Mercure York Fairfield Manor Hotel — Hotel in Great Britain

The building itself is interesting as is its history. We'd only booked a room as neither of us eat breakfast. We 'ate in' on the first night to evaluate the restaurant. Boy, it was an experience! We were the second couple to sit down by the windows, which was ok at 6.30pm but by the time we finally left at 8.15pm it was nippy to say the least. The menu was not what I'd have expected from a four star hotel, it was more like bar food. The service could be described as snails pace. We gave a drinks order in at about 6.45 and after we had checked on it whereabouts at about 7.10, it arrived shortly after. The person on bar service came over to apologise that he'd forgotten the order. The food service was slower. Our food order was taken at about 6.55pm, by this time 2 more tables were taken up, one of two customers and one of 3. This now meant there were 4 tables in use by 9 people including ourselves. It seemed to be residents who'd been in previously were attend with better service.

As for our room, 401, everything seemed OK at first. Together, my husband and I agreed that it was the duff room in the hotel. We were part paying with a voucher given to us by family. Apparently, hotels do not favour this and will have less suitable rooms allocated. As it was getting late and it was chilly in the room we tried to put the heating on. We read the instructions by the thermostat and followed them, nothing happened. I have a medical condition which means I am sensitive to the cold. I had a poor night with broken sleep. In the morning we opened the curtains to see our view, it was an overgrown shrub and our room was in-between two corridors of the hotel which meant we got very little daylight. My husband went for a shower and tried to turn on the towel rail to warm the towels. There was another problem, the towel rail was neither connected to the water system nor to the electricity. There was a socket with a hole in it where the electric cable should have gone.

We hung the notice on the door saying we did not wish the room to be cleaned, we were only there for three day, and out most of the day. The towels were taken and not replaced until I called reception. The refreshments tray was not replenished and wasn't good to start with.

The staff appeared to be overworked and there was one member of staff who'd been involved in an RTA in the morning but had to work his shift as they were short staffed.

Would we stay here again, I don't think so. When we checked out we explained our grievances to the person on reception, who wrote it all down, but we could envisage him throwing it in the bin as soon as we left...

We enjoyed our stay, we were moved to a different room, as the one we were given was in the old part of the building where there was no lift. We asked to be moved due to my Husband's health problems & this was done. We were a little disappointed as we were a party of four & we wanted to book our evening meal in the restaurant, there was a large group of people in & we had to make do with a bar meal as it would have been too late for us to eat at the time that was offered to us, our meal came before the other people in our party got theirs, it was a much longer wait for them, we had finished our meal before theirs arrived. After dinner we went into the lounge & I asked my Husband for a drink, he went to the bar to ask for an Amaretto on ice for me, he was given a double measure which he didn't ask for at s cost of £10.40p which I thought was rather expensive, needless to say I only had the one at that price. Due to the problems with our rooms we were given a voucher for the four of us to have a free drink, however we couldn't choose the drinks of our choice as there would have been an extra charge which in our opinion wasn't as cut & dried as it should have been. The breakfasts were very nice, we were asked on the evening of the second night if we would come into breakfast at 9 o'clock as there were two coaches of guests who had arrived, when we came down there were lots of things missing. Glasses that were inaccessible to us as they were on the bottom shelf, right at the back, no mugs for the hot drinks, no butter, no plates for the breakfast, there only seemed to be one young lady to do things although we did see a couple of men in the restaurant too, it was her was doing everything, much more chaotic to the first morning at breakfast. When we checked out & went to settle our bill, there was a service charge incurred, this was removed though after we pointed this out. The staff couldn't have been nicer, they were very friendly & obliging. We were a little surprised that dogs were allowed to stay & assume that there are specific rooms for this. It looks like we didn't enjoy our stay but we really did & would still like to stay at this lovely hotel again if they...

We recently stayed at the Mercure Fairfield Manor Hotel in York. The hotel is situated in a lovely location, surrounded by beautiful grounds, and offers plenty of parking. While there are positives to highlight, unfortunately, some significant issues detracted from our overall experience.

The Room: Our room was spacious but poorly designed. The wardrobe was positioned right next to the door, making it difficult to enter or exit while holding the door open—this layout felt unnecessarily cramped. The bathroom was functional but in dire need of refurbishment. The taps were positioned too far back, making it challenging to wash hands comfortably. The shower worked, but it would be beneficial for the hotel to offer rooms with standalone showers, especially for younger guests who may prefer them.

The biggest drawbacks, however, were related to lighting and comfort. We found a dirty towel in the room, which was disappointing. Additionally, a bright light from the A/C unit made sleeping difficult, as the unit was placed directly by the bed. Without the option to open a window or turn off the A/C light, I had a poor night's sleep, which is not what one hopes for on holiday. The gap under the door allowed light from the hallway to enter the room, forcing me to use the towel to block it. While the curtains were effective at blocking external light, these internal lighting issues overshadowed their usefulness.

Breakfast: The breakfast was average at best. While the beans and fried eggs were acceptable, they were lukewarm from sitting under heat lamps. The bacon was undercooked, and there was limited variety. I considered a pastry but was disappointed to find only one lonely pastry in the basket, which I ultimately decided to leave.

Overall Impression: At £120 for the night (inc breakfast), our stay was just okay, but I wouldn’t return to the Mercure Fairfield Manor Hotel in its current state. The property feels tired and dated, and it desperately needs a comprehensive overhaul to bring it up to modern standards. With some thoughtful updates to the rooms, facilities, and breakfast service, this hotel could reach its full potential given its fantastic location...