De Vere University Arms Hotel - Cambridge , United Kingdom     

Stayed here for 1 night midweek for work purposes. I rang a few days prior to arrival to request an early check-in as I needed to prepare for a meeting. This I was told would be no problem. On mentioning this at reception I was greeted with blank stares and apparently there were no rooms available. After much persistence I was allocated a room but wished I hadn't bothered - it was tiny and shabby!! It was impossible to walk round the bed as the dressing table was at the foot of it. I was out on business all afternoon and on my return requested to move rooms to something bigger. I was given a family room which was huge but still shabby. When was the last time this place was maintained? The wall paper was ripped, the wood disintegrating and the bathroom mouldy. The bed was the only plus point, it was extremley comfortable. Breakfast the next morning was a la Fawlty Towers. It started good after being seated quickly but went downhill from there. The toaster was broken and therefore no toast. The cereal & fruit selection was good but nobody was clearing tables and I was left with my cereal and fruit bowls and glasses on the table whilst I ate my crispy, overdone and greasy omelette. I tried a pastry in desperation, it was rock hard and had obviously been around for days. On check out I was charged ?14, yes ?14! for parking at the hotel for 1 night. Outrageous, who's ever heard of a hotel that charges guests for parking. The room cost a further ?155 making it an expensive trip. I'm just glad that my company footed the bill, there's no way this place is worth the money.

I have just returned from a 10 day stay at the De Vere University Arms in Cambridge, U.K. I believe that the hotel factilities are adequate, although over-rated. My complaint is the service. Some of the staff were very courteous and helpful, but this was over-shadowed by the fact that the front-desk staff were some of the rudest and most unhelpful people. When I first checked into this hotel I noticed that my telephone in my room wasn't working. 10 days later at check-out, after repeated (polite) requests, it still was not working. The front-desk staff would reluctantly promise to look into it but it was clear to me that they could not have cared less whether my stay went well or not. There were other problems, but this was more than enough to ruin my stay. When you're paying thousands of pounds on vacation you don't deserve to be treated this way. De Vere you've permanently lost a customer.