We were searching for a cheap hotel for a base to explore Lincoln and had to decide whether to spend an extra £50 to stay at the Holiday Inn right in the centre of town or to save some money and stay at The Duke William near the cathedral. EVen after reading the reviews, we decided to risk it as we were not planning to spend a great deal of time at the hotel itself so we booked a family room for three adults - 1A.

When we arrived, we went into the bar area where we were greated by a very friendly bar lady who welcomed us and showed us through the restaurant into reception before showing us to our room. Our room was basic but the beds were comfy enough, if a little soft, and there was tea and coffee making facilities as well as mineral water in the room. The bathroom was carpeted which wasn't great but it was clean enough. For £85 for three of us, including breakfast, you can't be too fusy!

The hotel is more of a pub with rooms so it's all rather casual. The bar area is very cosy with a (gas) fire burning at one end and comfy sofas to relax in. The bar staff were all very friendly and gave us advice on where to go and what to see in the town. The lady behind the bar booked us a taxi to take us into the town for a night out (it's only a short, down hill walk but it was too windy on this evening) and we spent the evening in the town centre. We were given a back door key so that we could let ourselves in if we got back after the bar had closed.

When we came down to breakfast the next morning we were greeted by a far less friendly waitress and the service overall was pretty poor and very slow. We waiting for ages for tea, and then when it did come, it came with no milk and we had to ask again. We ordered toast and had to ask a second time, it then arrived cold. There were no glasses on the table for fruit juice so we had to help ourselves from a shelf. Worst of all, we ordered a cooked breakfast, believing that it was either full English or continental (toast and cereal), only to hear the waitress offer a lady on another table a choice of bacon ciabatta roll or omelette (just as ours arrived). It would have been nice if someone had told us the options available.

Although breakfast service wasn't great, I would certainly stay at this hotel again if I was looking for a cheap hotel in a great location, and Lincoln is a lovely town! The majority of the staff made our stay even more enjoyable as they were all so friendly, it's just a shame that the breakfast waitress wasn't quite as welcoming.

I work in the luxury hotel industry so I have stayed in some of the top hotels in the country. This is far from luxury but for the price, I really can't complain! If you want luxury, do not stay here!

I ended up in lincoln on business and needed a hotel to stay at so booked what I thought would be a nice traditional Hotel. From the outside it looked good. However once inside things change. I do not ask for much from a hotel, just the basics and everything else is a bonus. But this was probably one of the worst hotels I have stayed at and the worst for value for money(£55single). Reception was a grotty back room, where they had no record of my booking, Gave CC details, room was just big enough for a single bed, No TV, heating did not work despite nights being frosty. No hot water. Resturant menu looked good, but based on numbers dining(lack of) and quality of the room I went elsewhere. In the morning went to leave, they had no record of my booking, gave CC details again. Then could not print invoice off. Asked if i could come back later, which as I was working in the area for a few more days did. Came back in the evening still could not print invoice, had to come back following day.
I would really avoid this place.

we found the carpark ok, and was lucky as there was only one space left. couldnt find reception, so had a drink in the bar - a nice bar. asked for room details and were shown to reception. was allocated a room after we had to wait for a girl to get off the computer "facebook" site, or something like that . room not good, door handle hanging off bathroom, drawers falling apart,. later when getting ready no hot water, went to reception and complained, young man tried his best but claimed boiler had timed out - on a saturday night 7pm. couldnt shower, so ran water - lukewarm , into basin. the supply kept stopping, had to boil a kettle to wash. had booked for a meal there that night. eventually found someone and got seated, 10 mins later a menu, another 25 mins later still hadnt ordered, so along with two other tables left. this place is a fawlty towers without basil.
breakfast surprisingly was ok decent food good service.

Quite the most appalling hotel experience I've had in over 30 years. There were absolutely no redeeming features - the reception area, very difficult to find, was dirty and untidy, reception staff impossible to find unless you were prepared to fight through the crowds at the bar, the room was freezing, the shower nozzle collapsed in the bathroom, the staff were surly and disinterested, the breakfast was cold, despite booking for the restaurant we had to eat in the bar on the first night, and on the second there were no waiting staff at all - the chef eventually appeared and faced the wrath of the 6 couples but he had no idea what was happening. Eventually we all decided to go elsewhere. We cut our losses and left the hotel before our second night's stay and demanded a reduction in price for the one night we stayed - to their credit they didn't argue, but they didn't apologise either. Their website states "we aim to provide a friendly and welcoming service to all of our visitors" - we certainly never experienced it. Their entry in 'Visit Lincolnshire' tourist guide states that the hotel "has been fully refurbished in 2006" - I can only suggest that there has been a dramatic deterioration in the year in between the refurbishment and our visit - see our photographs.