On our recent trip to England, we stayed in the De Vere Village Bury Hotel on two separate occasions. Located in the town of Bury, Greater Manchester just off the M66 motorway. Of course, Bury is 4 miles from my home town of Ramsbottom so I am familiar with this part of the country.
We pre-booked our first stay at the Village and took advantage of the Advanced Booking rate which at the time was £49 (approximately $78) per night and this included breakfast. This was much cheaper than I anticipated but proved to be a real bargain. You are not likely to get such a cheap rate usually but this hotel is certainly worth paying more for if needed!
The first thing to note about the Village is that it is part of the De Vere hotel chain so it comes with a reputation. If you are familiar with hotel chains in England, this is one of the more common chains, I would say comparable to the likes of Radisson and Four Points. The Village Bury is situated at Junction 2 off M66 motorway, ideally situated for visitors to Bury, Rochdale, Heywood, Bolton, Manchester and other parts of North-West England.
Check-In
Check-in the first time we arrived was smooth with no issues at all. Our stay was for 9 nights and the girl at the front desk did ask if this was the first time we had stayed there. Given that Heather’s parents had stayed here during their visit to England in 2011, I indicated not and this saved her the task of going through the usual hotel spiel.
The elevator was close to check-in and easy to find, spacious enough for several folks with luggage. Our room was 224 so after exiting the elevator on the second floor we had a short walk to our room. A word of warning for anyone that stays at this hotel, you may be on one of the newer wings which requires a much longer walk after you exit the elevator.
Positive Room Experience
The first thing we noticed when we entered the room was how spacious it was. We booked the Family Room which included a double bed and sofa and this was certainly a smart move given we were staying for several nights. The main negative aspect of the room was how dark it was and the lack of sufficient lighting. There was no main light in the ceiling and aside from a couple of bedside spotlights and a desk lamp, there was nothing to brighten the room which was disappointing.
Overall the room was comfortable, you were able to adjust the temperature without issue and even open a window if you wanted some natural air feeding through. The bathroom was clean and again spacious so no complaints there!
Breakfast and Amenities
Breakfast was one of the main attractions of this hotel. Every day we were treated to the option of a full English breakfast (all the trimmings such as sausage, bacon, egg, local Bury black pudding, mushrooms etc. were available) or if you wanted a lighter option, cereal, fruit and croissants were equally as appealing.
Other key amenities in the hotel that we didn’t experience but are available include an on-site Starbucks cafe, indoor swimming pool, gym and bar area. One thing that you may notice when visiting the Village is that there are a lot of locals use the fitness centre and swimming pool, and it is almost like the hotel is a secondary income with the primary being a gym and conference centre.
Internet was free (or should I say included in your price) with reasonably quick wi-fi so that was another positive aspect!
Minor Issues
Our second stay after we left on New Year’s Eve to celebrate bringing in the New Year in London, was less smooth! I had booked the second stay for 4 nights the day before we left and indicated that I would like to change my method of payment which I was informed was not a problem. I later found out that this apparently was causing an issue because the charges came out of my initial credit card which was frustrating.
Another issue during this stay was our room key failing to work almost every day. The simple card swipe system apparently wasn’t too simple and the number of times we were left walking back down the hallway to the front desk, well we pretty much lost count! The advice is to not leave your room key close to your cell/mobile phone. Trust me, we took this advice after the first time yet they still failed to activate the card for long enough to work each night.
On a more positive note, our room just down the hallway (room 220) was a little brighter as we did have an additional floor lamp though the light it gave off was minimal.
Overall, as you can see from the ratings we gave below, the Village hotel is one that we would recommend to anyone visiting North-West England.
Details
Dates: Sunday, December 22, 2013 – Tuesday, December 31, 2013 (9 Nights) and Wednesday, January 1, 2014 – Sunday, January 5, 2014 (4 Nights)
Price: £49 per night during the first stay; £59 per night during the second stay (both included full breakfast daily).
Whilst I have never stayed at The Village I have dined there and unfortunately the restaurant wasn’t up to scratch. The potatoes were dry, And the meat was tough. Oh dear
Our only experience with the Village’s catering was breakfast and I personally thought it was very good. Heather was not quite as impressed but I think that’s because she is not used to the old English full breakfast. I know everyone has different experiences and our biggest complaints was within the room itself and the lack of lighting which wasn’t good enough if you wanted to read or even do any sort of research online. I appreciate your comments though!