noticed it was clogged with clumps of dust. I didn’t unpack, I went straight back down to reception and asked for a different room. I told the receptionist my room was too hot and she said, “I know, that’s why the curtains are shut and you have a fan” I told her the fan was clogged with clumps of dust and she said, “I don’t know why, they are all pretty new”! I asked for a room with AC and she said, “this hotel doesn’t have AC, only reception, it does say this on the website” I left the hotel and went to Wetherspoons to eat and only went back there to sleep. I did find another desk fan under the table and thought that might help but, that too was full of clumps of dust and muck. I did try to clean that out as best as possible, but the room stayed at an unpleasant temperature all night, dropping to 29.5C by the morning. The top sheet is just a duvet cover and both pillow cases were inside out. When taking the fan from under the table, it is quite obvious to see how far the cleaners vacuum reaches under, due to the dust line!

The hotel is not very accessible for people with mobility needs. There is an accessible entrance but there is a sign saying to go and use the steps instead. I am registered disabled (however I am a non wheelchair user) and buzzed to be let in to the accessible entrance I also had a very large case and was not physically able to get it down the steps. I was met with a rude comment from reception ‘do you actually need to use the accessibility entrance?’ No one should have to justify their disability and not all disabilities are visible! It’s also unreasonable to expect people to carry luggage dangerously down steep steps. When I checked in they also queried why I had such a large case. Just rude. Why isn’t the level access entrance the one used for everyone? The receptionist tried to pressure me to book breakfast saying ‘we are fully booked so we recommend you book’ that makes no sense. I stayed in room 403 and the temperature of the room was 27 degrees. This is absolutely not acceptable for paying guests and it made me feel really unwell. There is no air conditioning which should be essential for all high rise hotels. There was a fan provided but it was full of dust and extremely noisy. It was so noisy that it sounded like there was booming music, it was just the fan. I could hear it through my earplugs. The bed was rock hard and no duvet provided just a sheet. The pillows were also hard. I woke up with back ache. There were no plugs or phone charging near the bed so you couldn’t even move the fan near you, it was the other side of the room. The side tables were far away from the bed and difficult to reach. The room was dirty. The bath was yellow and scummy and the sink had scum too neither had been cleaned. The bathroom floor hadn’t been mopped for some time. There was a splat of liquid up the wall by the television and the seat and headboard had grease stains on. There’s no dressing table set up theres a vanity mirror by the door which is really dark as it’s behind the wardrobe and no seat. The seat is provided under the tv with no mirror which is a really bizarre set up, there is no light above the shower so very dark to see what you’re doing. The skirting boards in the bathroom are thick with dust and the tiles have all brown mildew on them. There is mould behind the bath taps. I was woken up early by deliveries beeping lorries outside the hotel. I would not stay here again it’s dirty and the staff are rude and the room was 27 degrees.

Stayed here for 4 nights for download festival weekend , from checking in to checking out was brilliant , all staff was pleasent and helpful but michelle was amazing, from checking us in to serviing us for breakfast and always concerned as to how our weekend had been . Room was lovely and clean , thank you guys ,will definitely be back , we also got a survival pack from reception for the festival which was lovely personal gesture.

I wouldn't stay again Building works outside at 5.30am on a Sunday. Sleep was not guaranteed, not sure why they use that word.