If you hadn't already noticed I really like travelling, but getting there is the most stressful part. I know it's an added expense but sometimes staying over the night before you go can make the world of difference, and a calm start to your holiday can change the mood of the entire break. With that in mind, I wanted to give you a review of my stay in the Hampton by Hilton hotel at Bristol Airport. Before we get into that, let me just apologise for the mix of stock photos and sub-par iPhone pictures - this stay was actually gifted as part of my trip with World Duty Free so I wasn't planning to review the hotel itself, but I really enjoyed it and online reviews weren't the best so I wanted to add my two cents.
The airport is quite far out of Bristol but easily accessible by car or bus (a 30 minute ride from the city centre) although I found the bus to be very unreliable so if you're in a hurry it's best to take a taxi which was very reasonable at around £30 from Temple Meads Station. The hotel is directly opposite the departures door, so even if you really oversleep in the morning you only have a 2 minute walk (or 30 second sprint) to the check in desk.
Having navigated the traffic and unreliable bus system I ran into the hotel with around three minutes until I was due to meet everyone, ready to dump my bag at reception. I was greeted by one of the friendliest staff members I've probably ever encountered while travelling - it was clear that she loved her job. On encountering me stressed and flustered she smiled and asked if everything was ok. I told her I'd had a migraine at which point she leapt into Mother Hen mode, telling me I needed to eat and swapped my suitcase for a few chocolates to keep me going as I ran out the door. Upon returning she saw me sat at the bar and brought over a few more chocolates in case I'd still not had a chance to eat. Honestly, I'd been having a pretty terrible day up until that point and her kindness made the world of difference.
After our event in the World Duty Free store, we went back to the hotel for dinner; having read some of the comments online I was ready to need to buy some bar snacks after our meal as the reviews were abysmal at best. I don't know if they've recently invested money in their evening offerings, but the meal was almost faultless. The menu was limited, but I wouldn't expect anything more unless they promoted the hotel and restaurant separately. The menu had absolutely no markings for gluten free options despite the meal I ordered being gluten free without any changes necessary. However, they did say that they were happy to adapt anything I chose, just in case.
The salmon was perfectly cooked and the sauce was great, but there were only about 3 spoonfuls of quinoa so it wasn't particularly filling and if I'd come in starving after a long flight I would've been really disappointed. I also ordered caprese salad which I expected to be a starter, but it was huge and they brought it out with the mains. I always thought you couldn't go far wrong with mozzarella, tomato, balsamic glaze and herbs, but apparently you can. The salad came out with dried oregano on top which was way too strong and had an awful texture, which made the whole salad inedible. I appreciate they wouldn't keep fresh herbs like that in stock, but I would've happily eaten it without the cardboard flakes on top - you just shouldn't use dried herbs for anything other than cooking.
After dinner I finally got a chance to investigate my bedroom - once again apologies for the dodgy photographs! When I opened the door my first word was "WOW" - the room was light, bright, airy and HUGE. Maybe it felt big because I spend a lot of time on cruise ships, but you could've fit an entire standard cabin in the bathroom alone.
One of the best things about the room is that you can "live" in it; if you want to work you can sit at the desk and if you want to relax you can sit in the chair, rather than having to work sat on your bed - it really felt like a small apartment, rather than a hotel room. The bed was a little hard for my tastes, but comfortable nonetheless. The two most surprising things about this room was that the air conditioning worked while the wifi didn't - every other time I've stayed in a Hilton it's been the other way around, but I bring my own wifi so I preferred it this way round. I didn't take a photo of the bathroom as I wasn't expecting to write a review but just trust me when I say it was palatial, and spacious enough that you could've held a small board meeting in just the shower cubicle!
After a good night's sleep I headed down to breakfast. I was downstairs at around 7:30am and was shocked to find I was pretty much alone when I'd expected to find the restaurant full of the suited-and-booted type of traveller.
The food was nothing special but it was fine, the service however was a comedy of errors. I asked for two slices of gluten free toast, at which point I was passed to three different people before someone gave in and went to fetch it. After a good 5 minutes (I assumed they were toasting it) I was handed three slices of fresh un-toasted bread. I was confused, but I'm not coeliac so it was fine to put it through the normal toaster. As it was half way through the machine one of the staff ran up, yelling "Nooo!" almost in slow motion, worried that I'd contaminated my bread. I tried to explain and said it was fine but I don't think he quite got it.
I chose my breakfast, got my coffee and sat down to tuck in, which is where the real fun begins. Having been the awkward one asking for gluten free toast they just assumed that every special order must have been made by me, and I was presented with a plate of vegetarian sausages no less than 6 times. Considering I had ham on my plate it was a pretty safe bet that it wasn't me who asked for them!
On checkout, I was met by an incredibly friendly man with a smile as wide as the desk, who was happy to call up the bus times and give me approximate timings to get back to the city.
All in all it was an enjoyable, if not entirely faultless stay. The staff were incredibly helpful and eager to please, the rooms were luxurious and the food was acceptable, if somewhat hit or miss. I've found with travelling that you have to be prepared to just laugh at a situation because if you take yourself too seriously you're going to be permanently disappointed, and that logic certainly applies here.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Would I bring snacks if I'm planning to eat dinner there? Yes.
Have you stayed here before? If so let me know your thoughts in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If you've not already seen my World Duty Free at Bristol Airport review, make sure you take a look!
Love and Feathers,
The Owlet 💜
You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Pinterest
This post was created in collaboration with World Duty Free but all views remain my own.
This post was created in collaboration with World Duty Free but all views remain my own.
Sounds like they've really improved their food offerings. We stayed there last year and like the hotel but the food wasn't great.
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