Although this might once upon a time have been the best hotel in Cambridge, it is now showing it's age. Very disappointing.

I booked two "standard" rooms for two nights; the double which was about as small as it could be without having to put bunk beds in! The other twin room for my children was larger:- maybe they upgraded me to a "deluxe" room without telling me. However, although I had paid for the rooms in advance, non-refundable, they were unable to give us two rooms near each other, or even on the same floor, because we had "arrived too late". Seems like they weren't expecting us!

A further irritation, on the Saturday night, was the loud disco which went on until midnight just below our bedroom window. No warning or apology in advance for possible disturbance from the hotel manager.

The staff mainly appeared to be clueless, with the only exception being the lady who seemed in charge at breakfast. The reception staff had difficulty giving directions to a very well known restaurant in Cambridge, just half a mile from the hotel. It was also notable that nobody asked if we had enjoyed our stay when we checked out... I guess that was deliberate, though.

On a positive point, the breakfast was good. But not good enough to bring me back to the hotel again.

For £130 per night, this is a rip off! I'd have been happy paying around £35 for this stay...that's saying something.

Hotel looks great in pics, looks out onto a nice park. It needs a lot of investment for it to live up to its rates!!!!

Bathroom - outdated, dirty shower area, light on the ceiling was hanging off, toilet was stained.

Bedroom - faded carpet, tatty furniture, clean linen however

Breakfast - very average indeed, poor quality bread, fruit on display looked a bit tired. Service was slow.

Parking - I left the conceirce park my car, it came back absolutely filthy. I had to spend 2 minutes cleaning the windshield in order to be able to look out of. £14 per night is excessive.

TV - got away with not paying for the movies I watch though :)

The rooms were cold; the central heating admitted by them to be deficient. The rooms were late in being available, even for families with children and older guests. The service at dinner was very slow. We had three different bills when we questioned the totals. The car parking fee, 14 pounds, was excessive. The decor was poor (swollen bath panel, for example). The good thing was the breakfast.

My boyfriend and I spent the last 2 nights at the University Arms so thought I'd share our experience:

I'll start with the positives:
The hotel is centrally located- a 15 minute walk from the train station, and 5 minutes from the main shops and town centre.

The rooms are clean and comfy, a fair size, and the fluffy duck down duvets give a great night's sleep.

We booked through opodo, paying £69 per night for a standard double including breakfast (same rate applies on lastminute) which was an acceptable rate. Pay any more and it really wouldn't be worth it- when I phoned the hotel directly they quoted me more than double for a basic room! no chance.

It is slightly fawlty towers esque, and aspires to be grand, but unfortunately misses the mark. It is musty and dark, with fading red carpets and chandeliers. The breakfast room is nothing short of scary, so paying an additional £3 per person for room service is advisable.

On arrival we had to wait 10 minutes at the front desk to check in before we were acknowledged by staff with very poor customer service skills.

When going down to breakfast in the morning we had to battle through an embroidery convention (?!)on the way to the restaurant, who filled the whole reception- very little had been done to make the actual hotel guests feel at ease, having to zig zag between a sea of embroiderers having tea!

The light in our bathroom went 3 hours after arriving, which we promptly reported and was not fixed for the length of our stay!

It was not made clear beforehand, but hotel guests get free use of a nearby local leisure centre and swimming pool about 10 mins walk, would've been handy to know so we'd packed some swimwear!

So all in all, if you're looking for a central location, without the usual frills a devere chain is expected to offer- go ahead- but look for a cheap deal, or you'll be disappointed!