I’ve left it a while before publishing this review, purely to see if letting time pass changes my opinion of this hotel in Bristol. Unfortunately, though – despite some positives – I wouldn’t choose to return to Future Inn Bristol.
There’s no denying that its location is practical: right opposite Cabot Circus shopping centre and a short walk into town, making it a popular choice for shoppers, business travellers and families wanting easy access to the city’s attractions. Future Inn Bristol offers 149 en suite bedrooms and also caters for conferences and events (there was an anime convention happening on the day we left). Great location, but there were certain elements that marred our stay.
The Welcome
Our check-in was straightforward and efficient. There was a slight language barrier with the member of reception staff, but overall, everything important was handled absolutely fine. We were checked in quickly, given all the information we needed, and added our car registration for the complimentary parking with no issues.
The Style
From the outside, Future Inn Bristol isn’t particularly attractive and feels pretty dated. Inside, to me at least, it has very much a conference hotel vibe. That said, the place was consistently clean during our stay, and although the style wasn’t particularly memorable, everything seemed to be pretty well maintained.
The Facilities
On-site you’ll find the Chophouse Restaurant, offering breakfast, lunch and dinner in a fairly stylish setting. There’s also a sizeable conference and events offering, with six meeting rooms available for everything from business meetings to conferences to private parties.
Practical room amenities for hotel guests include free WiFi throughout the building, air conditioning in bedrooms and complimentary parking in the public car park next door.
The Rooms
Our party of two adults and one child stayed in a Superior Double Room on the fourth floor. The room featured two Canadian queen-size beds, and these were definitely comfortable – we all approved of both the mattresses and pillows and had a decent night’s sleep.
The floor-to-ceiling window allowed plenty of natural light into the room during the day, making the space feel bright and open.
Inside the room, there was air conditioning, free WiFi, a safe and a flat-screen TV. A large workspace dominated one side of the room, doubling up as the tea and coffee area and featuring cups, glasses, a large mirror and additional storage space.
The bathroom was clean and stocked with plenty of fresh towels plus Anyah toiletries.
However, we did have some frustrations.
One of these was that the windows couldn’t be opened at all. Now, I appreciate that the busy road below would probably have offered traffic fumes rather than fresh air, but having the option would have been appreciated. Despite being sealed shut, this window didn’t do much to drown out the traffic noise reaching the room, either.
The room’s lighting was also unusual: it seemed that all of the lights operated together, meaning we had the choice of either having every light on in the evening or sitting in complete darkness. As a family, we’d have appreciated the ability to dim parts of the room after our son went to sleep rather than having to turn everything off.
One additional disappointment emerged when we returned from an evening out with friends to find the whole fourth floor corridor smelt strongly of cannabis. I raised this with reception, who didn’t seem inclined to do anything about the issue.
The Food
While we didn’t dine at the on-site Chophouse Restaurant on this visit, it seemed like a popular choice. It serves breakfast for hotel guests as well as offering a lunch and dinner menu that is heavily focused around grilled meats and steak dishes – and even the children’s menu includes a steak option, which is unusual to see.
The Prices
Future Inn Bristol positions itself as a “4-star hotel at affordable prices”, and there are always seasonal offers advertised on their website.
Prices range from £50 to £120+ per night, depending on room type, season and day of the week. Under-12s stay free of charge when booking on a room-only basis, with breakfast complimentary for kids under 5.
While there are certainly a lot of positives, our final impression of the stay was completely overshadowed by the parking experience, though.
Although parking is advertised as complimentary once validated at reception, Future Inn Bristol requires guests to park in the adjacent public multi-storey car park rather than a secure residents-only facility. While this was also the case when we stayed at the Bristol Hotel, that particular car park was significantly more secure.
Pedestrian entry to the car park was round the back of the building, with a large group of men seated on the floor drinking in the evening – we didn’t feel particularly safe walking past with a small child in tow. What’s more, our car was vandalised overnight during our stay, meaning police reports and insurance claims were needed – not the best end to our stay. We did log the incident with the reception team at Future Inn Bristol, but were disappointed that it didn’t appear to be formally recorded or acknowledged in any meaningful way.
Future Inn Bristol offers comfortable beds, a great location and decent prices – especially for families – but for us, the issues around noise, responsiveness and our parking nightmare mean it’s unlikely we’d choose to stay again