Mercure Hotels in Exeter

I reviewed this hotel in December 2011, you can find it in the history. First things first. I am not a nit picking whinge screaming for the manager at the slightest issue. Far from it. But it really pains me to write this due to my stay. I work abroad now and a colleague and me were needed to be in Exeter and from 11 years ago thought of this hotel as ideal. How wrong can I have been and how deteriorated this place has become. Checkin ＞ Ok but staff obviously frustrated about the running around children and the noise, they were clearly embarrassed. 2 were kicking a football around the reception. Some mothers nearby didn't seem to even care. Room ＞ not at all good, worn out carpet, windows didn't open but for about 3 centimetres so it was very warm. Of course the AC was not working and i was told it was being looked into. Also no hangers in the cupboards at all took an hour after asking for some to arrive. Reception / Bar ＞ very odd indeed, 2 same dressed gentlemen always looked you up and down when walking through. You are also on video, they kept talking on their walkitalki devices when they weren't smoking outside!!!!! Look at my pictures, whats going on in this place? Public area / corridors ＞ not nice. Food and glasses left outside rooms 24 hours, some rooms seem to have a drum and bass convention going on. Oh and the smell of those vape things was awful. Maybe thats why we had to evacuate at 0100 in the morning with a fire alarm. I heard the fire guys discussion on it being from someone vaping. Security ＞ For who? OK there was the 2 strange videoing guys in the bar area, but my keycard stopped working 4 times in 7 days. You just go the reception and they say ”ah yes it happens, whats the room number” THAT IS ALL! I had a written note in my room one evening saying sorry to come in to the room but I left my HDMI connector in the room! Parking ＞ now its ridiculously expensive on what used to be included. Utter rip off. Its a ANPR system so beware. What i couldn't understand was that looking out of my widow there were 2 or 3 cars sometimes at night with people sleeping overnight in them. I checked the status on gov. website all no MOT or tax. Whats going on here? Overall a massive disappointment from 11 years ago and feel very sorry for the staff, they know whats going here and it shows in their manner Check out ＞ at last! But then i find 50 pounds of ”laundry” on my room, I asked to be removed. One night was over 200 pounds ”oh its just due to the system” Yeh right. Conclusion ＞ you are being taken for a ride here and I will take this with Accor the parent company. A shabby dirty hotel with a company with 2.2 billion in revenue and 10.7 billion in assets. An utter disgrace. I am requesting a massive / total refund. Thanks again to the staff, its obvious you are trying to make the best of an awful situation. Avoid. Sorry

Being used to the likes of other budget hotel chains when on business trips I was looking forward to my stay however feel let down given the prestigious reputation of the Mercure brand. The hotel building itself is beautiful and the room was modern in decor, however unfortunately the building fabric had not been modernised leading to an uncomfortable night. The room was very warm with a single window that only opened slightly and no air conditioning/fan provided. Even on a cold September night the room was uncomfortably warm into the early hours. My room was positioned opposite what seemed to be the kitchen/some sort of generator/heater which kicked in at 6am in the morning waking me up as the window had to remain open to keep the room cool. The range of breakfast was good (cooked breakfast, pastries, cereals, continental), but sadly the quality was quite poor. Despite being the first person at 8am on a Sunday the food was cold overall and the sausages and bacon were very tough and leathery. The staff on every interaction were helpful and polite, especially the receptionist when checking in. Overall a disappointing stay and sadly not the first poor experience at an Accor hotel.