Providing you with in-depth reviews on the hottest restaurants, hotels and experiences in Nottinghamshire!
09.07.2019
09.07.2019
Nottingham Hilton Hotel (formally the prestigious Victoria Hotel) for those of the generation to remember was my recent ‘home for the night ‘as I visited to experience what facilities they had to offer and I was not disappointed…
I decided to take along my mum who actually used to work at the hairdressers within The Victoria Hotel as an apprentice in her younger days, alongside my auntie who was their head stylist. We were also joined by mum’s Jack Russel Billy because yes – Hilton Hotels are dog friendly hotels!
Check-in was efficient and quick and the room (we were on the fifth out of six floors) was a good size with a super large bed as we were pleased to have been given a king deluxe room.
Hilton Nottingham is located on Milton Street in the heart of the city centre, less than a minutes’ walk from The Victoria/Intu Shopping Centre and a whole array of restaurants offering every cuisine imaginable. Parking can be provided at the hotel on a first come first served basis for the cost of £14 per night or there is a multi-story carpark just opposite at a cost of £15 overnight.
Next stop were the spa facilities, as we hit ‘basement’ in the lift and were greeted by the friendly and efficient Jaimal on reception. We enjoyed a few lengths in the pool, jacuzzi, steam room and sauna before getting ready for dinner, bypassing the gym, though this is possible to use during your stay. The changing room facilities are sufficient in size with hairdryers, swim wear dryers and plenty of shower cubicles.
Dinner was at 7pm and we were greeted by friendly staff who allowed us to choose our table- we opted for a private booth next to the front window- great for people watching on a Saturday night and the seats were super comfy The menu was large with plenty of choice and a good selection of vegetarian dishes for us both. We decided to share a Greek platter to start with of warm flatbreads, hummus and baba ganoush with olives- a great ‘social dish’ I always find and not too heavy to begin a three-course meal with.
We decided to share a dessert so as not to over do it and went for a lighter option of lemon tart which was served with meringue and gin and tonic sorbet!
The wine/ drinks list was pretty extensive, and the bar was beautifully designed lit up with twinkling fairy lights which added to a cosy ambience, as we sipped on Prosecco, rose wine and finished off with gin and tonic at the end of the night.
Highlight
Breakfast was for me the highlight of the stay, buzzing with the residents who you forget are staying in the same hotel as you and suddenly all emerge at once for what I can only describe as a banquet and breakfast for kings. The choice was fantastic, and they had left nothing out.
The breakfast staff were great too, offering us hot drinks on arrival and then it was a case of help yourself from there… everything was presented very nicely and labelled, so for vegetarians/vegans you had no issue in selecting your options. I went for cereal first which I was pleased to see came with a choice of cows, almond or soya milk. There was the usual continental of cheeses, meats, fresh fruit, yogurts, pastries but with the addition of freshly baked muffins, smoothie shots and a pancake machine to ‘make your own’ with your choice of toppings; American style maple syrup/fruit/honey etc. and then there was the cooked section where a full English awaited if you were so inclined- of course we headed straight there after our entre of cereal and enjoyed scrambled egg, baked beans and hash browns on toast with real butter. It was there we met ‘the egg man’ who cooked your eggs any way you wanted them freshly in front of you on his griddle – fantastic!
To summarise
All in all, The Hilton Nottingham offers everything you need from a city central hotel, conference facilities for events and business meetings, spa facilities, comfort, good food at a good price, excellent service and a cracking breakfast, plus an added bonus that they are dog friendly just opens themselves up to every demographic leaving no one out.
Fiona Duncan-Steer