During half term we took the girls to visit Alton Towers in Staffordshire. Because it was a long way from home, we decided to make a weekend of it and stayed overnight at the Jurys Inn hotel in Derby city centre which is about a 35 minute drive from Alton Towers.
The Jurys Inn hotel in Derby made a great getaway for a family. Our room was large enough to host all four of us (including a cot) comfortably. Our room was well presented and very comfortable - everything I would expect from a chain of hotels, done well. The view from our seventh floor room was amazing - the girls couldn't tear themselves away, especially after it had gone dark.
It was getting late by the time we arrived at the hotel so we decided to eat in the hotel and we were pleasantly surprised. The children's menu was obviously not something that was regularly cooked (judging by the number of times the waiting staff had to take a copy into the kitchen for reference) but the girls both enjoyed their roast dinner and sausage and mash so much that nothing was left over. We felt the children's menu presented good value but the normal dinner menu was a touch over-priced, even for hotel dining. Although the dining area was well-furnished with highchairs, we felt the staff weren't well-prepared for dealing with children and a 2 hour turn around for dinner was hard work with two fidgety girls who couldn't sit still.
The Jurys Inn Derby hotel was very smart throughout - the lobby, bar and dining room all still felt like new. It certainly didn't feel like a budget hotel and yet the room rates at the weekend were very competitive with budget brand hotels. The hotel has limited on-site parking so we parked in a public multi-storey car park a short walk away (the hotel can provide a discount for this car park if you park within certain times of day). I was very impressed to find out that this Jurys Inn also had a small onsite gym, but we didn't take advantage of it.
Breakfast was awesome. There was literally everything you could think of providing for breakfast, including a big vat of porridge. I think Holly tried some of everything - fruit, toast, cooked breakfast, cereal and pastries.
The most family-friendly part of our stay at Jurys Inn in Derby was bedtime, thanks to a selection of bedtime story books available from reception. At many Jurys Inn hotels there is a Little Library selection of Egmont reading books and picture books for all ages that you can borrow during your stay. The girls thought this was awesome because normally, when we are away from home, we don't have much luggage space for story books.
We arranged our Alton Towers trip separately through family but Jurys Inn Derby does offer a UK family break package. One night’s bed and breakfast, based on 2 adults & 2 children sharing with up to four entry Tickets to Alton Towers starts from £160.
Disclosure: Jurys Inn supplied our overnight accommodation for the purposes of this review.
The Jurys Inn hotel in Derby made a great getaway for a family. Our room was large enough to host all four of us (including a cot) comfortably. Our room was well presented and very comfortable - everything I would expect from a chain of hotels, done well. The view from our seventh floor room was amazing - the girls couldn't tear themselves away, especially after it had gone dark.
It was getting late by the time we arrived at the hotel so we decided to eat in the hotel and we were pleasantly surprised. The children's menu was obviously not something that was regularly cooked (judging by the number of times the waiting staff had to take a copy into the kitchen for reference) but the girls both enjoyed their roast dinner and sausage and mash so much that nothing was left over. We felt the children's menu presented good value but the normal dinner menu was a touch over-priced, even for hotel dining. Although the dining area was well-furnished with highchairs, we felt the staff weren't well-prepared for dealing with children and a 2 hour turn around for dinner was hard work with two fidgety girls who couldn't sit still.
The Jurys Inn Derby hotel was very smart throughout - the lobby, bar and dining room all still felt like new. It certainly didn't feel like a budget hotel and yet the room rates at the weekend were very competitive with budget brand hotels. The hotel has limited on-site parking so we parked in a public multi-storey car park a short walk away (the hotel can provide a discount for this car park if you park within certain times of day). I was very impressed to find out that this Jurys Inn also had a small onsite gym, but we didn't take advantage of it.
Breakfast was awesome. There was literally everything you could think of providing for breakfast, including a big vat of porridge. I think Holly tried some of everything - fruit, toast, cooked breakfast, cereal and pastries.
The most family-friendly part of our stay at Jurys Inn in Derby was bedtime, thanks to a selection of bedtime story books available from reception. At many Jurys Inn hotels there is a Little Library selection of Egmont reading books and picture books for all ages that you can borrow during your stay. The girls thought this was awesome because normally, when we are away from home, we don't have much luggage space for story books.
We arranged our Alton Towers trip separately through family but Jurys Inn Derby does offer a UK family break package. One night’s bed and breakfast, based on 2 adults & 2 children sharing with up to four entry Tickets to Alton Towers starts from £160.
Disclosure: Jurys Inn supplied our overnight accommodation for the purposes of this review.
