Oakham Hotel

A very disappointing experience at the Oakham Hotel, Church St, Oakham. On the day before our arrival we were advised by text that the hotel operated a reception less system whereby the entry card to our room would be within a key safe. I have no issue with this type of arrangement as long as the hotel have in place a fallback facility where contact can be made immediately with a hotel representative in the event of an issue with the room etc. On entry to the room it was basically furnished which is fine if it’s clean and comfortable and has the expected facilities available. However in this instance the mattress was poor quality offering little support. Additionally there was no remote for the TV, a hairdryer and only 1 x 20ml shampoo and 1 x 20ml body wash, not really sufficient for 2 guest wishing to shower in the evening and morning. If an en-suite is advertised as being within the room I’d expect it to have the appropriate washing items provided. To compound this issue, the liquid soap dispenser in the en-suite was filled with washing up liquid. A helpline number was provided whereby guests, if needed, could contact the hotel staff to rectify any issues. This number was called at 19:33, however this went to an answer phone. No response was received from the hotel until 08:59 the following morning - we’d left at 08:00!! Now while our issues were relatively trivial in the scheme of things, it could have been far more serious i.e no hot water, no water, no electricity etc. What would have happened then? Shortly after our arrival it became quite apparent why both windows were wide open, an air freshener was on maximum in the bedroom and 2 air fresheners were in the en-suite. The smell of foul sewer was unbearable from the shower unit. The shower had to be run (on cold) in excess of 30 minutes in an attempt to flush the drains and the light (thus operating the extractor fan) left on for the entire duration of our stay to attempt to remove the foul odour. Other observations made were; Both the tea and coffee were totally undrinkable and had to be thrown away. The lift was out of order (the hotel advertises as having disabled facilities and a lift). So the bottom line is, if asked “Would you stay here again?” The answer is definitely not, avoid the hotel like the plague as that’s what we’ll probably contract as a result of one night here.

Generally my one night stay was fine. The hotel doesn't have a car park, but there is a public pay and display approx 1 minute walk away (free from Sat 6pm and all day Sunday). There isn't a reception, so no one to check you in. I received a text from the booking agent on the morning of my stay giving details of room numbers and codes to access the key safes, which are on the wall at the entrance door. Once opened you remove the room keycard (I reversed the process when I checked out, although I hadn't received an instruction to do so). The room was of a modern style, as was the ensuite. It was very hot in the room (but the window opened). I found the double bed to be comfortable. I removed the duvet from its cover (because it was too hot to have the duvet over me) and noticed a few unsightly stains on the duvet itself. I'm guessing that could be the case in many hotels! The shower was efficient, although the pump soap bottle had very little soap in so I couldn't pump any out. The sink was very small, that in itself not a problem, but the mixer tap operated by a single lever. This meant that if you swung the lever round to the cold position, the water came out with such force that it bounced out of the sink. Also you couldn't fill the (full sized) kettle directly from the tap, but I used a glass to pour water in the kettle. The amenities tray was well stocked (including biscuits!) and spares were left on a trolly in the corridor. The hotel has a lift, although I didn't use it. On the whole I would say this hotel is fine for a one or two night stay, if you are essentially looking for a bed for the night and not wanting to linger in your room. There is no breakfast option, but there are several very nice eating options for breakfast/brunch in Oakham, with only a short distance to walk.