City Hotel Derry

Room was just ok. Staff were nice but just not enough of them. Breakfast was nice but Dinner in the bar was not nice. Soggy Pizza and chips.

The hotel was undergoing renovations, which in itself was understandable. However, it wasn’t the renovations that were the issue — it was the overall standard of service and the experience. Check-in was advertised as 3pm, yet our room wasn’t ready until close to 5pm. We were travelling with two small children who were excited to use the swimming pool and became unsettled during the long wait. It was a very poor start to our stay. After swimming, we returned to the room to find there was no hairdryer, despite rooms being advertised as including one. There was also no shampoo, conditioner, or soap — only a few bottles of body wash. Basic amenities were clearly lacking. Dinner service was completely unacceptable. The restaurant was not busy, yet there were massive delays between courses and long waits for plates to be cleared. With two children, this made the experience even more frustrating. We had to approach staff twice to ask where our dessert was, as they were avoiding eye contact and not acknowledging guests. On departure, only one lift was working, leading to large queues to access the underground car park. To make matters worse, despite booking and paying for parking via the hotel’s own app, I have now received a parking ticket. I have emailed the hotel regarding this as well. Given that I have already emailed about the above issues and only received an acknowledgement saying it was being passed to the Operations Manager — with no further response — I am not confident this will be resolved either. Overall, this was extremely disappointing. What should have been a mid-term family break turned into a frustrating and poorly managed experience. Unfortunately, we would not return.

Location. Staff. Beers, all good great view of the river .