YHA - accommodation in Barrow-in-Furness

It was great to see this grand hotel being invested in. The outside looks amazing and our room 38 (double lake view) had just been refurbished and was tastefully decorated with just the best views of the lake and pier. All the staff we encountered from Persia at check in, to Joy in the restaurant & Nick & Moses in the bar were warm and friendly. Not all was perfect unfortunately and the Belsfield is still “work in progress”. On checking in we were told that room service was “on request” (we requested it for our 3 night stay) but this surely should be standard at a 4* hotel. There was also a sign in the room that stated no bottled water is provided unless specifically required and then a visit to reception would be needed. Again, a surprise omission which along with the need to request the room service left us feeling just minutes from arriving that the Belsfield aim wasn’t to do everything possible to ensure we enjoyed our stay. Breakfast, was a buffet and no additional orders such as an omelette was available. All the breakfast offerings to include tea & coffee was crammed into a small corner of what was a large room making for a rather chaotic experience. A small à la carte option of omelette’s, poached eggs, eggs Benedict etc would have been welcomed and would also have taken a little pressure away from the buffet. Despite these aspects, we had a lovely time and would return again knowing some issues will be addressed.

The room we stayed in was a family room; unfortunately although it was exceptionally clean, it was very dated. The lobbies showed a desperate need of TLC. The fire doors had holes in which is a serious issue if a fire were to happen. It seems that half of the hotel was refurbished and our half was not. For three adults and two children, our room was very small and felt at points overcrowded. It would have been a more pleasant experience had we stayed in a more updated and larger room. The pictures advertised were very misleading for the money we paid out. A positive was the children's entertainment and my grandchildren throughly enjoyed the children's entertainer and the magic show.

The staff where lovely friendly and informative. Was nice to be greeted at the car park and tour of hotel. Breakfast was of good quality. Room let us down . Booked through 3rd party was advertised as double room with bathroom containing shower we got shower over bath