Park Hall Hotel & Spa — Hotel in Wolverhampton

My husband booked a surprise trip to Wolverhampton for a concert and wanted us to enjoy an overnight stay at a spa hotel as my Christmas present. This hotel has a spa and wasn't far from the concert venue, so it seemed perfect. Overall we did enjoy our stay, but it wasn't what we were expecting. I'm going to list the strengths and weaknesses in the hope that they can address them in the future, as it has the potential to be an amazing hotel. We wouldn't say however, that it is as good as four stars.

On arrival: I realise that the hotel is being used as as nightingale court, but first impressions are important. Walking into a hotel through a small and uninviting door to then instantly see a security scanner, is not very welcoming. Upon check in the receptionist explained that the pool was out of order. This was a real let down for us as my husband could've booked another hotel if we had known this. When my husband explained this we were told that the pool is "complimentary" and then she dismissed us without telling us how to get to our room, when the gates would be closed, or anything about breakfast. Luckily, the pool was fixed by that evening, but we started off our stay feeling disappointed and unwelcome.

The room: My husband paid extra for a non-standard room however, it wasn't more luxurious than a room at a Premier Inn in terms of decor and space. The room needed some TLC as a toilet button was missing, a bulbs didn't work, there were spider webs and the bath was pretty grim. We had a view of the pool sheds and a porta cabin from the window (pictured). We couldn't use the safe in the room as it wasn't secured to anything and could just be lifted up and taken out the room. The bed was uncomfortable as the base was made in two sections which weren't level, so you're feet were higher than your head (pictured).

Lunch: We were told on our first night that the restaurant didn't open until 6.30pm and the next night it would be closed for a private function. We had to eat our lunch at the bar. The bar was lovely and the food was delicious (pictured), but the tiny drinks tables were not designed for eating a meal on, and it was awkward. We went out to have dinner the following night as there was no option at the hotel.

Breakfast: It was very busy on our first morning and there was nowhere to sit as all 14 tables of the restaurant were full. When we eventually got a table there were no mugs for coffee, no sausages and no cutlery or napkins, as the table l wasn't cleaned or reset from the previous users for the duration of our meal. We had to ask twice for cutlery, as the first person forgot about us and the second brought us tin foil instead. On the second morning, we had a completely different experience as the restaurant was no one else there and we had everything we needed.

The spa: The spa was the saving grace of our trip. The facilities were fantastic as was my facial treatment. We spent several hours in there, as it was very quiet, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Conclusion: I could be wrong, but it felt like the staff weren't used to having a busy hotel and everything could just be a bit slicker and professional. Perhaps it's a hangover from COVID and having the nightingale court. The bones are there, it just needs...

I have family in Wolverhampton and as we now have a 4 month old daughter we were looking for somewhere to base ourselves when travelling to visit that was clean, safe, and could be a haven to escape to when we needed it. Unfortunately this place was none of those things.

We were told when booking that the hotel was currently being used as a nightingale court, at a 4-star hotel I thought this would be hidden, but on arrival we were greeted by a metal detector, and guards from HM Prisons. Not a great first impression, fortunately they were gone at the weekend and so we only had to deal with this for the Friday.

We were upgraded to a family room, which was a nice gesture, however, there had been a leak in the bathroom, and there was mould on the ceiling. The bathroom fan made a loud screeching noise every time we turned on the light, and there was a musty smell in the room. The room and the communal areas looked tired, which was surprising as apparently there has just been a huge refurb, I guess they spent all of the money on the bar and the restaurant, as they were actually nice and as I would expect of a hotel that presents itself as luxury. Lastly, on the room, there was a bright green light, apparently part of the fire system that illuminated the room at night. This made it very difficult to sleep.

To add to the challenge of sleep, on the first night, the room opposite was very loud, continuously shouting, arguing, and banging the door shut. I don't necessarily think this is the hotel's fault, but if you're considering staying here it's worth taking into account that there seems to be a lot of wedding parties and so may be loud. In all fairness, this escalated the second night, and I called reception to complain and the banging seemed to stop.

We woke up in the morning and needed coffee. All they had in the room was nescafe instant coffee packets, which again, I expect better from a "luxury" hotel. We called room service to order some real coffee and were told "I'm the only person here so I can't bring it to you". No problem, I'll head out and pick some up. As I walked through reception, I was presented with a scene that I've only ever seen in movies. I'll not provide any more detail on this but there was a lot of blood and it was very un-nerving to see.

As we were heading out to visit family, I found cockroaches in the hallway. Needless to stay we weren't looking forward to heading back and spending the night there.

One shining light in all of this was Sukhi, who helped us a lot when dealing with some of these things. She appeared to be the only competent person employed by Park Hall Hotel and I suspect her talents are wasted here.

I was in two minds whether to write this review or not but after being offered a frankly insulting discount of £16 to compensate us for the trouble I decided to.

Pictures attached of the neon room light, screws holding the door frame on to show wear and tear, and Colin...

We had what was professed to be the “best room in the house”. On that basis, I don't think I'd fancy staying in their other rooms…

I can handle a place that looks a bit worn down but things like finding hairs in the bath grossed me out. Makes me think how they could be missed if the bath underwent even a cursory spray down.

The lamps and wardrobe were dusty. The walls and furniture both could do with a lick of paint to see to the scuffs. There were a multitude of wet patches and stains on the carpet. One of the wet stains was apparently down to some spilled red wine which they knew about and had tried in vain to remedy. We weren't told prior however, so wet socks were in store for us. There were also sticky brown spots on the corner of the duvet (looked like some sort of foundation) and small plastic rhinestones scattered on the carpet, like those you get on a cheap dress. Any hoovering between guests was done lackadaisically, if at all.

It's supposed to be the ‘King Suite’ but the only thing king-sized was the duvet. The bed was just two uncomfortable singles pushed together, not very conducive to a cuddle.

Oh, and the biggest most uncomfortable pillows you've ever used. Nice if you want something to support your back when sat up, but no human has a span that great from their head to their shoulders. If you do, I am sorry that you have to walk through doorways sideways and hope that one day medical science can offer you a cure. We ended up using the cushions off the sofa.

The bath plug was broken and is just a loose metal cap. It required levering up with a tea spoon to drain the bath. The sink tap temps are also labelled incorrectly. Make sure you don't burn yourself. The hairdryer was sadly broken also so we had wet hair for our long drive home. The shower was nice enough though.

We also booked this as a combi spa stay 4-5 months in advance for Valentine's day but were told that the facilities were out of order a week before we were due to arrive via email. This is despite other reviewers saying it had been the case since Jan.

The food was decent enough and the staff were pleasant. However, the service was slow, the sides were over-priced (£5.99 for a basmati rice or naan) and they added an extra item to our bill. We were told in the restaurant and front desk that it would be amended. After totting things up after our stay, that wasn't the case. We advise any diners to request a print out of their meal and to check prior to it being sent to the front desk.

All in all, our stay was nice but made by the company in spite of the accommodation and not because of it.

I do rate the curry though and the happy valentines day balloon and faux petals were a...