Great room but party was a let down (Hilton Dartford Bridge)

Member Name: jazzypinkpuppet

Product:	Hilton Dartford Bridge
Date:	22/07/09 (93 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good central location, nice rooms, good offers.

Disadvantages: In the middle of large busy roads, party service was poor.

Last Christmas my work booked up the Hilton at Dartford bridge for our Christmas party. It was quite a step up from what we usually have - Pub carvery and Karaoke and we were all very excited to be able to wear posh frocks and high heels.
My friend and I decided we would make it an extra special night and so we booked a room. As we had a party booking we were able to book a twin room with breakfast for £69. We thought at £35 each it was a terrific bargain.

Where is it ?
The location of Hilton in Dartford is not particularly pretty, it is set right by Dartfords toll bridge, next to a big business park. However as you drive up to the hotel you could be forgiven for thinking you are in some tranquil setting with its tree lined drive and ambient lighting.
It is the perfect hotel if you are visiting Bluewater or Lakeside shopping centres as it is about five minutes from both. It is also a brilliant base if you are traveling via Eurostar from the new Ebbsfleet station as it is less than five miles away.

Check in experience

We arrived at about four O'clock, we found a parking space with ease and the check in desk was clearly visible.
We were greeted at the check in desk by a friendly lady, who after the normal formalities. Gave us a little welcome pack with all the details of breakfast times, mini bar costs, emergency numbers etc and directed us to our room. It was an easy and pleasant experience.

The room.
The room was very large for the money we paid. It had two double beds that were neatly made up with ample pillows and extra blankets as it was December. There was a large desk with writing paper, pens, telephone and the Hilton bumf. There was also a large dressing table with a big mirror and plugs for hair dryers and shavers.
The bathroom was roomy with a huge well lit mirror, bath with shower and normal toilet and sink. There were complimentary shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and soaps.
The room was clean, smelt fresh and was in good repair.

The dinner

My work had booked a three course self serve dinner with a disco after. It cost £29 per head.
I think this is where the Hilton standards were dropped, they obvioulsy wanted to make as much money as possible and so crammed 100's of us in this fairly small room. There were in my opinion double the amount of tables than there should have been. Every time you needed to get up for the loo, bar or for food it had to be done with military precision through a maze of chairs and tables making people stand up to let you pass. I stood up at least 10 times to let people by during my main course alone.
The tables were set nicely with crisp white table cloths and little party poppers, there were also some lovely flowers in the middle.
The food was ok, it was nothing special or exciting and for the mains I had to stand in line for fifteen mins - think school dinners only slower.
For starters there was a selection of salad, a pate dish or breaded chicken, Main course was a traditional roast, with lamb, beef and turkey then they had the roast potatoes and vegetables.
I can't comment on desert as I didn't have any.

The dance -

It was a fun typical cheesy disco which is great for a good party atmosphere. The DJ was funny and tried to get everyone up dancing, the problem was that the dance floor was tiny and there wasn't enough room for even a third of the room to dance, when asked to move the tables back they said the couldn't.

The bar -
A good selection of wines, beers and spirits but at high prices. We expected to pay a bit more as it was a hotel but £7.50 for a glass of normal white wine is taking the Michael . I think a bottle of smirnoff ice was £4.00 and a coke was £3.25.
The staff very very friendly and helpful though and even with big queues we were served quickly.

The morning after ...

After quite a heavy night of drinking and dancing we needed a good brekkie to get us going and Hilton did not disappoint.
There was an abundance of hot sausages, bacon, eggs of all variety, toast, cold meats, fruit, yoghurt, loads of cereals in fact anything you could have wanted for breakfast they had.
There was a waitress who bought over a big pot of tea and who refilled it when necessary.
It was lovely, delicious and well presented.

Checking out -
This was simple as we had already paid and hadn't used any extra facilities we just popped our key in a post box and away we went.

Should I go ??

I think it is a beautiful hotel with more facilities than I can comment on like gym and pool as I didn't use them. I would avoid group parties but as a typical hotel stay I think it ticks all the boxes.
Comfy large rooms, good check in and out service, nice breakfast and good location. So if you are traveling this way it might be worth a stay.

Summary: Good hotel for a typical stay but avoid group party bookings as they pack them in.