HotelRiverside Court

[micksheff, 06.07.2007] The Riverside Court Hotel is situated just outside Sheffield City Centre within a few minutes walk of the main markets and one of the main Shopping areas of the City.

It occupies a prominent position on the corner of Nursery Street, where it meets the Wicker. Historically the Wicker is an area of the City that was once a thriving part of Sheffield with lots of Shops and Businesses. Today it is rather run down, although improvements are currently underway, and most of the businesses in this area are now take aways and other fast food outlets.

The Riverside Court Hotel actually occupies quite an enviable location at the top end of the Wicker. It sits on Lady's Bridge next to the Exchange Brewery Works with views overlooking the River Don and the new Apartment Blocks on the opposite banks of this River. Lady's Bridge was built in 1845 and is the oldest surviving Bridge across the River Don. The Exchange Brewery dates from 1822 and was owned by the Tennant Brothers until it was taken over by Whitbread in 1962. This Brewery closed in 1992 after 170 years of production. The Exchange Brewery is a Grade 11 listed building and is currently being renovated into more luxurious City Centre Apartments.

As I am a resident of the City of Sheffield I do not have many occasions where I need to visit or stay at a Hotel but I was recently asked if I could recommend a place to stay for a work colleague that was coming from overseas. After careful consideration I suggested the Riverside Court Hotel as I knew someone that had stayed here at the end of last year and enjoyed it.

I visited here during that friend's stay here last year but to be honest never got any further than the Bar downstairs. This time around I decided that I would try and see a little bit more of this place.

From the outside the building looks quite attractive and the first impressions are certainly good as you walk through the doorway. There are nice, thick, plush carpets on the floor and a small reception located just inside the entrance.

The hotel is family run and this is one of the things that the Riverside Court Hotel prides itself on. It is only quite small inside but this gives it a certain charm. There are 35 bedrooms located on the three upper floors. The lower floor is reserved for the entrance lobby, the Bar, the Kitchens and the Dining area.

I managed to have a good look around when I visited here to meet my work colleague and I even got a peek at the room that he was staying in on the second floor.

The room looked very neat and quite spacious with two twin beds both positioned beneath the window. All rooms are en suite and have a colour TV. There are also coffee and tea making facilities in each room.

After my quick look around we retired to the Bar for the evening. (Since my Company was picking up the tab it would have been rude not to!) and as we walked along the corridor my colleague pointed out the Kitchen on his floor and a laundry room. I only learned afterwards that each floor has a self catering Kitchen where the Guests can prepare their own food if they do not wish to eat in the Restaurant downstairs or if they need to eat at a time when the Restaurant is not open.

Although my visit to this place was rather restricted I did feel that I saw enough to satisfy myself that I had suggested a suitable place and the feedback that I received the following day from my colleague confirmed this.

I would have no hesitation in recommending this place again and from what I saw I would even suggest that it offers better value accommodation than many of the other hotels nearby, as well as providing a more comfortable atmosphere.

I have heard criticism that this hotel is not located in the most desirable part of the City, but the truth is, this could also be said of the majority of the other Central hotels as they are almost all within a stone's throw from here. I would assume that the main problem with the location would be the potential noise from the traffic on the road outside as this is a busy road. There is a private Car Park for the hotel at the rear of the building and if you are planning a stay here it may be an idea to request a high floor at the back of the hotel, away from the road. The downside of this however would be that there would be no River view from these rooms.

The cost of my colleagues room was £42 (63 Euros). This was a special rate that was negotiated due there being no single rooms available.

The standard rates are as below:

Single Room - £37 (56 Euros)per room, per night
Double/Twin Room - £47 ( 71 Euros) per room, per night
Triple Room - From £65 ( 98 Euros) per room, per night
Family Room - From £75 (113 Euros) per room, per night. (sleeps four people)

These prices are extremely competitive and are actually cheaper than many of the other hotels that are nearby. These other hotels include a Travel Inn, a Holiday Inn , a Hilton Hotel and the Bristol Hotel, which I think is privately owned. All of these hotels are a within a couple of minutes walk from the Riverside Court Hotel.