Mercure Dartford Brands Hatch Hotel & Spa

We booked this stay to celebrate my 30th birthday. Instead, I left feeling unsafe and completely let down.

Out of the 3 nights we stayed, for 2 nights we were kept awake between 1am–3am and again at 6am due to disruptive guests, with no effective intervention. The situation escalated into a physical altercation, and only then was action taken. At no point did we feel properly protected or supported.

After weeks of emails and involvement from multiple managers, I was promised £200 in compensation. I was then told to claim it through Love Holidays and ultimately received just £91.

The lack of urgency, accountability, and genuine care has been incredibly disappointing. The handling of this situation has been as upsetting as the stay itself.

Restaurant staff were very friendly and helpful. Kate was always smiling and welcoming.

The worst "upmarket" hotel I've ever stayed in - Save your money!
I cant stress enough how poor this hotel stay has been.

When booking online there were mixed reviews, but as I was working locally I opted to stay at the Mercure Dartford thinking it would be better than a cheap super budget option such as an ibis/travelodge/etc.
Having been to a couple of Mercure's in the past and being generally quite satisfied, I didn't think anything to booking one night here despite the overall poor reviews.
Upon arrival the appearance is decent, and the reception staff we're friendly enough and everything was fine checking in.
On getting to the room, there was an empty bottle of wine laid on the floor along with dirty cutlery outside my room door, which seemed odd as I was checking in around tea time so this was long after anyone had checked out in the morning. The key then didn't work for the room and had to go back to reception to resolve but that wasn't a huge issue. I mentioned about the dirty cutlery and wine bottle and the receptionist followed me to the room to check nobody was in the room already. There wasn't anyone in and the room had been made up, the receptionist simply shifted the bottle and cutlery our the way as if she'd seen it a thousand times before!

When in the room, the sofa bed was already made up, but as I was travelling alone for work I decided to put it away so I could relax with some TV after a day on the road and in meetings.
I am not exaggerating when I say that I genuinely gagged at what my hand touched when closing the sofa bed away.
There was a gross combination of old food, food wrappers, used tissues and even a dirty child's sock. I would guess this had all been there at least several months as the food was furry and the sock was covering in crumbs/food too.
I shoved the sofa cushions on as quick as possible and decided that I would not be eating there if the room standards were like this, then how can the hygiene of the kitchen/restaurant be.
I went to a local pub serving food which was far better than the menu and photos online of the food within the hotel.
When coming back, I decided to not touch the sofa and just spend the night on the bed and tried to not think about it.
Once I started relaxing, all I found hear all night was neighboring other rooms with shouting, TVs and children until quite late on so put my headphones in and just went to sleep.
So far, not a very nice stay at all...!

The following morning I had a shower and needed to iron a white suit shirt for work from my packed clothes, and made sure when booking that there was an iron available, which there was.
Once the iron hasmd heated up, I started ironing and immediately realised it was leaving a rusty/orange stain where the holes for the steam come out straight on to my white shirt. With this being my only clean shirt for the day, I decided to try to carry on as the mark was on the lower of the shirt so maybe not too noticeable, straight away again the next area ironed, it did the exact same thing - leaving my quite expensive suit shirt absolutely unusable. I chucked the shirt on along with a coat, and packed my things to check out so that I could start trying to find somewhere early on to buy a suit shirt before my client facing meetings that afternoon which again was far from ideal and didn't actually have chance to have breakfast due to this either.
After all of this, and when the stains on my £65 shirt didn't come out after several washes, I contacted the hotel to explain about the issues encountered, the poor quality of the stay on general and also about the situation with their room facilities (that I was paying for) not being functional and causing damage - to which the hotels response was that I should have tested the iron on a towel before use! Or potentially maybe just have appliances that are fit for purpose for a paying guest! I have also been told that it's the guest responsibility to check that all the appliances are fit for purpose - surely that's what the maintenance/housekeeping teams are for!?
Basically, the hotel's response was a very generic "Sorry to hear about this" but with no actual resolution or gesture in any way shape or form - telling me that this is just one of hundreds of complaints they deal with of a similar nature.

Overall one of the worst stays I've ever had and I travel half a dozen times a month for business as well as many social/family nights away and this is absolutely up there with as bad as it gets.
I don't think I'll ever confidently be able to book a Mercure again.

I never leave negative reviews but this one has truly pushed me to, and I can't actually believe that the hotel are blaming me for the iron being defective, and they could not care less about my experience or extra stress caused by there inadequancies.
Shame on you as a national hotel chain with so little care for their guests.
Do not ask me to "Get in touch" as per all the other similar comments as I've already done that and tried to sort it separately and you couldn't care less about it so don't pretend to on Trip Advisor.

Overall good experience of the spa but the food at the restaurant was 90% Indian food which was a bit random. The room didn't have any heating, we had to get a portable heater from reception. When you use the shower head and place it in the holder, it floods the whole bathroom and I wish I was exaggerating, poor design there. The gym facilities were quite poor with a lack of space and old limited range of equipment. TV had a smart TV button but no smart TV unfortunately. It was clean so I cant complain there. The walls are a bit thin so noise does travel but it was still quite quiet. The staff were very nice and service was good, but the reception does take long to answer the phone. Considering dinner, bed and breakfast plus 1 spa treatment for 2 people was £298, I expected better.

Staff was really slow at the desk but really sweet. The restaurant was nice and the room was clean but it was really noisy. BUT the BIG BUT is that I paid for an hour massage for my partner’s birthday, he only got 40mn of light massage. I emailed twice with a week and nobody bothered to reply…. Very poor customer service if you ask me. Disappointed is how they’ve left me

We stayed for one night.
Hotel clean and nice reception area.
Took ages to check in as only one person. Didn’t get any information about the hotel itself. When we went back later a younger girl was much more helpful and gave us a print out of the hotel.
The highlight of the stay was the two barmen in the Grand Prix bar.
There was fantastic and good music playing.
The breakfast was ok and something for everyone.
Our room looked like it had been updated recently and was really nice.
Comfortable bed and great shower.

I have tried to email hotel not had a response.
We booked the spa weekend for our 25th Anniversary.
we were given twin beds.
Room was filthy, empty bottle and previous people medication wrappers.
I got all rubbish together and gave to cleaner.
I tried call hotel for 3 days before coming no answer, we wanted to see if we could book a meal as the website showed no valentine menu, when I told the lady at reception i been trying to call her response was "WELL"
we got kept up all night by noise and fighting which was really upsetting to hear and couple already reported it to be told nothing they can do.
I didn't waste my time speaking to reception as they wasn't bothered about weed being smoked in their presence.
restaurant was freezing maybe switch the heaters on.
This ruined my night and literally came to breakfast in tears has I didn't sleep.
pool was advertised a heated ! defo not heated and defo never cleaned the changing room I see the same gel nail vanish people picked off over the floor.
only plus Michelle in restaurant should be manager she was brilliant.
this is the first time I every really complained but seriously id want to stay were the staff care.

Just had an overnight stay at this amazing hotel and spa, Everything has been wonderful, The staff so friendly,rooms so comfy and clean,the spa first class.Breakfast yummy,It was a treat from my daughters,and I feel spoilt and loved.Thank U all at Mercury 💕

Had a cheeky nights stay here for valentine’s with hubby had the most wonderful massage and facial followed by an amazing dinner in the restaurant on site where fortunately Jacob was on hand to assist us with ordering we had an awesome Indian banquet with plenty of delicious cocktails too fantastic what a star Jacob was too .

Myself and my partner booked to stay here after attending an event at Brands Hatch. And to be totally honest we didn’t even stay!

The spa was no better than a gym spa/ facilities. The pool was freezing, the hot tub was too powerful to relax and just looked very mid (not very spa like).

After waiting an hour for our room to be ready and watching multiple others get their keys after being told we were next, we made it to our room. Firstly, we couldn’t get into the room as the key reader was faulty but after about 5 minutes we managed to get in. We walked into paint peeling off the ceiling and wallpaper peeling off from behind our bed. TheTV was not a smart TV causing us to only have the option to watch live TV rather than a relaxing experience with a film.

We were not offered any information about dinner or breakfast service like others therefore the only option was for room service which an extra £5 is added on to the already over priced food.

Due to the above we didn’t stay and drove home due to the room being so poor, not worth the money you pay!

Normally come here for food and drinks as I live locally especially on a Friday night in the sports bar. Always good and the Barman Tom is absolutely on top of his game, only young but he’s beyond a hard worker with great skills even when really busy. If I had a pub I would poach him, a great asset to the hotel.

Unfortunately, our stay was very disappointing and we would not return.

Check-in was chaotic with a huge queue and only one staff member serving, despite other staff standing around. We had requested an accessible room when booking but were initially given a room on the second floor — despite there being no lift in the building. We had to queue again to change rooms.

When we eventually reached the next room, we discovered it was already occupied. We walked in on another guest who was understandably very upset. This was extremely concerning from a safety and privacy point of view, as we had been given access to someone else’s room and belongings.

After queuing yet again, we were finally given another room. While it was acceptable for the price, there was no heating so the room was freezing. The hairdryer was broken and the phone didn’t work, meaning we couldn’t even call reception to request a replacement. There was loud building work outside our window which continued late into the evening. The room and bathroom were both shabby and in need of maintenance.

We decided to try the spa facilities, which were very poor. The changing rooms were visibly dirty and smelled unpleasant. The hot tub was far too small for the number of people using it, and when we eventually got in, the water was murky. Both of us developed rashes afterwards. The sauna was only lukewarm, the steam room was dirty, and the pool was extremely cold.

Breakfast was fine — very standard but with no major complaints.

The car park was another issue. It was full of potholes and, due to rain, extremely muddy. There were no marked spaces, which led to very poor parking and limited room when we returned later. We were also surprised to find we had to pay for parking, which we had not been made aware of in advance.

There were police present around the hotel in the evening, which was unsettling, although we understand this may have been due to an unrelated incident.

Overall, the experience was stressful and uncomfortable. Between the poor organisation, cleanliness issues and lack of basic facilities working properly, we would not stay here again.

had a night in this hotel there was some really noisy people kept me and my wife awake untill 1 o’clock in the morning total waste of money definitely won’t be coming back no security

Louise was absolutely fantastic all night in the racing bar, we couldn’t appreciate her more, so accommodating! Definitely made our trip so much easier !!

5
We came for the Elvis birthday weekender and have to say that the food was exceptional, I loved every course.
Tom was an excellent barman, A contrast from previous years.
Only downside, the dining room and reception area were extremely cold and was uncomfortable because of it.

What a complete and utter shambles this hotel is.

I booked three rooms for a Xmas party event on the 20th Dec and upon arrival I was greeted by Leah on reception, she booked me in and I told her my children (the other two rooms) were on their way and I would pay for all three rooms now which was done without any issues. Unbeknown to me, when me children turned up they were charged for both rooms! I was only notified of this when one of the receptionists mentioned it when checking out the following morning and she said that they will process a refund. After numerous phone calls and emails we have finally been refunded but this has taken nearly a month and during that month I requested to speak to the general manager numerous times but he was always unavailable and never returned my calls or responded to my emails.
I have had dealings with Sara (Rooms Administrator), Mandy (Account Manager) and a pretty arrogant foreign lady on reception (unfortunately I can't remember her name).

How can it be that you get charged twice for rooms and a refund takes 29 days!

I was also told when checking in that it was free parking as we were staying the night and going to the Xmas party event so left my car details with reception. In early Jan I got a parking fine which just added to my stress so contacted the hotel and they said they will get it cancelled and so far no further letters about the fine.

Stayed in room 104, asked for it to be deep cleaned due to allergies, room was dusty so spent most of the night sneezing, meaning I got virtually no sleep. Also when returning to the hotel from my day out there was an exposed curbing which was sticking out at the entrance and you could not see it, I hit this and burst my tyre. The hotel receptionist admitted she had hit the same curb and therefore were aware of it. I will be looking to recoup the cost for the replacement tyre and inconvenience caused.

Tom, Amy and Karys were amazing, so funny, kind and attentive. Will definitely be coming back for them! Food and drinks were amazing

Tom and Shannon was absolutely amazing. They treated us like VIP's and we would highly recommend. We couldn't ask for anything better⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The bar staff are absolutely lovely, the best service for Tom and Shannon. The mostly friendly and lovely hotel staff.