The Coal Exchange is a grand old building with an interesting history, but that’s no excuse for how shabby and dim it is. I feel like it could be thoroughly modernised without losing any of its historical charm.
It wasn’t made obvious to me when I booked on Expedia, but I had apparently booked a wheelchair accessible room - I guess it was the last room available at the price I wanted to pay. It was like staying in a dark hot dungeon. It was dark because it only had one window and it looked out onto the entranceway at ground level, thereby affording no privacy - I didn’t feel that I could open either the curtain or the window. There were two fans in the room that just blew the warm air around. A member of staff told me they were planning to start putting aircon into the rooms but they didn’t know when. Every room in the hotel is supposed to have a big jacuzzi bathtub but, it turns out, the accessible room just has a big wet room with a shower, no bath at all.
I thought I was treating myself when I booked this stay but I would’ve been much better off in a cheaper, more modern hotel.