The Signature Suite – Room 447 @ orchard hotel
One of my favourite hotels in Nottingham is The Orchard Hotel, set in 330 acres of parkland and part of the Nottingham Venues group, who also house the Jubilee Hotel and Conference Centre, the East Midlands Conference Centre and more.
Having stayed at the hotel in the past a few times, I have always admired the layout, service and focus on sustainability – think fluid architecture, botanical wall murals and the colour green intertwined into their interior with the theme of ‘the apple’ flowing through.
The hotel boasts 202 bedrooms, 7 meeting and training rooms, exhibition space, private dining and banqueting space, outdoor dining and BBQ areas and the Bramley’s Brasseries & Bar.
My experience involved the brand newly opened Signature suite in room 447 of the top floor, which overlooks pretty much the whole of Nottingham from the private balcony that comes with the room.
The suite is refurbished to a top-quality spec, with a good sized open plan living/dining area, plush sofa, stylish, contemporary yet cosy interior and large screen tv, which we enjoyed watching Glastonbury on during our stay. The bathroom- again a good size houses a large wet room sized shower and free-standing bathtub, with twin sinks and includes toiletries sourced locally and sustainably.
The piece de resistance for us was the bedroom, as it was again designed with thought, with a large king-sized bed- very comfortable, ample wardrobe space, large screen television and a lovely leather Eames chair for relaxing naps/reading.
Upon arrival we were greeted, checked in very efficiently and directed to our room, where we were pleasantly surprised by what we encountered with a generous personal welcome on the dining table of sweet treats and a jampacked fruit bowl.
Dinner was at 6pm in the Bramley’s brasserie where between us we enjoyed a three course dinner of soup to start, mushroom burger/fries, fish and chips all finished off with sticky toffee pudding and ice cream- yep time for bed after that!
The service was fantastic- very tentative and the Manager also kindly came over to say hello during dinner which was washed down with a glass of wine.
Breakfast in hotels is always my favourite part and I was not disappointed with the quality of choice here, everything from continental, to cooked buffet style with additional choices on the menu made to order, with extras like smoothies, eggs anyway you like, a selection of speciality breads/bagels and the honeycomb was also a nice touch.
All in all, what a great stay at one of Nottingham’s best hotels and the Signature Suite just adds that extra special experience – thank you.
Fiona Duncan- Steer, The Sleepy Vegetarian
