Come out, come out wherever you are!!
 Apr 9th, 2004
(Apr 10th, 2004)
Advantages:
Air conditioned rooms, good food, excellent leisure facilities
Disadvantages:
Difficulties finding the staff, access to the ladies changing rooms, price of drinks
Recommendable:
Yes
  sue.51
About me:
Sheesh - seems like ages since I've been here. So many changes, business up and running - bred my f...
Member since:20.03.2001
Reviews:275
Members who trust:170
Review rated by 43 Ciao members on average: very helpful 
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Unusually, my travels this time took me to the South for an early morning meeting in Camberley. As I didn’t fancy a 3am start, my only option was an overnight stop. Believing instinctively the bargains available up North weren’t likely to as freely obtained around Surrey and Hampshire, my first port of call was www.laterooms.com. Their site presented me with several choices, including the hotel where I was attending my meeting. The downside was it was in the middle of nowhere and had no leisure facilities, and with a Sunday evening to myself, I needed some relaxation before settling down to work.Laterooms came up trumps with two Hanover International hotels within a 20 mile radius of Camberley. Basingstoke won because the hotel was on a direct route to my destination, had recently benefited from a £3m refurbishment and had what looked like superb leisure facilities including a large swimming pool. They had two rates on offer, £59.50 for a single and £75 for a double, including breakfast for Friday, Saturday and Sunday night stays, so a swift phone-call and the deal was done. I opted for the £75 to ensure I got a double bed.LOCATION & ARRIVAL
Personally I think this hotel has a cheek claiming to be in Basingstoke, it is much closer to Hook, Hampshire, although I suppose it doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. It is situated on the London Road (A30) about 2 miles from Junction 5 of the M3, easy to find, once you realise where you are going. As I had no intention of sampling the local nightlife, being a way out of town wasn’t really a problem. It is around 1/2 hour from Heathrow and 45 minutes from Gatwick, and not too far from Thorpe Park and Chessington.There is ample parking on-site for around 200 cars, so getting a space was easy. Reception is easily accessible and certainly those in wheelchairs and other movement difficulties shouldn’t face any problems gaining access. SCORE: 5/10 for being in the middle of nowhere and
9/10 for being easy to find once I knew where I was goingRECEPTION & CHECK-IN
Check in was quick and efficient, as usual, the late-rooms rate was checked, a quick swipe of my credit card and completion of the registration form, and I was on my way around the maze to my room. The reception area was quite small, sporting access to a small bar area, a restaurant and the leisure club (more about that later). There is also a stand-alone Link Cash-point and cigarette machine in reception, plus a small seating area and free local newspapers. I was also offered a newspaper and early morning call. SCORE: 9/10 –
efficient and friendlyTHE ROOM
Pleasantly surprised; my two previous encounters with the Hanover International have left the rooms somewhat lacking in some areas, from poorly fitted telephone sockets to smelly stained bedding, but not here. Access was using a programmed swipe card which then slotted into a box inside to provide electricity. Decked out with dark-brown wood furniture, the room was a reasonable size with double bed, desk area, ample lighting, wardrobe, free digitally operated safe, hairdryer, tea and coffee making facilities. There was also air-conditioning that worked efficiently (a first), mini iron and ironing board, that because of its position needed high-level contortionist skills and naturally was en-suite. The bathroom was standard fayre with toilet, sink, glass beakers (not plastic), bath, movable shower and towels with enough span to cover me, (unlike the Royal Court, Coventry my next destination where they wouldn’t cover one-half of me). All in all, there was little to complain about. There was narrowband internet access which connected at 52Kps and cost me around 20p a minute. TV was remote controlled with the usual mixture of terrestrial and sky channels - with movies available for £7.50 per film per day. There was also the bill monitoring facility, which I think Hanover should be under obligation to resolve (you'll understand if you've seen my Bromsgrove op) - my charges came to £949,676 before room service, I don't think my credit card company would have been too impressed if this was the sum pre-authorised. SCORE: 8/10 – the air-conditioning worked, the safe was useful but the wardrobe was in a difficult position and the ironing board required high-level flexibility on my part.LEISURE FACILITIES
Having settled in, rung home, had a coffee, it was time for some relaxation before I got down to work again. The leisure facilities are on the ground floor and sport a swimming pool, sauna, steam room and gym. One thing I did notice about this hotel was the lack of staff covering most areas, and the leisure centre was little different. Towels were obtainable from reception and the lockers required the usual refundable £1.I should point out here, that to get to the ladies changing rooms, customers need to walk around the pool area and down a long flight of stairs. This could cause issues for people with limited mobility, the gents changing rooms are based close to reception and therefore they do not have the same problems. Customers are not allowed to wear outdoor shoes in this area, unless they are covered with blue plastic throw-away covers supplied by the leisure centre. The changing rooms were a mixture of closets and open areas and showers and hairdryers were provided. The swimming pool itself was a free-form area with three parts. Access is by a set of gradual steps, or for the stronger swimmers among you, down the metal steps into the deep end, a somewhat surprising 2 metres. In my experience this is unusual for hotels, as normally, the water barely covers my chest whichever end of the pool I am. It was lovely and warm, and there were several inflatables laying around to help in different activities, although I later discovered that these were only supposed to be used for supervised groups. The Spa, with room for about 5 people was hot, and relaxing, with the usual rules applying of not using it for more than 15 minutes in one go. There was an efficient steam room, with capacity for about 10 people, and a Sauna big enough for about 6. Although none of this was a problem, because I shared the pool with only a maximum of 5 people throughout the hour I was there.The gym had a limited number of weight machines, but a superb array of treadmills and exercise bikes sporting all the latest fitness recording equipment. There were drink water tanks in the pool and gym, although the former had no cups to drink with.
SCORE: 9/10 – wasn’t too impressed with the access to the ladies changing rooms, but other than that it was an enjoyable experience.
FOOD AND DRINK
The fundamentals of survival have to be good, i.e. the food, and I have to say here the Hanover International Basingstoke managed to excel. These days I tend to take room service much more than I used to. The room service menu is the usual fayre of sandwiches and a few meals. My choice was Chicken Tikka Masalla, chunky fries and half a beer, delivered with a smile and within about ½ hour of ordering (once I got through to room service which did take a little while) for £14.50. The meal was tasty in the extreme. Delivered piping hot, I can honestly say it was one of the best hotel meals I’ve had; a fine balance between creamy and spicy, and it was enough I could do to stop myself licking the plate clean. A pint was around £3.There are bar meals available in the Player’s bar, or you can enjoy a 2 course set meal in the restaurant for £17.50 or 3 courses for £22.50. Breakfast was included in the rate, but had it not been, this would have ramped up the bill another £12.95. The usual buffet cereals, fruits and juices, not to mention pastries were available, but the full English was plated offering sausage,
Pictures of Hanover International Hotel & Club Basingstoke
bacon, fried or scrambled eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, beans and fried bread. You could also have items such as salmon and haddock for an extra charge.I placed my order with strict instructions for the scrambled egg to be well cooked, but I am afraid it had to be sent back as it was soggy and runny. Second time around it was delicious and accompanied by lashings of tomato ketchup (good for the blood you know), and lots of toast, washed down by freshly brewed, very tasty coffee. Not a bad breakfast, superior to the buffet in that it was all freshly cooked, inferior in that there is only a limited amount of each product, thus, you won’t get that extra sausage you might yearn for. Also, the fried bread was greasy and a little sickly. SCORE: 9/10 – very good, but a little on the pricey side.SERVICE
I mention this separately, because, although the staff were helpful, friendly and attentive, there appeared to be very few of them. When I went to the bar for my late-night double G&T, at a staggering £7.60, I waited a good 10 minutes for someone to serve me, not what you would expect from a 4 star outlet. SCORE – 9/10 when I could find them – 2/10 for not being able to.
OTHER
The Hanover International Basingstoke also provides 12 meeting rooms with capacity for up to 240 people, obviously I cannot comment on these.
SUMMARY
The rack rate was around £148 a night, (£180 for a club room with mini-bar and queen bed) although these days there are few reasons for anyone to have to pay them. The night before the May Day bank holiday, they are offering Dinner, Bed and Breakfast for £57 per person. The total bill was £102.65 for bed, breakfast, evening meal, telephone calls and a couple of drinks, so all in all, not too bad for this part of the world. I am sure I could probably have found cheaper had I tried, but the pictures of the swimming pool swung it for me. Overall, I was suitably impressed, it has helped raise my opinion of the Hanover International chain. It was a far cry from my £27 B&B at their Bromsgrove outlet, but well worth the extra cost.All in all I was very impressed, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone needing accommodation in this part of the world, although after check-in, you may sometimes have to play ‘hunt the staff’.
ABOUT THE CHAIN
Hanover International have 15 outlets, 12 UK hotels, 11 in England and one in Cardiff Wales, and 3 conference and training centres. To find out more visit: http://www.hanover-international.com/ Althought their website does appear to have removed the on-line booking facility.For central reservations: 0870 3000 038 To contact the hotel directly:Hanover International Hotel & Club Basingstoke
Scures Hill
Nately Scures
Hook
Hampshire
RG27 9JS Tel: 01256 764161
Fax: 01256 768341
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by (63%):
25.04.2004 14:22
Told me all I would ever need to know. A good read ;-)
15.04.2004 14:51
Excellent review, nothing more to add!
15.04.2004 13:26
You've told me everything I could possibly need to know here - very detailed, but all the info is interesting and relevant. It never ceases to amaze me how much they charge for food and drinks in hotels when they've got a captive audience. My personal favourite was the Copthorne Gatwick which was trying to charge you £6 for the pleasure of eating a slice of melon in their sports bar... Hannah