The Hilton Basingstoke. (Hilton Basingstoke)

Member Name: andymcf

Product:	Hilton Basingstoke
Date:	21/04/03 (226 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Location, Fantastic staff, Well priced

Disadvantages: Somewhat lacking in character

Hampshire is a lovely county and Basingstoke sounded nice. And there's a Hilton there. The chance to earn a few "Hhonors" points and write a review about a previously un-rated hotel was irresistible. An old school friend of mine lives in nearby Winchester. It all added up. We booked the hotel on-line and let Simon know that we were coming.

Things started to go terribly wrong.

We were staying 15 miles away from Simon. And he had decided to spend the weekend with his family - you guessed it - 15 miles away from us. This was communicated in an e-mail in which he demanded to know why we were staying in such a "Godforsaken" town (I won't use his precise terminology) as Basingstoke. I back-tracked a little. Basingstoke is two things. It's certainly a complete dive - and I apologise to residents and fans - but it is. It's also - on a more positive note - very convenient for visiting delightful Hampshire towns such as Winchester, Wiltshire towns such as Salisbury and is not too far from Heathrow airport. Basingstoke is a commercial town and if you need to be here on business, then this is fine. As a leisure destination - fine - just get out of town. Just don't attempt it on a Bank Holiday. The World and his wife will also be joining the mass exodus, as we soon discovered when we attempted to visit the New Forest.

Booking / Reception...

...Was simple, if typically inaccurate. I'd booked on-line through the Hilton site and was recognised on arrival. I was offered a free newspaper (they got it wrong on the first day) and was offered a wake-up call. Travelling with baby Josh means that a wake-up call was totally unnecessary, but other people might appreciate one. The whole process was friendly and comprehensive. I'm a smoker and had requested a smoking room. Room 111 was non-smoking and I couldn't open the door with the supplied keycard. We returned to reception and were
quickly re-allocated to room 243 and told how to use the keycard. Apparently, you need to really push it in. I followed the advice and it worked. We entered...

Our Room...

...and were vaguely disappointed, to be honest. Firstly, I had clearly not been upgraded to a "Plaza" room, which, as a Gold VIP Hhonors member, is something to which I ought to be entitled. More importantly the room was - well - dull. Hotels used to excite me. I used to be jealous of those who stayed in them regularly through business. I, however, stay in hotels for a "treat". And I was acutely aware that I was staying in a room at a chain hotel. Nothing wrong with that, but it was just so predictable. Many Hilton hotels make an effort to be something special. I just didn't get that impression here.

Door opens. Bathroom on the right - standard stuff. Clean and presentable. Standard toiletries which - surprisingly - were not replaced on day 2 of our stay. Not exactly a problem, but not exactly "superb" either. Move forward and find the rest of a fairly cramped room, which featured a double bed, two chairs and a table, a working desk and chair, ample storage space and - of course - the ubiquitous trouser press. Clean, green carpet and somewhat tired cream wallpaper that was showing signs of wear. Nothing wrong whatsoever. But nothing out of the ordinary, either. This is a modern, brick-built chain hotel and, looking out of the window onto the courtyard I could not help but wonder if I was on the set of the Aussie Soap, "Prisoner Cell Block H". A contemporary, purpose-built two-story building, it screams "Chain Hotel" At the top of its voice. As a newbie Hotel guest, I would have been impressed. There's nothing wrong with this place. There's just nothing, either, to make it stand out. Apart, of course, from the wonderful...

Staff...

...Who are superb. Without an

y shadow of doubt - particularly in the lovely restaurant. We were staying on a package that included table d'hote dinner and breakfast. The main restaurant is called the "Britisserie" and serves decent portions of good quality British food. I enjoyed a lovely steak and Amanda opted for a delicious salmon dish. Baby Josh was well catered for from the "Planet Hilton" menu and only chucked a few of his fish fingers from his high chair. We need to work on his table manners. To say that the attention he received from our friendly waiter, Sadiq, was comprehensive, friendly and far beyond the call of duty would be making something of an understatement. The food was good, the service was superb and the environment was divine - we ate in a conservatory with views over well-maintained gardens; the ambience was pretty well perfect and Josh was very well looked after. But, of course, he's gorgeous!

Amanda and Josh returned to the room. In the interests of research, you understand, I decided to pay a visit to the...

Bar...

...Which was very pleasant. In fact it's one of the first things you encounter at the hotel. Reception is pretty open-plan and tasteful. The reception desk is on your left and straight ahead of you is the bar, the "Caffe Cino" and the Restaurant. Search hard enough and you'll also find the swimming pool and "Living Well" Health Centre. The bar, however, was where I found my niche and I enjoyed a few beers, at very reasonable prices, served by extremely friendly staff. The seating was comfortable and the opportunity to engage in a spot of discreet people watching (one of my favourite activities) was excellent.

In Summary...

...A great hotel if you're on business in Basingstoke. I'd totally misinterpreted the raison d'etre of this town - Holiday destination it ain't! That said, it's well located for beautiful Winchester and S

alisbury
and wouldn't be a bad base for visits to the New Forest. The staff are fantastic and make the very best of what is essentially a functional chain hotel. And that's what it is. A chain hotel. I remain a fan of the Hilton group. I just think that this particular venue is, despite having absolutely superb staff, almost totally devoid of character. And that's a shame.

Andrew

Summary: