The Orchard Hotel

I had to spend a night in Leicester or Nottingham, so i picked this place so I could stay up all night playing cards at the Dusk to Dawn Casino, one of the busiest and most successful poker joints in England. The Website for the Orchard Hotel claimed it was close, but that proved not to be true, it wasn’t anywhere within walking distance. The first problem with DeVere Orchard Hotel was finding it. We had GPS on our rented Audi 4– a great car and a great Navigation system, but there was so much construction in and around Beeston Road, the GPS gave up and told us to find our own way, whcih was almost impossible. We finally stopped and asked a Bobbie (?) and he got us going in the right direction. The hotel is ultra modern and on the campus of the University of Nottingham, the lobby is large and airy. The room, however, could have used some of that space. To me it looked like a college dormitory. The TV was good, it got a lot of channels including Sky Sports, which was important to me at the time, as I had made a large wager at Ladbroke’s on Phil Mickelson to win the PGA Championship, but he fell just short to Rory at the last hole. It was the only place where I got sky sports so kudos for that. Otherwise I felt lied to, in that their Website had mentioned the poker club but not that it was nowhere near the hotel, either that or the cab driver drove me around a bit– which is possible (it did seem closer coming home). Anyway unless you need to stay at the University, this place is nothing special. We did have a dinner there, since we were in the middle of nowhere it seemed, and it wasn’t memorable, in fact I barely remember it.

A few years back the U decided to thin out its collection of Bramley apple trees, apparently grown from cuttings off the original source. Faced with a sudden excess of space, the rather stylish Orchard Hotel now resides on the site (with a few remaining Bramleys left out back for old times sake). It’s a conference venue operated by a university, so don’t set your hopes too high. However, for the relevant comparison class, the Orchard acquits itself nicely. Apple-​tree wallpaper in the sleeping rooms is an especially nice touch. Without a car you will be stuck, but they will try to make you comfortable. Perhaps not the spot for a roving tourist, but if you have a reason to be on campus, you could do much, much worse. Limited menu in the bistro will suffice for a day or two.