The Washington

My husband and I stayed at this hotel for 5 nights. I was familiar with Bristol already and chose this particular area because the location is very good. It's close to the university, so the neighborhood seems very safe and friendly. We had a street view and, fortunately, didn't have much trouble with late-night sounds. It's also close to Clifton (which seems like a very posh/hipster residential, family neighborhood to me). The staff all seemed friendly. The breakfast staff (I want to say Paula & Bea because those are the names I remember from the chalkboard) were very efficient and friendly. They serve a continental buffet (yogurt, cereal, fresh fruit, some cold cuts & cheese) and allow you to order a fresh hot breakfast (a traditional English breakfast, the vegan/vegetarian version of the same, a croissant with ham & cheese, eggs and toast, a kids option, etc) from their kitchen. Overall the food was tasty and enjoyable. Unfortunately their dining room can only sit probably 1/4 of the hotel's guests. But, the waitresses have a fair method for making a queue and sitting people as tables become available. The room was VERY small and awkwardly laid-out, but it didn't matter so much because we were there for sightseeing and only needed the room for relaxing, bathing and sleeping.

From the second we walked into our room there was a mild foul odor. I'm not sure where this was coming from? The hotel seems very worn-out: some stains on the carpet, a large and tricky double-hung window, creaky floors, a dated acrylic bathtub with a crack in the exterior panel. I feel like the run down amenities don't bother me, as long as cleanliness is impeccable. But, this is where I had an issue. On the first night, while taking a shower, I noticed a small human hairball in the provided shower gel. I was disgusted and told the receptionist the next morning. I SAW her make a note, but, lo and behold returned from a day out in Bristol to no solution. I told a new receptionist the following morning and saw her make a note as well. Came back again, SAME PROBLEM! That evening, exasperated, I told a THIRD receptionist "I'm frustrated! We reported a problem to two other receptionists and nothing was done." She followed me up to the room, looked into the shower gel, "Oh, you're right", tried to remove the gel (which was trapped in a bracket, bolted to the shower wall) and finally gave up and just brought me a fresh, unopened shower gel. To this day, I'm sure the hairball is still there... say "Hi", room 25! That said, I don't blame the receptionists or even the maid service for this problem... this is entirely a management issue. In our 6 days, 5 nights staying there we saw roughly 6 different receptionists (in this way it reminded me of a hostel-type environment... employing young, friendly, often foreign, university-aged students) and never a manager. Why didn't someone follow up on the notes that these receptionists were making? If you have so many different employees in so many shifts, how can you expect complaints to be solved? One night we were woken at 2:15am to the fire alarm with the poor receptionist trying to shut it off for 45min.