Our stay the St James way

Easter weekend for me was spent in Nottingham’s newly refurbished St James Hotel (formally The well known and respected Rutland Square Hotel) and having been invited by owner Richard Johal, to spend a night in the penthouse suite, my partner and I looked forward to experiencing what they had to offer.

First impressions were ‘WOW’ to the new hotel foyer- large mirrored furniture, super large modern lighting, plush furnishings of purples and gold’s and a real mixed feel of both traditional and contemporary, which I liked very much – a huge improvement on the old and tired look of the hotel.

We were greeted by an extremely smiley face of the receptionist, who asked us to take a seat and offered us a drink whilst we waited for our room to be ready (we arrived one hour early to the check in time, which is 2pm) and so enjoyed a cup of fruit tea in the plush seating area of the lobby, which I noticed had free Wifi and plug point areas for those with laptops.

Once our room was ready we checked in with said lovely receptionist and were given our golden ticket to the penthouse suite, which was breathtakingly beautiful.  A very traditional styling of quality furniture, oversized lamps, heavily patterned wallpaper and a view to die for over Nottingham city and more importantly Nottingham Castle.  The room also boasted a large dining table which seated 6, a piano and cable TV.  Our bedroom was a cosy size, with a large bed, filled with scatter cushions, a gold quilted wardrobe like nothing I’d ever seen and a good sized TV.

The bathroom was another ‘WOW’ factor as it contained ‘the Jacuzzi bath’ I emphasize this as the bath was HUGE, with a quality good sized waterproof TV, allowing for much needed quality ‘me’ time.

The restaurant was another impressive sight compared to the old style interior, with its once again array of contemporary lighting, bright walls and ‘Aladdin’ purple and gold dining furniture.  We were greeted and seated by the lovely waitress Debbie, who took our wine order and allowed us to taste before we decided, which I thought was a nice touch.  The menu was made up of a combination of simple good old homemade style cuisine such as sausage and mash, a curry dish and lasagne- which we opted for- one meat and one veggie version, which was delicious- packed full of different vegetables and lots of flavour, with a generous amount of pasta and cheese, which I enjoyed with a side Greek feta salad and crunchy garlic bread. 

One thing that stood out throughout the whole dining experience was the attentiveness of the staff,  who were all eager to assist and ensure we had a wonderful time.

As we had plans to go out that evening, we decided against a dessert, finished our wine and headed off to the Royal Concert Hall to watch Cats The Musical and as we headed out all the staff waved us off and welcomed us warmly on our return a few hours later.

Breakfast the following morning was most definitely worth getting up early on Easter Sunday  for (served until 10.30am) and is something we will be making a special trip into town for on occasion, as there was so much to choose from and all was such great quality.  At £9.95 per person and £4.95 for children under 14, it is well worth it, as The Continental choices alone were impressive- a selection of fresh juices, teas, coffees, cereals, fresh fruit, yogurts, pastries, freshly baked muffins, cheeses, cured meats and toast & jams.  The cooked breakfasts were also popular with guests as we noticed and this is what we opted for, which came very well cooked- not greasy at all and to a generous size.

Then comes the Signature dishes to be ordered from the menu, which included Eggs Benedict, Welsh Rarebit and American Pancakes to name a few of which I opted for.  These arrived in a mountain with a small jug of warm maple syrup, strawberries and Satsuma halves- one word-delicious.

I have to say we immensely enjoyed our stay at the St James Hotel, from the moment we arrived we were made to feel exceptionally welcome, the facilities were more than adequate with the penthouse being a luxurious stay for anyone and the food was to a very good standard- we look forward to visiting again and have already recommended to friends and family, who in turn have gone on to book rooms.

Thank you

Fiona Duncan, RSViP