Mercure St Albans The Noke

This was an alarming stay. We were woken by a guest in distress and we are not sure if the situation was resolved. During the night we were woken by a guest screaming for help from her room. We called reception and they said they'd send somebody to investigate. They checked, found nothing, and called back; we confirmed there was still somebody in distress but soon it stopped. An hour later, she started banging a room window facing somewhere into the courtyard and yelling again for help. We called again to ask for assistance but the nightshift seemed uninterested. We suggested that external assistance be called. We are not sure what happened next but the noise stopped around the same time as a smoke alarm was triggered. The smoke alarm was triggered around 2am, and sounded only for a few seconds. There was no evacuation, and the alarm did not start again. We did not hear any obvious activity, or any more noise from the room.

The staff at the hotel are friendly and helpful .The room was well presented the bed I found a little less than comfortable but that may be a matter of choice . I didn’t try the gym or pool but will do as I m going back there this week , so I suppose that says it all

This property has some original features such as dark panelled staircase and a few pieces of furniture for a bygone age which is different to the corporate look of some hotels. Although there was a problem with the tv server the hotel staff were very friendly and happy to help.

Nice little hotel. No aircon in my room which would have been a pain in the summer. Overall very good.

I stay regularly for business due to location, availability and price. It's ok for the price paid (as like the pool), but wouldn't stay for pleasure. The basic rooms are v tired in decoration, so I always stay in premium rooms (the heaters are noisy, as go on/ off through the night and can wake you up, so have to turn off and be cold), otherwise rooms are as you would expect for the price. The only consistent down side is the food - always too much salt on food, and often poor at heating food thoroughly, so try to eat out if possible.