Citrus Hotel Cheltenham by Compass Hospitality — Hotel in Cheltenham

Had a two night stay in a room with two single beds. So let’s start off with the positives. First thing that comes to mind is how good the location is- four minute walk from the town centre which has pretty much all shops (Lush, body shop, H&M, John Lewis, river island, Pandora, Ann summers to name a few, there’s also jewellers scattered around, a free art gallery and all your favourite restaurants and food places (ie yo sushi, Wagamama, Mc’Donalds, Starbucks, costa, m and s- and I know there’s a prezzo nearby). Now in terms of the hotel itself it was mostly good. When we entered the room we were surprised to find a flat screen TV- we were in one of the smaller rooms so I am almost certain there is one in every room. It contain most apps- prime, Netflix, iplayer (as long as you have an account) as well as the main channels. However even though we personally have a Netflix account, when we logged on there was already one there logged in. So even if you don’t have one, you will probably find someone else has left there’s logged in so you can just use there’s!! For breakfast you have to pay slightly extra. We weren’t looking for much so we just got the standard breakfast. The name as it suggests meant that it was standard (toast (bread white and brown), paun au chocolate, croissants, fruit, yoghurt, cereal, strawberry jam, butter, Nutella, marmalade, hot drinks machine, apple juice, orange juice and milk). They also cater for gluten and dairy allergies and intolerances. It was good enough for us, but if you’re looking for hot breakfast then you are better upgrading by paying slightly more than the 3.50, and in turn getting hot food. As we didn’t try any of the other meals, or the hot food, I cant give any insight on what they are like. But I assume it is similar to the breakfast. The staff were also very friendly and helped us with any issues we had.

Now, time for the negatives.

Throughout our two night stay the room wasn’t cleaned once, and by clean I mean also changing towels, emptying bins etc etc. This meant we were left with an overflowing bin. The beds weren’t made at all either, but on the plus side the beds did look clean and fresh when we got there. Cleanliness overall was okay, however the windows were dusty and with cobwebs, and there was dirt lingering above the bed on the light, and on the top of the cupboard doors, but other than here and there it was good. Personally, Iliked the bathroom, I thought it looked clean, smelt nice, and the shower was amazing and unlike a lot of hotel showers it had a lot of strength too it, and adjustable settings which I liked. The one thing I did find a bit annoying was the door. It basically slides across but there a slight gap, so noise travels both ways easily as if it was a sheet and anyone in your hotel room can come in at any time. At night, the noise of people outside can be a bit annoying, but not something anyone really has control over and we went to sleep fine in the end so can be overlooked

Citrus Hotel seems to be marketing itself as a sort of budget hotel for people stopping in Cheltenham on business or for a night out, however the room price (we booked a double room) is not significantly below that of similar hotel chains (think more Premier Inn than Easy Hotel). The staff were friendly and checking in etc was fine, the lack of available parking wasnt ideal when considering again that this isn't a super budget hotel and so we parked in the nearby shopping centre. To be clear there is parking at the hotel but it's very limited and first come first serve! When it came to the actual hotel I was a little disappointed, the building was a bit grubby which may have been down to the fact that it was a weekend and most of the rooms were occupied by people heading out to town. But even ignoring transient dirt it didn't seem like the place had been particularly well cared for over the years. The room itself was actually surprisingly large for a double room but again small things like dirty carpets and used soap in the shower made it seem a little unclean. This unfortunately became a lasting impression for me when I pulled back the sheets and found them stained and with a hair! Now I understand that hairs cling to sheets and that old stains sometimes never really wash out, but the combination, coupled with the general less than clean feeling I'd had from the hotel made me feel uncomfortable enough to sleep on the covers in the clothes I'd gone out in! On a more positive note, the breakfast in the morning was included in the price and very good. I have to be honest that we didn't complain either on the night or in the morning about the sheets, however when the room cost is £50 per night I would expect a certain degree of cleanliness as standard. To contrast I recently stayed in a much cheaper budget hotel in a different city and the rooms although significantly smaller were absolutely spotless and I was completely comfortable that they were being cleaned and maintained. This may have been a one off as the other friends we were with had no complaints regarding cleanliness over breakfast, but cleanliness is something I am somewhat compulsive about and so unfortunately it made me come away from the hotel with a...

Booked the wrong date for the hotel. Phoned them and they were very understanding and did manage to change my date, luckily. Unfortunately I booked a suite and they only had a twin room available, but as it was my fault, that is not a negative. We stayed on a Thursday and the area around the hotel was quiet, so we slept soundly. The staff were all very welcoming and professional and didn't bat an eyelid at my wife going out for a cigarette to the smoking area in her slippers ! The smoking area is just off the entrance and well lit, so it is safe for a single person to stand there. The room was clean and well appointed with comfortable beds. The heating kept the room comfortable all night. ( November). The location is only a ten minute stroll to the city centre. It was perfect for a performance at the city hall that we went to. We felt very safe walking around the area, at night as it was well lit . The hotel has a lift and stairs from the car park and a disabled lift and a few steps from the front entrance at street level to the entrance proper. The car park is under the hotel and has limited spaces and is tight, so you may have to park elsewhere. All in all, this is a very good hotel and we will be using this one if we need to come to...