Radisson Blu Edwardian Guildford Hotel Reviewed

You will find this 4 star contemporary luxury hotel in one of Surrey’s must-visit areas, Guildford. The town is renowned for a fantastic history, cobbled streets and fantastic shopping opportunities. Situated within 2 miles of Junction 10 off the M25, this hotel is within easy reach of major transport links including London Heathrow Airport, London Gatwick Airport and London Waterloo.

A special mention during our stay goes to the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. They invited us along to see the sold out Sunset Boulevard production and we had a fantastic time. Find out more about this at the end of this review.

Sleeping and relaxing

Accommodation seemed to us to be more catered towards business cliental and maybe lacked a little bit of warmth. However, with clean cut lines, dark colour schemes and classy en suite bathrooms, we did find our room to be aesthetically pleasing. A lovely bonus for this hotel is its in-house spa! Here you can immerse yourself in our relaxation pool encased in frosted glass. Lose yourself in the enveloping mists of our crystal steam room and the calm of our relaxation room. Restore your reserves in our spacious gym too. There is a wealth of relaxation opportunities here too, with a strong range of treatments on offer.

A rocky start

Unfortunately, our visit started with disappointment and a lot of wasted time. Like many guests who were checking in that day we were told on arrival there weren’t enough spaces in the car park for us that day due to a wedding function. The result was a lot of guests who had to waste precious time finding somewhere to park. Not ideal.

It wasn’t so much the issue of the lack of spaces, which caused an issue here, but we were quite rudely dismissed at reception and told that we would have to find alternative parking ourselves. We don’t have much knowledge of Guildford, so it would have been nice for staff so show us a little more time and effort in resolving the issue here. To cut a long story short, we parked a 10-minute walkaway in a multi-storey car park and went to check in. When we reached reception we were eventually told that we could park underneath the hotel. This parking issue took about 1 and half hours to resolve, at which point we were left with little time to explore the town and enjoy its history. A real shame.

Simple, but delicious

The hotel is also home to the concisely named “Steak & Lobster”. Named after two of my personal favourite foods, it was unsurprising to see that the menu only offered both the eponymous characters, Steak and Lobster, on their Main course menu.

Thankfully, starters are a slightly more eclectic blend of chicken and other such nibbles. We particularly enjoyed the Chicken frites with chorizo aioli. Light, tasty and a fun start to the menu. The restaurant serves a selection of wines and beers to cater for most tastes. Although, the simplicity of the food menu is reflected in the drinks selection and there isn’t a vast amount to choose from.

The restaurant claims it is a well thought out tactic to minimise the menu and to focus on “what [they] do best’. So, you can select from a 10oz, dry-aged steaks and fresh, whole lobsters served in the half-shell. We found the concept to be fun and actually quite refreshing. The staff were absolutely fantastic and the atmosphere made for a relaxing start to the evening. Both the Steak and the Lobster options are £20 too, which is fantastic value. In terms of quality, both the steak and the lobser were wonderfully cooked. The lobster coming grilled with wonderful texture and oodles of flavour. Plus, the steak was juicy, tasty and perfectly cooked to order. The two stars of the show here were pretty faultless.

We would certainly go back to the restaurant and we really enjoyed our visit. It’s not quite luxury dining, but it really worked.

Sunset Boulevard at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre

During our stay in Guildford we were invited along to see the sold out showing of Sunset Boulevard, a musical featuring music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Our evening began in the theatre’s opulent and relaxing Vanbrugh Club suite. Following a glass of wine, we moved to take our seats and we were not disappointed. Sunset Boulevard is the heart-breaking tale of fading actress Norma Desmond. Struggling to reach the dizzying heights of yesterday, she enlists the help of screenwriter Joe Gillis to change her fortunes. With fantastic music, wonderful solos and a well-told story, we absolutely loved this production. Although, be warned, there is an explosive end to this tale. All in all the experience from start to finish was a charming one and we are now big fans of this musical product and also the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. Bravo!

Our visit to the Radisson Blu Guildford was a slightly blemished one and took us by surprise. For a company usually so renowned with faultless luxury we were left a little deflated. However, Steak & Lobster and our treat Sunset Boulevard experience made for two fantastic elements that anyone would enjoy.

Start your day with complimentary breakfast when you book Online Best Available rate at the Radisson Blu Edwardian, Guildford from 18th December 2015 – 28th February 2016. How to book: Book securely online or call our reservations team on +44 (0) 20 7629 7474, quoting ‘BAR’. Rates available from from £99pp (http://www.radissonblu-edwardian.com/winter-offers).