Cutlers Hotel

My girlfriend and I stayed at The Best Western Cutler’s Hotel one Saturday evening in August 2010.

This was the first time that I’d stayed at a hotel in my own city and the reason for doing so was that we had a free voucher for a one night stay (courtesy of the “Sheffield Unleashed” charity gift voucher book). This entitled us to a free one night stay, without breakfast.

At the time of our visit, a double room (with full English breakfast) could be booked for around £65 per night via the hotel’s own website.

Location

The Cutler’s Hotel is hidden away on a rather anonymous back street by the name of George Street. However, it is only a few minutes walk from several major shopping streets and attractions. There are also plenty of restaurants and pubs in the immediate vicinity.

A couple of minutes walk brings you to Tudor Square where you’ll find the Crucible and Lyceum theatres, as well as the Winter Garden. Passing through the Winter Garden brings you to the Peace Gardens and the Town Hall. This whole area is referred to as the “Heart of the City”, and can all be found within a very short walk of the hotel.

A short walk in the opposite direction (along Arundel Gate, towards Park Square roundabout) brings you to the internationally renowned Ponds Forge leisure centre.

Public transport links around the hotel are very good. You’ll find excellent bus and Supertram links (for example to Sheffield Arena and Meadowhall shopping centre) within a few minutes walk of the hotel. The trams stops at Sheffield Cathedral and Castle Square are both less than 5 minutes walk from the hotel. The central train station is a little over 10 minutes walk away.

Bedroom

Unusually these days, our room had a double bed rather than two single beds pushed together. It wan’t a particularly big bed, but it was comfortable.

Other furniture in the room included a wardrobe, a desk and chair, bedside cabinets, a small table and a large flat screen TV(with Freeview channels). The furniture was functional rather than stylish. That’s fine by me.

The room had a large window (although the views weren’t particularly good; just George Street below and an office building opposite) and plenty of lighting and sockets for recharging electricals.

Wi-fi is free in the room and the connection was reliable and fast. There is no computer in the room so you’ll have to take your own laptop/netbook.

A kettle and complimentary coffee, tea, hot chocolate, milk, sugar and cookies were provided.

A hairdryer was provided and there were mirrors in the bedroom and bathroom.

It was a warm evening when we stayed there, but the room temperature was comfortable. I don’t remember if there was individual climate control in the room, but if there was we didn’t need to use it.

There was a little noise from outside. We could hear a few late night revellers talking and shouting as they passed by, but being tucked away on George Street, the hotel escapes the worst of the city centre noise. We could also hear an alarm from a nearby building on the Sunday morning, but that is not the fault of the hotel.

The en-suite shower room featured a shower cubicle (no bathtub) and although it was only small it contained everything we needed (including towels) and was very clean.

General

The hotel contains 45 en-suite rooms, each apparently individually designed.

There is a bar and restaurant (Mariano’s) which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. We didn’t eat there but we have enjoyed a few drinks in the bar on a previous visit; it’s a relaxed setting with free wi-fi available and Sky Sports shown on a large screen TV.

While there is no car park at the hotel itself, hotel guests receive a special rate at the nearby NCP car park on Arundel Gate (a couple of minutes walk from the hotel).

The Best Western Cutlers Hotel is ideally located if you are attending a show at one of the nearby theatres, a music event at the nearby O2 Academy or the World Championship Snooker at the Crucible Theatre. Even if you’re not attending one of these venues, this hotel is ideally located for exploring the city centre or using public transport to explore further afield.

Since staying at Best Western Cutlers, I have also stayed at the Mercure St Pauls Hotel in Sheffield city centre. Mercure St Pauls offers better facilities than Best Western Cutlers (more spacious rooms, gym and spa facilities) and a better location (next to the Winter Garden and Peace Gardens), but is generally more expensive. In room wi-fi also costs extra at Mercure St Pauls, whereas it is free at Best Western Cutlers.

Comfortable rooms, free in room wi-fi and a very convenient location for the theatres or city centre exploration. I’d be happy to stay there again.

Directions: Located on George Street, close to Tudor Square and the Lyceum and Crucible theatres.