fozziedoggie

Anyone have any recent reports on this property? Staying here in early September, but can't find much other than TripAd....

Thank you.

BotB

Haven't stayed but happy to ask questions or take pics for you as I walk past this place quite often if that helps? I'm based out of Bristol when I am not travelling.

eddibabyyeah

I think this is the former mint hotel. I haven't stayed since it moved to Hilton. But stayed a few times when it was the Mint.

The hotel is typical of the ex mint hotels. Modern but small. Not sure if there is an exec lounge or not.

fozziedoggie

Good to know, what year did it become a HGI?

Thanks for the update.

Cavman

Definitely no lounge. Stayed here a few times as our Bristol office is right next door. Convenient for Temple Meads, bit of a hike into city centre. Good bar snacks & b/fast, haven't eaten dinner in there.

Anything in particular you need to know OP ? I'll try to remember. Oh, one thing I have just remembered is those awful Apple tvs in the rooms. YMMV.

fozziedoggie

Thanks for the info, not looking for anything in particular, just couldn't find much posted on this property. We are committed already with an advance purchase, so there's no going back now. Our idea is to use this place for three nights while we day-trip to Cardiff and Bath, afterwards, it's off to London for three nights. Is this property near enough to the train station (walking distance)?

Cavman

Out the front door, across the road at the lights & 5 minutes or less to Temple Meads station. Walk up Temple Back East to a pedestrian square, on your right is a Wetherspoons pub, the Knights Templar, walk past the right hand corner of the building the pub's in, across a car park and you're at the side door of the station.

Much, much easier than trying to come out the front of the station & getting to the hotel via the main roads.

fozziedoggie

Excellent! Thanks for the tip. ^

stifle

I stayed here last night. Nice little property with iMacs in the rooms (as it is ex-Mint). Pleasant bar and restaurant. Got told to take my 2 free bottles of water from the Pavilion Pantry. I wasn't especially hungry so got an omelette with chips and salad at the bar for �9.

Breakfast was solid with high quality items on the buffet, and a waffle machine.

As mentioned above it is convenient to Bristol Temple Meads station and there are plenty of nearby amenities.

I've had to stay at a Holiday Inn a lot lately as my current client has no Hilton family property in the city, and this reminded me what I've been missing.

BotB

view from restaurant by BA_pics, on Flickr

The picture above is what I love about Bristol. The city is home to half a million people but still has a small city feel with plenty of green spaces and village like areas. The picture above is from the restaurant where the view out is to a small park and a street with relatively little traffic. ^

So, I agree with the previous posters impressions about this hotel. It is very convenient to the train station and just as convenient to the downtown area (a bit of a walk but easily doable). The building exterior is nothing special to look at and is rectangular and light brown coloured. The entrance to the car park is off a side street and controlled by barriers. The fee to park is � 10 / night for hotel guests and the car park is quite small with fairly small spaces. You need a special coin to exit the car park. You can see the main entrance to the hotel below which faces the main dual carriageway. There is an entrance at the back as well and both have a normal door as well as the circular rotating portal.


entrance 2 by BA_pics, on Flickr

The main lobby is quite small but friendly and bright. the reception is at the back on the same side as the elevators you can see in the picture below. There is also an open stairway to all floors which is nice if you are feeling active. ^


entrance 1 by BA_pics, on Flickr

The restaurant is opposite the reception and there is a bar/coffee bar area just before the main restaurant where breakfast is also served.

Check in was done quick and professionally and everything was ready in advance so I only had to sign the registration and receive my keys. I was also informed about the fact that there was no water in the room but I was welcome to take 2 bottles from the pantry as Stifle mentioned. ^

I had booked a room on points and cash which was an absolute bargain for Bristol at 12k points and � 30 cash. The room was a queen evolution room and without asking they had upgraded me to the top floor and a park view. ^^ (rooms in Bristol tend to be quite expensive I find and rates of � 100 are usual per night).

Internet is free and has no password (hhonors SSID) and this seemed to work for a short while but then would get very slow. So I tried several things to see if that would help but in the end stopped trying to use the wifi and used my 3G connection instead. If I was trying to work and VPN using the HGI provided connection I would NOT be very happy and would suggest staying at the Doubletree close by instead. Otherwise, it worked fine for checking a few emails or webpages but would be frustrating if you needed a good reliable connection for more than 10 minutes at a time. Maybe I was just unlucky on the 5th floor and some arse was downloading 3 movies next door�I don't know but that was my experience.

Anyway, moving on: There are two elevators and they are decent sized and work quickly. The hallways of the hotel are quite narrow and sterile in my opinion, however, the good news is that the rooms are quite nice.


pictures over bed by BA_pics, on Flickr

View from the entrance to the room:


view towards room by BA_pics, on Flickr

View back towards the entrance:


view towards entrance by BA_pics, on Flickr

Near the entrance to the room there is a small side wardrobe with a mirror that houses the iron and ironing board which both looked in good condition and quite new:


iron and ironboard by BA_pics, on Flickr

Beside the bed, on the wall, you find the climate controls (there is some A/C thank goodness!):


climate controls by BA_pics, on Flickr

The main attraction: (a queen sized bed in this case)


Bed by BA_pics, on Flickr

On the far side of the room:


desk wardrobe by BA_pics, on Flickr

Wardrobe inside (no bathrobe or slippers )


wardrobe by BA_pics, on Flickr

Beside the desk is where the mini fridge and safe are located.


desk and safe by BA_pics, on Flickr

On top of that unit is the coffee and tea boat:


coffee service by BA_pics, on Flickr

BotB

When you enter the room, the bathroom is on the side and is a decent size with good quality fittings:


bathroom by BA_pics, on Flickr

Behind the toilet, you find a nice selection of Neutrogena amenities:


amenities by BA_pics, on Flickr

Sink area:


sink1 by BA_pics, on Flickr

Powerful shower and plenty of HOT water ^^ :


shower by BA_pics, on Flickr

Park view, with St. Mary Redcliffe Church in the distance (where the DT Bristol is located).


view towards redland church by BA_pics, on Flickr

A small but opening window for fresh air if you prefer that to A/C.


window by BA_pics, on Flickr

The 5th floor plan (which is the same I imagine for the remaining 4 other floors):


5th floor plan by BA_pics, on Flickr

So, a nice hotel, very friendly staff (especially in the restaurant at breakfast! ^^) The breakfast was good and you could order eggs from a cook if you didn't want the scrambled eggs in the buffet. The waffle machine was working and very popular. It looked like you could order special coffee as well but I felt like tea this time so didn't try that myself.

Would I come back? Yes, it is a nice hotel and good value for money compared to the Holiday Inn Express nearby or the Novotel next door�however, if I had a choice and the price was the same I would personally stay at the Doubletree just 500m down the road. The DT is newer and the staff even more friendly and willing to go the extra mile to help guests, parking was comp'd for me as a diamond there instead of charging �10 and there was just generally a nicer quality and a bit more individuality to the DT over the HGI. Don't get me wrong, both hotels are a credit to the Hilton brand and far better than many older 'Hilton' hotels around the country, so you won't go wrong in either here in Bristol city centre, I would personally just prefer the DT myself.

My only real advice is to avoid the 'Hilton' Bristol hotel (located near the motorway) with the address in Bradley Stoke (or sadly broke as it is known locally) which is a classic example of an older Hilton that has charges too much for too little.

Some nearby attractions that one should definitely have on the 'to do' list when in Bristol:

The Clifton Suspension bridge designed by the great engineer Brunel, which you may have seen in some pictures of the last flights of the BA Concorde (which also was designed locally):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifton_Suspension_Bridge

which you can also see and admire the views from this terrace at the Avon Gorge Hotel (and has some lovely pints to try as well�but you need a cab to get there):

http://www.theavongorge.com

The SS Great Britian (before the days of airlines and FF schemes but the Concorde of her day:

http://www.ssgreatbritain.org

The street here for sitting down and people watching while enjoying a pint and listening to music or admiring one of the oldest pubs in Bristol:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Old_Duke

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llandoger_Trow

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Old_Vic

Visit the M shed (Bristol's Museum):

http://mshed.org

Catch an ind�pendant movie and free wifi at the watershed downtown:

http://www.watershed.co.uk

Eat at a great local restaurant on the floating harbour:

http://www.riverstation.co.uk/home

across the way check out the Arnolfini for arts:

http://www.arnolfini.org.uk

Find out about where the expession 'to pay on the nail' came from and how railway caused two minute hands on a clock at this location:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Exchange,_Bristol

Have a look at the Matthew which is a replica of what John Cabot sailed to North America from Bristol in 1497:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_(ship)

Cabot Circus for shopping nearby (walking distance):

http://www.cabotcircus.com

Clifton Village for bars, restaurants, shops and people watching:

http://visitbristol.co.uk/things-to-...village-p23191

and much more, for ideas about the music, arts and vibrancy of Bristol this is a good place to start:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_underground_scene

Park Street for bars and a feel of what Bristol is like:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Street,_Bristol

Anyway, hope this review is of interest and use. I love this city and live here by choice, if you are in the area please do send me a PM and I'll try to meet up ^

Cavman

Nice review BotB. I was to have been there again for a week from the 22nd, but unfortunately the client changed plans.

One other nearby pub I'd direct people to would be the Cornubia, about 5 minutes walk, lots & lots of good real ales.

http://thecornubia.co.uk/

wizla

What an awesome review!!!!...impressed!.

fozziedoggie

Thanks for the very thorough review BotB ^

I'm staying here for three nights in September. You stated the wi-fi was unreliable, but how about the iMac in the room? Was the wired connection acceptable?

Thanks.

BotB

Thanks for the positive comments everyone ^ glad you found them useful.

fozziedoggie : sorry, didn't even turn the iMac on. I was shattered after a hell of a day so had a pint and then crashed for the night and due to the poor wifi I just left and went home the next morning after breakfast.

Plenty of places in Bristol with free wifi though even if you do find the wifi poor in the hotel. The iMac is likely great for internet speeds and checking emails / webpages etc...

Hope you have a good stay. ^