The Parklands Hotel

I recently stayed at Parklands Hotel for a friend's wedding, having booked it based on her recommendation for its convenient location. Unfortunately, my experience fell far short of expectations. Upon arrival, I was faced with the lack of assistance from the staff. I arrived with two large suitcases, a hand-carry, and three bags, and not a single staff member offered help. Given my injured lower back, this was particularly frustrating and disappointing for a boutique hotel. The check-in process was confusing, as the staff directed me to the welcome pack for instructions instead of providing clear verbal guidance. After a long drive, this was not user-friendly at all. When it came time to decide on breakfast, we were informed that we needed to make a decision on the spot, which was challenging given our recent arrival. The forms to fill out just to have breakfast felt excessive, so we opted out—unfortunate, as we had hoped to eat at the hotel for convenience before the wedding. We also decided to have dinner at the hotel. While the food was decent, the service was slow—understandable for a small hotel, but still frustrating. After requesting the menu, it took 20 minutes for the waitress to return to take our order. To add to our disappointment, we were unaware that housekeeping services needed to be requested. Returning to our room around 1:30 AM after the wedding, we found it uncleaned—trash was not emptied, and my friend had no fresh towels for a shower. This led to an uncomfortable night and poor rest. The next morning, we woke up around 9:30 AM, aware that check-out was at 11 AM. We requested a later check-out to freshen up, but the middle-aged brunette staff member we spoke to was unhelpful and a bit rude, insisting on charging us £25 per hour for the extra time. Her response lacked understanding, suggesting we should have read the rules more carefully. While we acknowledge some responsibility for not being aware of the policies, our collective experiences, particularly with the female staff, were disheartening. We believe that hotels are in the people business, and customer service should reflect that. We felt compelled to share our honest review to assist others in deciding whether Parklands Hotel is the right choice for them.