Ibis Sheffield City

Location and staff friendlness

Nothing

I loved how clean the room was and how efficient the service was. Staff were very helpful

Breakfast felt monotonous

Nice friendly staff and clean room

On the positive side, the room itself was very good. It was clean, spacious and well lit, with the bed neatly made and a firm, comfortable mattress. The bathroom was lovely, with good water pressure, which was particularly appreciated. The tea and coffee-making facilities were also very good, with everything you would expect for a comfortable stay. Overall, the standard of the room itself was one of the stronger aspects of my visit.

When I arrived, check-in itself was straightforward. However, I was concerned that the receptionist read my floor number and room number aloud, in front of the reception and dining area. This is poor practice in any hotel, but particularly concerning when travelling alone. Simply pointing out that the room number was displayed on the key card would have been sufficient. There was no need to announce it publicly. I was also asked to complete a check-in form where my email address was marked as a mandatory field. I subsequently discovered that the email address was apparently only required for marketing purposes. I do not believe a guest should be required to provide personal contact details for marketing unless they have actively chosen to opt in. Fortunately, I noticed this before signing the form and was able to provide an alternative email address. The hotel also advertises free Wi-Fi, but there appears to be a significant qualification to this. The initial free access is limited to 24 hours, after which guests are required to register through the hotel's portal to continue using the service. During my stay, the supposedly free 24-hour Wi-Fi did not work consistently at all, which meant I was effectively being asked to register for the hotel's marketing portal simply to obtain usable internet access. Taken together, these issues left me with the impression that the hotel's approach to guest privacy and marketing is unnecessarily intrusive. The Wi-Fi in particular feels misleadingly advertised as "free" when continued access requires registration, and the fact that the advertised initial access was unreliable made this even more frustrating.