The Nottingham Belfry Hotel
Nottingham
Reviewed by Lucy Ibbotson
Firstly I would like to offer a special thanks to ‘Experience Nottinghamshire‘ for arranging everything this weekend – an overnight stay in The Nottingham Belfry Hotel, complimentary entry to Newstead Abbey and a lovely Sunday roast at a local pub, The Horse & Groom.
Hotel and Location
The Nottingham Belfry Hotel is situated on the outskirts of Nottingham on a small business park but close to a few small villages with local amenities. It is fairly modern in appearance and there is plenty of parking. It is approximately a mile from Junction26 of the M1, 15 miles from East Midlands Airport and 5 miles from Nottingham city centre. The hotel isn’t far from Sherwood Forest, home to Robin Hood, where you can explore the Major Oak, walk through the picturesque forest and maybe experience a memorable Robin Hood event such as a Medieval Banquet. There is also the annual Robin Hood Beer Festival and the Robin Hood Half Marathon – all organised by www.experiencenottinghamshire.com/robin-hood. Also nearby are attractions such as Donnington Park, the Nottingham Forest Football Ground and Trent Bridge. Lovely places nearby to walk your dog are Wollaton Hall & Park and Newstead Abbey – we went to both and although dogs need to be on leads at all times, they’re both stunning places to visit and the dogs loved the exercise. If you’re not travelling with your furry friends there are some great museums to visit such as the Papplewick Pumping Station and the Newark Air Museum. 5 out of 5.
Facilities
The hotel has a restaurant, bar, health club and a spa as well as a large reception area and meeting / conference facilities. The hotel can also provide 24 hour room service to your hotel room. The spa offers anything from soothing facials to all over massages. They have 6 spa treatments rooms, an indoor swimming pool, Jacuzzi, sauna and steam room too. The health club also offers a range of the latest Technogym equipment which includes cardio machines and free weights. If you’re looking to arrange a conference the Nottingham Belfry has one of the largest conference venues in the region and, it is one of the most accessible. They have 13 conference and meeting rooms with state of the art facilities, free internet access and can hold up to a maximum of 700 delegates. The hotel has 120 bedrooms decorated in a contemporary style, all with 32” flat screen TVs and free internet access. Rooms range from Standard (incl double bed, en-suite, trouser press, tea & coffee making facilities and hairdryer) to Suites (as standard but includes separate lounge area, bathrobes, king size four poster bed and luxury toiletries). Dog friendly rooms appear to be located on the ground floor and near to a fire exit for easy access to the grounds. 5 out of 5.
Room
Our room was a lovely ground floor Suite, which was as described – King Size Four Poster bed, separate lounge and luxury toiletries, including more. To have a large room was a god send with 2 lively doggies in tow and after they’d finished exploring their temporary home, they both settled down and were quite happy with the additional space. We had 3 TVs in our suite, bedroom, lounge and bathroom which was fantastic and ever so decadent. The bathroom had a double sink arrangement, double bath with TV at one end, and also a large corner shower unit with waterfall shower head – shear bliss for the humans. The bedroom was well proportioned, with all the usual mod cons, hairdryer, trouser press, bedside reading lights, dressing table, etc… the wardrobe was also full floor to ceiling mirrored which our little pooch found fascinating and spent most of the evening barking at herself. The lounge area was also well proportioned and had a separate entrance door, coffee table, 3 seater sofa and armchair plus dining table and chairs. There were also tea and coffee making facilities, with a medium sized fridge underneath (containing complimentary bottled water), complimentary nibbles and wine (which was a lovely touch for the Suite option). 5 out of 5.
Staff
I can’t fault the staff, they were polite, courteous and extremely helpful with our every query / request. They were also very accommodating of the dogs we had with us. The ladies on reception were very helpful with directing us to a nearby dog friendly pub – as the hotel only allows dogs in the public areas and not in the bar or restaurant areas – and nearby dog walks which we were advised were plentiful. 5 out of 5.
Food
We had eaten at a local pub earlier in the day with friends so ordered room service of a couple of sandwiches and some drinks. Although our food arrived promptly, we weren’t too impressed with the food – quality (stale) and portions were below par (little mayonnaise). The same with breakfast, it arrived on time but wasn’t as warm as we would have liked. Simon had the full English which was a large portion although not very inspiring and I had asked for a ‘selection’ of breads and toast and received 3 slices of various stale, cold toast with some accoutrements, marmalade and jam. The orange juice was also not fresh. 3 out of 5.
Dog Friendly
It is quite clear that the Nottingham Belfry is making a real effort to attract dogs and their owners. The hotel, location and staff are great, however, some tweaks would make all the difference. Such as, providing dog bowls in rooms and doggie treats for the furry guests – this wouldn’t be an expensive thing to do and would really be appreciated by the owners. Perhaps some complimentary doggie poo bags and a couple of doggie bins around the grounds would also help with keeping the place clean and tidy for other guests. The only place we could take the dogs for a toilet break was outside the back of the hotel through the fire exit. On a housekeeping note, our littlest dog found some little chewables under the side table (a bottle top and champagne cork) so a quick look under there by the cleaning staff wouldn’t go amiss. 4.5 out of 5.
On a regular Saturday, room rates range from £163 to £238 (bed & breakfast).
Overall Rating: 4/5
For more information or to make a booking call 0115 973 9393 or visit
www.qhotels.co.uk/our-locations/the-nottingham-belfry
For details of attractions, places to eat and stay in Nottinghamshire please visit the official tourism website of Nottinghamshire www.experiencenottinghamshire.com.
The Nottingham Belfry Hotel, Mellors Way, Off Woodhouse Way, Nottingham, NG8 6PY
Dog friendly review