Derwent Valley Mills

Good value, good location.

A delightfully quirky hotel with some wonderful touches - such as the filtered water on each floor. Very friendly and helpful staff. However, check-in experience was quite overwhelming - loud background music and general hubbub made receiving a lot of information unclear. Although notified about the deposit (£50) beforehand, I feel the service charge could have been made clearer - a quicker method of returning the deposit to those staying would also be appreciated (rather than waiting a week for the bank to accept that the transaction won't be claimed). The room itself was clean and I liked the "treehouse" aesthetic. Lots of comfy cushions and pillows, and a well-provisioned bathroom. The coffee bags, rather than instant coffee, were also much appreciated! Only nitpicky things to point out: A slightly confusing lightswitch situation, where I plunged myself into darkness, or kept turning on lights that I didn't want to. Some signposting of where to find the pulley to operate the blinds would also have been helpful. Despite being on the fifth floor, I found the noise at night to be noticeable - lots of shouting and beeping of horns. This is to be expected, to some extent, at a city centre hotel - but the windows could have been better insulated! Overall, however, this was a lovely stay.