You know that feeling when you find out you’ve been conned? Well that’s something similar to my feelings when I arrived at the Sheffield Park Hotel. Positioned on the southbound carriageway of Chesterfield Road (A61) about 5 miles from Sheffield city centre, it is easily accessed from both sides of the carriageway by roundabouts a short distance away in each direction. It is relatively close to the M1, Junction 33 from the north, and 29 from the south. It is not easy to miss with huge signs on the hotels side walls.
The old hotel sign, belonging to the Moat House was covered up with black bags, as was the key code on the car park exit barrier. The hotel looks drained and washed-out from the outside, and the spacious car park was almost empty. My mother always told me that people shouldn’t judge on looks, but that it is always vital to make a good first impression. The Sheffield Park did make a first impression, but I am afraid it wasn’t good. Silly me, for £45 from late-rooms on May Day bank holiday, maybe the foreboding should have come before I trekked the 250 miles up the motorway network (a good chance to exploit my replacement S4-Neo though).
Parking was easy-peasy because it was almost empty at the front of the hotel. Believe it or not, there is also overspill parking, what had I let myself in for? Walking past the front of the hotel, the reception area chairs (in abundance) looked worn and empty. CHECK-IN
The main reception area was quite a large affair and looked like it had recently been refurbished. This was rapid and pleasant. Late-Rooms, in their infinite wisdom had reserved me a non-smoking room, despite my e-mail confirmation to the contrary. The receptionist quickly listed all their available rooms, and said in a quiet, but audible voice to the young woman she was training, we only have twins, but I would like to give the lady a double. Maybe I was starting to warm to this hotel after all. And she did come up trumps, giving me a family room with a double and single bed, whoops even more room for me to spread out in. I completed my personal details on the card provided, produced the credit card for the customary swipe, and was issued with my card key and counterfoil for charging things to my room.
Access to rooms is through a lift, and each set of stairs are complemented by a ramp for the less mobile.THE ROOM
From the outside, I had visions of having to crawl across the two beds in the room, but was pleasantly surprised. The room had a standard double and single bed, double wardrobes, plenty of hangers, trouser press, tea and coffee making facilities with Bourbon biscuits (and palatable coffee, handy as I forgot my Gold Blend). There was a desk area
with chair and large mirror, a small table and two chairs, all decked out in a light pine type wood.
As usual there was a remote controlled colour TV with teletext with the usual host of terrestrial channels and sky sports. There was a single telephone, multiple modem points, many electrical points and several wall lamps. Once again, as with so many hotels before them, there were no ceiling lights making it quite difficult to work. Sheets were provided rather than a quilt, which suits me, and the bed was extraordinarily comfortable.
The Sheffield Park had no air-conditioning, although there was a thermostatically controlled radiator, and a window that opened producing a breeze. However, if you have a room at the front of the hotel, you would do well to remember you are alongside to a busy main road. The en-suite had standard sized bath, fixed power shower, toilet and sink, shampoo and soap were provided and there were lux soap dispensers over the bath and shower; the extractor fan however was old and noisy and needed replacing. Towels were supplied, with the word midget in mind.
The room carpet was obviously new, as were the taps and shower in the en-suite. Judging by the public areas, this hotel, now run by the Pederson group, is obviously going through a staged refurbishment. The walls and light-shades had seen better days, but judging by the quality of the carpet, I suspect they will be addressed in due course.
Internet access was available from the room, (not high-speed I’m afraid), on a local rate number, 37p for the first five minutes and 31p after that for local calls. Needless to say I didn’t stay connected for too long, but still managed to run up a £10 bill for calls. Mobile calls from the hotel room were 99p a minute, dearer than even the most expensive network to other network calls. There is a £2.50 fixed charge for the duration of your stay for ‘toll free’ internet access numbers, seriously cheeky if you ask me.One thing I would advise if staying here, is take your own hairdryer, there is one provided in the bathroom, but it is more akin to those found in many spanish hotels and not very effective.
FOOD
For me, one measure of a good hotel is the food quality. You have heard of the “tale of two cities”, well this was the tale of two meals.It started with evening room service when I enjoyed an extremely tasty chicken tandoori massalla, pilau rice, fries, garlic bread and a pint of lager for £11.45 plus a tray charge of £1. In comparison to many places I have stayed recently, this was cheap, although had I have opted for just the main meal without the accompaniments, filling wise I may well have been left wanting. Surprisingly, and not on the menu, the curry was also served with two naan breads which remained untouched, seeing I didn’t finish everything I had ordered.
The meal arrived within ½ hour, and was hot and well presentedSCORE FOR ROOM SERVICE: 9/10
There is also a newly refurbished restaurant at the hotel, with main courses starting from £5.95 for a single course.Food finished with breakfast. I was up a little later than normal, as I didn’t have to be at my meeting until 10.30, but was a little worried when I saw how empty the restaurant was, and in some areas this was justified.
A selection of fresh fruits, yogurts, cereals, croissants, pastries and cold meats measured up well, coffee and fruit juices were a DIY job, then there was the self-service buffet – oh dear!.Breakfast is served here from 7am to 10, and at 9, the sausages looked like they had seen better days. The bacon was typically uncooked, although I did manage to find a few crispier bits by searching around and the mushrooms looked cooked to perfection. There was fried and scrambled eggs, the latter of which had obviously been sitting there sufficiently long enough for the bugs to set in. The beans were congealed, the toast was cold and the fried bread would have done nothing for my cholesterol levels and blood pressure. I did manage to salvage enough from this little lot after the fruit and juice to keep me going for the day (as meeting buffets generally are not my thing). I did try to maul a sausage, but it would have been better being bounced around the room, I doubt Hally would have got her teeth into it, and that’s saying something. Breakfast was not included in the room rate, and cost an extra £10.50.
SCORE FOR BREAKFAST: 6/10There was a newly refurbished bar at the hotel, called very originally “the Bar”. I was stunned to find that it closed at 1030 on a bank holiday night, apparently Sunday opening hours, although residents can order room service or drinks from reception providing no cash changes hands. A pint of Castlemaine was £2.50 and a single G&T £3.40, so probably expensive for this part of the world, but slightly cheaper than many hotels I have used.
If you don’t fancy eating and drinking in, there are pubs within a short walking distance at both ends of the dual-carriageway.LEISURE FACILITIES
One reason I selected this hotel was because of its portrayed leisure facilities, although it always amazes me how they manage to make those bloody swimming pools look so big in the photos. It was just about big enough to swim across, but would have become crowded if it contained more than the 5 people there. There was also a Spa bath which was very pleasurable, a steam room which can only be described as compact and bijou, and had definitely seen better days, and a small sauna which I didn’t try out. The leisure club does sport a gym that overlooks the pool, I didn’t get to see the full extent of the equipment, but from what I witnessed, some of it looked like it could do with replacing.
The changing rooms were clean and tidy with lockers provided. The shower areas were well equipped with shampoo and shower gel, and there were numerous hairdryers and cotton wool buds supplied. The area was however very small, and again, I suspect if more than 6 people were in there are the same time then it could fast result in some sort of wrestling contest for space. Leisure facilities with the exception of the solarium are free for residents. Substantially sized towels were provided free of charge.
There is also a variety of beauty therapies on offer.STAFF AND SERVICE
These guys deserve an extra mention, they were friendly, good-humoured and efficient and probably the best I have met in an English or Welsh hotel. I exclude Scotland and Northern Ireland from this because generally the natives are in a class of their own, and there seems to be an affinity with the Welsh, so a problem is seldom encountered.
Every bit of this hotel was spotlessly clean, and it could be clearly seen that everyone took great pride in their work.RATES
The rack rates displayed in the hotel start from £99 for a room to £150 for a suite on weekdays, and from £25 per person B&B, (£40 DBB) at weekends. However, as with most hotels, there is seldom any reason to pay rack rates. I paid £45 for the room through www.laterooms.com (it would have been the same for two people), £10.50 for breakfast and £12.45 for room service, all in all, not a bad day’s work.
SUMMARY
I would say the Sheffield Park Hotel is one to watch. It is one of 4 that have been bought out by the Pederson group for a sum believed to be in excess of £40m, from what I have seen, the Moat House chain are in trouble. I had not come across Pederson before, but they apparently already run the 4 star Regency Park Hotel in Thatcham, Berkshire, and the St Mellons Hotel in Cardiff, and are planning to invest stacks of money in the new purchases.There are a several function rooms, and some public areas of the hotel have recently been refurbished. My understanding is that substantial funds are to be ploughed into this hotel. And don’t forget the staff, pleasant, smart, friendly.
I have only travelled to this part of the UK once before, and that was on an even more fleeting visit that didn't necessitate a stop-over, what I did gather however from my travels, is that it is a short distance from some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever encountered.WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Chesterfield Road South, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S8 8BW
Telephone: 0114 2829988 E-Mail: reservations@sheffieldparkhotel.co.uk
Website: http://www.sheffieldparkhotel.co.uk/
by (21%):
by (79%):
28.12.2004 18:27
great review
28.06.2004 03:03
amazingly detailed excellent advice am staying there on friday ill let you know if anything has changed!!
24.05.2004 23:15
I must look out for these Sheffielsd hotels next time we are down there. I'll watch out for the sausage though! Jo