This is the noisiest hotel I've ever stayed in. It's a standard Ibis in terms of furnishings and layout, and still new enough to be decently clean and comfortable. The only weird thing in the rooms is the hermetically sealed bathroom pod. There's no way to open or close the door without it making really loud noises (even the soundest of sleepers will get disturbed) and if you close it while you're showering, you'll suffocate. Another functional disaster is the window: it lets the rain in even if it's open just a crack, and that floods the desk where you may or may not have placed your laptop. At least it never rains in England, right?
Because there's pretty much zero reason to be in Gloucester, the hotel is mostly used by business people and groups who hang around inside a lot. The lobby is often teeming at night and the carpark is almost always full. Book in advance if you can to avoid the same-day rates that get inflated because of this. Surprisingly, the noise from the guests is actually pretty minimal upstairs. Soundproofing between rooms seems to be okay. Just don't try to sleep in (past 8:30am or so) because the cleaning staff will wake you up as they bang and clatter and shout down the halls, which are impossible to navigate due to all the cleaning carts and vacuums and laundry piles throughout much of the day. I've never heard doors slamming so hard in a hotel. It's rarely, if ever, the guests; always the cleaners. For that reason, I wouldn't recommend this hotel for more than a one night stay. There's no point in a 12pm checkout when the noise forces you out earlier. Maybe that's the master plan?
The attitude of the staff on reception is also pretty dire. Don't ask for anything out of the ordinary or mention your impolite wake-up by the cleaners or you'll get the death stare for the rest of your stay. One or two of the reception staff are fine and helpful, but the manager seems purposefully oblivious.
If you have the misfortune of staying in Gloucester for more than 12 hours, try somewhere else. The slightly cheaper prices here don't make up for the fact that everything wrong with this hotel could be fixed in about 10 minutes. They just don't want to do it because it's easier to take the money from business guests and ignore the rest.
Oh, and the wifi is terrible.
I forgot one more point: Ibis hotels (everywhere) accept pets in the rooms. That's disgusting. I have pet allergies, so it's doubly bad for me. Just spare a thought for where you think most dog-lovers will let their dogs sleep in the hotel. I'm sure they don't clean their paws first before jumping in the bed. If you're into fleas and germs and dog crap or whatever else, than by all means, stay at an Ibis. I'm going to pass in future. read more
