This weekend was the fifth time we’ve stayed at the Velvet. It used to be so wonderful that we never looked at any other hotel. Unfortunately everything has changed. The hotel has recently expanded in size and the ‘refurb’ leaves a lot to be desired. We received a free upgrade when we arrived and were given a room described as a suite (which it wasn’t - we would perhaps describe it as a ‘king double’). If you’d never stayed at this hotel before and therefore never experienced the joy of the previous decor, you would, on first glance, say it was a very nice room which was smartly furnished, with a very large bathroom and a huge sofa. For us it was disappointing - we could have been in any old chain hotel. How can a 2-year-old refurb be so tatty already? Because it isn’t looked after, that’s how. Starting with the good stuff: We were offered a glass of Prosecco on arrival and reception staff were pleasant and chatty. The bar is still lovely and the bar staff are really friendly, happy and helpful and there is a nice cocktail list. Nothing is too much trouble. The bistro is excellent with great food and good service. The only drawback here is the very limited wine selection. The robes in the room are gorgeous. Location is fantastic. And now the rest: Wardrobe facilities are laughable. Fortunately we brought our clothes in hanging bags with our own hangers - only four hangers provided. The wardrobe area isn’t long enough to hang a dress or a coat and the lighting in the room is insane. The lights operate on a ‘mood’ system, but there are no instructions on how to use them. There are four mood settings, but none of them provide sufficient light to see clearly enough to apply makeup. The bathroom lights operate automatically on opening the bathroom door, but not at night when you’ve turned the lights off and we had to use the torch on our phones to see in the bathroom on our first night! On our second night we had to sleep with the lights on, which meant we didn’t really sleep (but read on, there are other reason for that). Complimentary drinks/snacks - there aren’t any, apart from tea and coffee. Even the cheapest hotels provide a bottle of water, not here. Everything has to be paid for and it’s piled high. On all of our previous visits we would arrive to complimentary water, biscuits and on arrival a tray of tea/fizz and cakes were brought to the room. It was such a shame to find that, although the cost to stay had increased, the offerings had been all but removed. TV: No point in it being there if it doesn’t work. We did switch it on in the first morning but the signal is so dreadful that it cuts out every few minutes. Bathroom: Loose floor tiles are never a good thing. Towels were not refreshed. No face flannels (a strange cut-back). Absolutely nothing extra provided, such as a shower cap, sewing kit, etc, which I understand in a much cheaper hotel chain, but not in a ‘luxury’ hotel with supposedly high standards. I lifted the hand-held shower attachment and the top fell off. Turned the shower dial to start the shower and the dial fell off. NO HOT WATER! We complained about this and asked the reception staff to come and check it (not interested), they simply said they had a problem with the boiler. They did not care. Room noise: To say sleep was not forthcoming is an understatement. Every time we dropped off there was another noise. The heating/AC system rumbled into action sporadically throughout the night. There is nothing you can do about it. After putting up with a loud clacking noise from the window area throughout our first night, we checked everything but couldn’t find the cause. But on our second night we found it - the two hanging poles behind the curtains look like they are something to do with opening/closing the curtains. Not so. Each had a cog on the end and, like the heating/AC, sporadically started turning and, with each click round, banged against the wall. We still have no idea what they were for. On our second night the fire alarm went off around midnight. We were on the fourth floor and started to make our way down the stairs. Before we got to reception we noticed a few people coming back up the stairs, so turned around and did the same. To be on the safe side we rang reception (there is no communication phone in the room, so we had to find the phone number and phone on an outside line). Nobody answered. We kept trying, still nobody answered. Eventually someone did so I asked why the fire alarm had gone off and were told “You’re fine. Go back to bed”! The next morning, after an exhausting night with all the other noises as well as the fire alarm, we raised all of the issues with reception staff. With regard to the fire alarm they had no answer, other than ‘we think maybe someone was smoking in the room’. It was not investigated and they didn’t care what had triggered it. With regard to everything else, there was no resolution and no apology. In fact, they were just rude. They did say they would mention things to the manager, but we don’t expect to hear anything as the comment was so dismissive. The lift is terrifying, it dips when you step into it, is very slow to get going and to move, and sounds like it scrapes the walls around the second floor. This hotel, having been one of our absolute favourite hotels, has an absolute disregard for guests, both with their comfort and their safety. Don’t bother raising any issues as they won’t offer any assistance. And that will be our last visit. We will never recommend this hotel again. Payment: We booked through Booking.com, so the payment issue may be with them, but we had opted for ‘free cancellation’ and therefore knew we would pay a little more than the basic cost. Payment should have been made on arrival at the hotel but it was unexpectedly whipped out of my account five days earlier.…
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.