Mercure Daventry Court Hotel — Hotel in Great Britain

We stayed as part of a group of car enthusiasts who were attending a nearby car rally in the National Motor Museum at Gaydon.

On arrival, there is ample parking. The main car park is a short walk from the hotel entrance. I had completed online check in but the receptionist told me that it doesn't really make any difference when arriving. I still had to wait a short while as she dealt with other guests. They had my name details incorrectly, having only my first name, not my surname which created some initial confusion until I showed them my printed booking details. The reception area is large and clean but is a little dated in its appearance. Like a throwback to the 1990's. We had booked "meal deals" when booking. This was two courses for £15. This required a credit card swipe to be taken on arrival however.

We had booked a 2 night stay and were with a group of 15 others. We met in the bar area for drinks before going into the restaurant. Again, clean but dated decor. The restaurant staff had no idea about the "meal deal" offer. Service was slow and confused. There seemed to be only one waitress in charge and other staff were looking to her for instruction on what to do. It took over two hours to be served a two course meal. Our group were the only diners in on a Friday evening. We sat waiting just for our plates to be cleared. Some of our group ordered starters which created further delays.

Rooms are ok but again dated. There are no storage drawers for storage. And little in the way of shelf storage. We had to leave our clean clothes in our luggage. The TV remote was not working in our room but this was quickly replace but reception. The bathroom was quite small. It was clean but facilities dated. The bath had a shower and screen. The screen leaked water onto the floor by the adjacent toilet. Judging by the amount of sealant that had been put on the screen this looked to have been an ongoing problem.

On the second evening for our meal, our group was allocated a separate side room of the restaurant and service was more organised. The same waitress who looked to be in charge dealt with us. She was very pleasant but we got the impression that most of the other restaurant staff were new and were waiting for direction. Again she had no idea how the "meal deal" offers were to work. She took individual couple recipes from everyone. She said they would probably dissappear into the ether.

Breakfasts were fairly good and cooked to order. There was limited cereal and fresh fruit selection however. Rather than the usual conveyer type toasters that are used in self service hotel restaurants, two 4 slice toasters were provided for guests. This lead to queues forming while waiting for toast.

On leaving the following morning. We will were not charged for our second night meals. They had indeed disappeared into the ether.

Thee was supposed to be a spar at the hotel but we were told that the Spar facilities were closed.

The impression was that this hotel had recently changed ownership and that staff were not fully informed of the new procedures. Staff were friendly and helpful but the hotel itself need to be refurbished...

Paid £110 for a room with breakfast. Called the day before arrival to arrange early check in and was charged £20 for the privilege. First room smelt like sewage, reported this and was offered a room change. I accepted, but the room was the other side of the hotel and since I was in a mad rush to eat and change before a wedding, I asked the lady behind the counter if she could arrange to have my bag moved, which she did. Ordered lunch, which was expensive for what it was. Scotch egg and dirty fries, each for around £8. I’d ordered the food with a beer, but before the food or drink arrived, I asked to switch the beer to a coffee, but was told that the beer had “already been ordered”, I accepted this as I expected she has already poured this perhaps, however, the beer came with the food some time later, so no idea why I wasn’t granted a switch. Scotch egg was barely warm, hard yolk inside and very dry throughout, both meat and egg. Chips were barely warm, again, very dry and covered in a supposed pulled pork which was hard and sour. Egg was served on a chopping board too small to open it up on without things cascading to the table, chips in a tray too small to spread the sauce over the chips, so I had to ask for a plate to transfer everything to, which also raised an eyebrow for some reason. All in all this was disgusting, but with limited time, I abandoned the food after eating around a third and reported it to the receptionist as the bar staff came and went. Was told that this would be “fed back”. Before I left for the wedding, I reported that the room was cold and requested a fan heater, I was told that there absolutely was one on the premises and that this would be in my room on return. The room was reasonable, however, there was a lack of the little things that you expect. Empty body wash, no shampoo, no fridge, no bottled water, four tiny milk cartons used by 2pm and not replenished while I was out. Weak shower. Heater absolutely not delivered while I was out, meaning that I had to call reception at 2am (or whatever time it was). Breakfast was passable, but below par. Bacon had seemingly been boiled, no crisp at all and all the rashers were stuck together where they had been cooked laid across each other. Fried eggs all with hard yolks. Sliced bread already going stale and a toaster that couldnt be changed and which burned the toast, so you had to risk pushing the bread to start further through. The coffee machine dispensed latte that didn’t fit in the cup meaning unavoidable spillage. Upon exit, I raised with the same receptionist that had promised me a heater that I hadn’t been impressed and especially pointed out that I shouldn’t have been charged for the food. Rather than any resolution, I was told that I would get a call from the catering manager. A call...

This conference hotel boasts being 'Dog Friendly' but if you book with them it appears that you find out it is, however, not 'Dog Owner Friendly'. We booked a 'Privilege' room for a bit more luxurious experience but it seems the only privilege remaining in our room (room 132) was that of extra space.

The hotel was under-occupied during our stay yet we were given a room that couldn't be further from reception in this large sprawling venue. I'm guessing that either that was to segregate us from other guests as dog owners, or because that is how far away a neglected room could be found because they assume dogs = mess. I don't know though, perhaps all their 'privilege' rooms are so tired?

If I'd allowed my feelings to prevail I might have taken photos and videos to add to my own negative google review about the experience, but I think this hotel is securing its own slow motion demise without my help. So I refrained and just put it down to experience - we'll simply stay elsewhere for next years Crick Boat Show.

There were several instances of black mould in the bathroom, no doubt because the extractor fan is useless, and possibly because the room is left empty of occupants and neglected until an unfortunate dog owner comes along. Make the error of leaving the bathroom door ajar when you take a shower and the whole room becomes filled with the steam that should go through the non-functioning extractor duct. Black mould is not only disgusting, it's a health hazard. It's also fairly easy to clean and sterilise from bathroom surfaces like bath seals and tile grout - why was it allowed to remain?

Taking a shower is not my own preferred option though. I have a fairly severe back problem, so soaking in a nice hot bath is very beneficial. It's also another reason we chose this room. The neglect in this bathroom was not just cleanliness. The pop up plug for the bath didn't work. In its sealed position it still let the bath water out almost as fast as in the open position. This instance of disrepair made it impossible to take a relaxing bath, negating another part of the so-called 'privilege' expectation one might have when choosing the more expensive room.

If you rely on the offer of 'free mineral water' in the room you'll end up thirsty. Only one half litre bottle per person, not replenished on the second day of our stay. Breakfast was OK, average hotel buffet fodder, but our food from the Fuel restaurant was poor. These latter issues were tolerable compared to the disgusting bathroom with its poor upkeep and disrepair. The general tiredness of the room with moth-eaten curtains and aging interior was also tolerable. The bathroom was not.

They overcharged and under-delivered. We won't return to this or any other hotel...