We booked in advance + received an email from Michelle on reception that as I was disabled, if I phoned en-route, a car parking space would be reserved for us. On phoning at services on M74, Scott answered phone, stated he knew nothing about reserved car park spaces + then hung up!
On arrival (+ thereafter) we did manage to park in the blue badge places each time, however this incident set the tone. Scott showed us to our room, not willing to engage in conversation, maybe he was having a bad day.
Our room, on 14th floor, was very clean with good complimentary products provided. Teletext would have been nice for the TV, the air con was noisy + the mini bar prices extortionate (£1.50 for a small bag of peanuts!).
At breakfast, we were told to wait by a stern faced woman, so that she could check there was a table free (the place was almost empty). We were not allowed to select a table.Food very good.
For dinner, the ala carte menu got rather samey after two nights and the service was very slow, however again food was well presented + cooked.
I would echo comments by other guests re the plugs at floor level. I am disabled + my mother is 81, so it was not easy for either of us to get down on hands + knees to plug in the kettle at a socket partially hidden behind one of the beds.
Was also surprised to make a "freephone" call to an 0800 number in the room + to be charged £1.00 for it on the bill!
These, however, were minor points compared to events during breakfast on our second last day.
As I was about to commence eating, Garry came over + asked whether "that was for injections", pointing to my insulin pen. I told him that I was an insulin dependent diabetic + required 4 injections daily, once immediately before each meal (fast acting insulin) + once after breakfast daily (long acting insulin). He stated that another guest had complained to staff about my injecting "you did the same thing yesterday at breakfast". I asked him where he expected me to inject. "In your room" was the reply. I pointed out to him that our room was on the 14th floor, and especially bearing in mind the slow service in the evening, I would probably have passed out by the time I got to eat. He then suggested the disabled toilet. I informed him that in my opinion it was unacceptable to expect me to break my skin in a public toilet. In addition, I also pointed out the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act. It appears obvious that your staff are not aware of this Act. Nothing more was said about this afterwards, except that Garry asked us for our room number on leaving the restaurant area. We half expected a notice to terminate our booking to be on the dressing table when we got back from that days outing. This episode soured the whole experience of staying at the Crowne Plaza. I would add that when I inject, I am discreet and inject on the side of my stomach away from the nearest other person. This takes 10 seconds. I also wish to point out that at no time were any of the staff rude.
To conclude, I would not recommend staying here for anybody that requires to inject insulin for their survival. I also feel that £5.00 daily parking charges for residents (especially blue badge holders) is excessive.
I did complete a hotel review form with most of these comments on and submitted it (addressed to Mr McVey) to reception, along with my email address for a reply. Nothing received as yet!


(6 votes)









