Hotel address
17 - 19 Horse FairBanbury Cross
OX16 0AN BANBURY
UNITED KINGDOM
How to reach the hotel
GPS :N 52° 3' 37.35'' W 1° 20' 26.81''
Contact the hotel
- Tel. (+44)2477/092803
- Fax. (+44)1295/271736
- H6633@accor.com
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Mercure Banbury Whately Hall Hotel - hotel reviews in Banbury
Hotel code: 6633
Accorhotels.com customer reviews in partnership with TripAdvisor
"My worst hotel experience for quite some time"
8th March 2013, BigPod, Kent, UK
I booked two nights from the Mercure web site as a weekend break, reasonable rate with breakfast and a free gift on arrival, so seemed like good value. I paid to upgrade to the Executive room too. The location of the hotel is great, free parking and nice imposing frontage. Also, had great emails from Mercure prior to stay, advising on everything from directions through to the weather locally, all from central Mercure I presume. Once we arrived, it all went downhill. The free gift upon check in never materialised and the gent who checked us in said we had received a free room upgrade to the Executive room, funny, I thought I paid extra for that and upon checking, I did, so not too sure why he thought it was free. One of the reasons we went for the Executive room was because it had, I quote "upgraded bathroom facilities", clearly, the hotel must think that no toilet paper a toilet which wouldn't flush and cracked floor tiles are upgraded, as that is what we got. Again, with the room, not sure what made it executive, other than two bottles of water. It wasn't that clean either with mould on the window frames and marks on the carpet. It was the silly little things which let the room down too, no replenishment of water, biscuits, toiletries etc, again, nothing major but clearly replenishment isn't high on the list of concerns, hence us receiving a room with no toilet paper. Breakfast was a challenge too with very slow service and the quality and availability of food sadly lacking. I tried to order items, rather than the buffet and the waitress said she would come back for our order, she never did. The buffet food was not warm and availability of bread and pastries non existent, Again, little thing like no butter for toast (or slightly warm bread if we are being accurate). The next day, even more chaotic as a huge wedding party were in for breakfast, Supplies vanished from the hot counter quickly and were not replenished before they all went, so people had to go without or eat breakfast in relays. The "extras" menu had strategically vanished, I guess chef didn't want to focus on anything other than the buffet counter but when we asked, it was available, so why no menus. I asked for ketchup and was told that , I am quoting again "this mornings delivery didn't come" Surely ketchup is a staple and with a mini mart 100 meters away, why not buy some. The whole ficus for the Saturday and Sunday seemed to be this big wedding, as regular guests we were sadly forgotten,
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Management responseDear GuestThank you for taking the time to review a stay with us and I am very sorry that your experience was clearly below the normal high standards of service that we pride ourselves upon offering. If you would like to contact either myself or my Front Office Manager, Hayely we would like the opportunity to speak to you regarding all of the issues you highlighted.Once again my sincere apologies for the shortfall in service that you recieved and we look forward to hearing from you.Kind RegardsMichael WilliamsGeneral Manager
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"Nice Hotel but needs a little attention."
23rd February 2013, percySouthampton, southampton
This Hotel has much charm ( if you stay in the older section) and is ideally situated to explore Banbury. The staff were very helpful and suggested sites to look at in Banbury and recommended a local Curry restaurant (youjon) which was very good.The only down side was that our bathroom had mould on the ceiling and was lacking in tea/coffee/sugar etc.
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Management responseDear Guest,Thank you very much for taking the time to post a review following your recent stay with us. I appreciate your lovely Comments regarding the helpfulness of the team and im glad you enjoyed your stay with us. I would like to apologise that our hotel did not meet some of your expectations. I would like to ensure you that your comments have been taking into consideration and this will be communicated back.Once again i would like to apologise on your disappointments during your stay. if you do visit Banbury or the surrounding areas in the near future, i do hope to welcome you back to the hotel.Kind RegardsHayley SmithFront Office Manager
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"Whately Hall Banbury Jan 2013"
2nd February 2013, Swansea
Excellent location in centre of Banbury. Very helpful staff at reception. Booked via a deal and had 40% off room price so very good value for money.Room nice and quiet at back of hotel.Free car park available.
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Management responseDear Guest,Thank you very much for your recent review of our hotel and i am very glad to hear you took advantage of our online deals!Im glad the Reception team were most helpful and Freindly.Thank you once again. We look forward to welcoming you back to the Whately Hall Hotel in the Future.Kind RegardsHayley SmithFront Office Manager
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"I'd stay there again."
30th January 2013, CEN57
Other than some of the public areas being a bit tired, it was a good stay. The room was clean and spacious. The staff was friendly, helpful and efficient. There was a large reception during the evening which made bar service a bit slower than expected, but they coped well enough. We coped by heading out to some of the several pubs, bars and restaurants within easy walking distance. Breakfast was very good, though the buffet wasn't on for some reason. I stay in hotels around 100 nights per year. I'd stay in this one again. It's not the cheapest hotel in town, but it was worth the difference.
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Management responseDear Guest,Thank you very much for your recent review of our hotel and i am of course very that the team were great and that you enjoyed your stay.With regards to the buffett breakfast, we no longer offer buffett style breakfast and have changed the service to Plated Breakfast as we felt that this is more of a personal service to our guests.Kind RegardsHayley SmithFront Office Manager
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"whately Hall Hotel"
23rd January 2013, kat1503, Stafford, United Kingdom
Excellent hotel, great location to all amenties. Staff very pleasent and helpful. Breakfast very good value for the cost, and we did use room service and the food was hot and we did not have to wait a long time for the food.
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Management responseDear Guest,Thank you very much for your recent review of our hotel and I am of course very happy that the team were great and that you enjoyed the hot breakfast.Once again, many thanksMichael WilliamsGeneral Manager
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"Interesting, comfortable and traditional hotel"
6th December 2012, warren412, Norwich, United Kingdom
On a Saturday night there were several functions taking place, but they left me largely undisturbed apart from some noisy girls waiting for the powder room. It was disappointing that the bathroom was cold due no doubt to the heated towel rail not working. The bed was firmer than my taste. The staff were very obliging and the history of the hotel was fascinating.
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Management responseDear GuestThank you very much for your review following your stay here with us, I am very sorry that your bathroom was cold I will ask our engineer to check the towel rails. I hope that won't deter your from staying with us in the future though and I hope we will be able to welcome you back in the future.Kind RegardsMichael WilliamsGeneral Manager
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"Nearly there"
16th November 2012, gulab100, Totnes, United Kingdom
I stayed at the hotel as the company I work for used it for a conference. I thought the Hotel was tired. The garden suite that we used for the conference was poor. The general feel of the place is ok. The bar and restaraunt were good. The food was also good. The rooms had been recently upgraded and painted which was good. My stay was overall fine, but I felt the cost for a hotel that is nearly there was a bit steep. I imagine that as the hotel continues to be upgraded, it will become a great hotel once more.
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Management responseDear Guest,Thank you for your comments after your recent stay here with us. I note your comemnts about Garden suite being tired and rely on feedback such as yours to generate investment in our product, so your comments are very useful. I am glad that you enjoyed the food, we have recently engaged a new Head Chef and are receiving some very positive comments about his food.Once again, thank you for taking the time to leave your comments.Kind RegardsMichael WilliamsGeneral Manager
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"Short stay in Banbury"
15th November 2012, 26Mollie, London, United Kingdom
Reception service was good with helpful staff. Room was small but clean and recently decorated. Hotel car park at the back was full when we arrived due to a wedding and conference but emptied out a bit at 5pm when we were able to move our car from the paying council car park at the front. We did not eat at the hotel do cannot comment on that aspect. Great central location for Banbury town.
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Management responseDear Guest,Thank you very much for taking time to post your review following your recent stay here with us, I am glad that you found service and the staff good. I am sorry that there was not a space for you in the car park initially, we are hoping to get some markings in the car park which will help people park in an ordelry fashion to create more availability.Once again thank you for yor comments and I hope to have the pleasure of welcoming you back in the future.Kind RegardsMichael WilliamsGeneral Manager
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"Checkout problems"
12th November 2012, Traveller655, Wimborne, United Kingdom
Good hotel well appointed and attractive decor. Food good.Rooms comfortable if far too hot. good WiFi for free.But very slow checkout with only one person on the desk and 10 people waiting, some only for a car park pass.
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Management responseDear Guest,Thankyou very much for feedback following you recent stay here with us and thank you for your positive comments about the food and rooms, I am terribly sorry it was too hot for you. I am really sorry about the very slow check out you and other guests expereinced that morning, unfortunatly one of the team was ill and a collegue came to cover but could not get here until later as normally there would of been 2 on duty, once again my apologies for the inconvienience.Kind Regards
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"Overnight in Banbury Mercure"
7th November 2012, Frank997, Retford, United Kingdom
Best features of the hotel are its location and its staff. The room was clean and warm, but a little noisy through the link door to the neighbouring room. Access to the parking was tight, but plenty of spaces, good to have in a town centre location. Good value for money when booked on an advance, no cancel deal.
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Management responseDear Guest,Thank you very much for your review following a recent stay here with us. I am very happy that you enjoyed our situation and our rates were attractive, there are always good offers for booking in advance, and that the staff were good. It is true that the access to the car park is narrow but apart from a truck we haven't had a guest that can't get in, slow and steady gets you through !! I hope that you will stay with us in the future when you have the need to be in the area.Kind RegardsMichael WilliamsGeneral Manager
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"A good night's sleep close to the town centre"
16th August 2012, Dennis_Alexander, York, England
Stayed here as a more comfortable alternative to camping at Fairport's Cropredy Convention. The hotel exceeded our expectations with excellent friendly service and a vee comfortable room. The older part of the hotel is full of character and charm, unlike the more modern box-like extension. Location is very convenient for the town centre, and only a 10 minute walk from the railway station. Good quality buffet-style breakfast which is advertised at £15.50 pp. however, if ordered in advance at reception, it's only £10 pp - probably to stop people defecting to Wetherspoons just round the corner. Our only grumble is that cleanliness of the bathroom left something to be desired and the shower was only lukewarm. Other good points - free wifi and mp3/iPod connection in the room. We'll be back next year.
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Management responseDear GuestThank your ever so much for your lovely words follwoing your stay here when attending Cropredy Festival, I am so happy that you had such a lovely rooms and that your expectations were exceeded. We do occasionally have offers on our food and beverage and the £10.00 offer is done nationally , but unlike other eateries it is an all you can eat buffet breakfast as oppose to just a plate of cooked breakfast , so it does represent excellant value for money!! I am very sorry if the bathroom was not up to standard, I do hope that you mentioned this as we would of immendialt rectified it for you.Once again thank you fro your review and I look forward to welcoming you back next year.Kind RegardsMichael WilliamsGeneral Manager
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"A slightly tired room"
8th August 2012, traveller-pg, newcastle
I have stayed here before. The hotel is a very old quaint large building with fantastic timberwork, with a modern extension. However the room we had this time was in the old part, on the second floor up an old wooden staircase, but hard to carry cases up. (The receptionist volunteered some help for the case, which we accepted, however we took it downstairs on check-out). The room and bathroom were a little tired, looking like they need some refurbishment. In the bathroom, there were tiles cracked on the floor, the showerhead was partly blocked and I wondered if we had been given this room as we had paid £64 a night in advance. However that didn't give any breakfast, and I have had better quality rooms for that price, including breakfast! It was nice to have a fan to plug in, as although the windows opened, it was still to hot. There was also an empty fridge to use, which was nice to cool our drinks. It was also nice to take our drinks from the bar and sit outside in the very roomy 'garden'. Lovely outside surroundings. Plenty of space in the car park too, for our car. Staff were friendly and helpful, although when bar staff are not at the bar, dialling the receptionist was not always the quickest way to get service. Our room was down a corridor with 2 other doors. These were not rooms however, but storage rooms for the cleaning staff, which they accessed each morning early and left hoovers and used bed linen in the corridor outside the room, which gave us early morning 'wake-up' calls and debris to negotiate in the corridor on leaving our room! Not very convenient.
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Management responseDear GuestThank you for taking the time to review your stay with us, I am very pleased to see that you found our staff so friendly and helpful. I am pleased to say that a bedroom refurbishment plan is underway and should you choose to stay with us again in the future I am sure you will see an improvement in the bedrooms, I note you c omments about the bar service and we are looking into an alterntaive solution for when bar staff are away from the area. I am very sorry about the noise caused by houskeeping I will speak with the team.Once again, thank you very much for your review and I do hope that we will have the pleasure of welcoming you back to Mercure Whately Hall in the future.Kind RegardsMichael WilliamsGeneral Manager
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"No more Accor for us!"
7th August 2012, TopcatAustralia, Australia
When orginally booking this hotel we immediately realised we had entered the incorrect date. We instantly rang the hotel from Australia and explained our 'error' but no joy. Three emails to Accor remain unanswered and that being the 'customer service response' for Accor Members, not that it should make a difference to caring for its customers! A most poor experience and loss of money and customers, especially when we are needing other accommodation whilst touring the UK.
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Management responseDear TravellerFirst of all I would like to apologise for the delay in reponding I have been trying to investigate this, If you could send me details of your reservation I will be happy to look into this personally.I can only apologise that no-one has replied to your emails but if you can send me the details through to my e mail I will look at them myself.My e mail address is michael.williams@accor.comKind RegardsMichael WilliamsGeneral Manager
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"Silverstone weekend overnight in Banbury"
25th July 2012, 390mugley, Hullbridge, United Kingdom
We had booked on the internet - couple + 1 child knowing we could get x2 into "top 'n tail" them. We have x2 little girls 5 and 6 years. On arrival we were shown to a double room and told rudely that 'there were no other rooms in the hotel". Now it was a much later arrival than we had planned circa 8pm and there was a wedding party in the hotel etc however I was disappointed with our reception and the handling we received. My husband was not to be dismissed and a room was found with suitable sleeping arrangements for us. A glick on the internet booking system we were told.
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Management responseDear GuestI would like to offer my apologies for the welcome that you received when you arrived here at Mercure Whately Hall Hotel, it clearly falls short of the normally high standards of service that we pride ourselves upon offering. I am happy that your husband persisted and got a more suitable room. I will be addressing with the Front Office Manager what happened and dealing with the staff concerened, thank you for bringing this to my attention.Kind RegardsMichael WilliamsGeneral Manager
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"Excellent Service"
1st June 2012, NikStick_12, Halifax, United Kingdom
I stayed at the Banbury hotel mid week. I arrived with my friend quite late and there was a problem with the room allocation system so our bags we stored and we were given a free drink at the bar while we waited. As soon as the problem was sorted we were shown to our rooms. I also had a problem with one of the points vouchers I was using in part payment for the room. The staff were very helpful and I sorted this out with their help. The rooms are a little dated but the service made this a very pleasant stay. I'd particularly like to thanks Tom.
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Management responseDear GuestThank you for your review of our hotel, I am sorry that you encountered a problem but very happy that the team managed to solve the issue for you and offered you a complimentary drink, I will be sure to pass on your thanks to Tom.Once again many thanks,Kind RegardsMichael WilliamsGeneral Manager
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"Overnight stay"
9th May 2012, Moreaux, France
A very pleasant evening. The dinner was included within the booking provision & it was fine. The staff were both attentive & helpful, though it was annoying that cleaning of the tables was undertaken whilst we were eating; the wine was poured without offering to check the bottle was indeed the one ordered!
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Management responseDear GuestThank you for your review following your stay with us, I am gald you enjoyed your food and the staff were attentive, I note your comments regarding the service you received and will speak to my Food and Beverage Manager regarding correct service of wine and clearing of tables.Once again , many thanks and I look forward to welcoming you again in the futureKind RegardsMichael WilliamsGeneral Manager
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"Excellent base for Oxfordshire"
9th May 2012, EJBuen, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
This was at least my third stay in this hotel and I managed to get my usual preferred non-smoking quiet room. Everything was to my expectation - the comfort and cleanliness of the room, the excellent English breakfasts and the efficiency of the staff. One negative point - I was feeling rather poorly during my stay in the hotel so it was rather disappointing to be told by the staff at Reception that she was not allowed to give out paracetamols to guests.
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Management responseDear GuestThank you for your kind review of your recent stay here at Mercure Whately Hall Hotel, I am very happy that we accommodated you in your usual room and that our great breakfast and team lived up to your expectations. I am however sorry that you were disappointed by the fact that we were unable to supply paractamol to yourself, this is a precautionary measure in case anyone had a bad reaction to any medication that the hotel provided.I do hope that we will have the pleasure of welcoming you again to the hotel in the future.Kind RegardsMichael WilliamsGeneral Manager
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