Campanile Hotel Basildon-East of London

We were greeted by a friendly receptionist who made sure the room was in the right location for our needs.

The room was, as always, very clean and tidy, the bed comfortable and all you would need for an overnight stay.

We enjoyed a nice breakfast and all in all a nice experience.

We will always return to this hotel when in the area.

I stayed at the Campanile for 1 night as I was passing through.

Room was very basic, but suited my needs, I heard no traffic??

I had a lovely meal at the resturant (Steak, Chips and a salad) the drinks were abit expensive but there is a 24 hour Asda across the street.

I had breakfast in the morning, full english and an all you can eat buffet, lovely!! The waitress was very nice, kept asking if everything was ok, a lovely girl.

Overal my stay at the Campanile was lovely.

I had two nights reserved here by the company I work for before I read the reviews on here.

Not detered, I actually arrived a day early and they were able to accomodate me.

I had a ground floor, end room which was clean, a comfortable double bed, ensuite facilities, bath and shower, TV and telephone (room 75)

The staff were all freindly and service in the bar was good. I had one evening meal ( Burger and chips with salad £8.95) but didn't try a breakfast though they start weekdays at 6am which must be good for contractors or others that are up early and £6.95.

A pint of beer in the bar was £2.50.

Room rates vary with some good deals to be had on the Campanile web site, mine varied between £34.50 and £49.50 room only.

The A127 road is busy and yes, I could just hear the roadnoise in the background, but it didn't stop me having 3 good nights rest.

It took me half an hour to walk in to Basildon town centre where you can find all the usual shops and facilities. The Festival Park area is closer and closer still, just across the road, is a 24 hour ASDA supermarket and a steak house.

I would definately consider it for a stay in the Basildon area in the future.

The only suggestion I could make is to tidy up some of the paintwork.

Having read the previous mixed reviews, I booked the Campanile with some misgivings but needed to stay in Basildon and nowhere else fared much better. Finally decided when I saw on the Campanile site that they were offering a weekend deal of three nights for the price of two, which brought the average price down to an extremely tempting 31.65 (the rack rate is 52.95).

Five of us booked three rooms and all were very happy, starting with the efficient and friendly check-in.

As a previous reviewer commented, it is motel-style with rooms opening off the car park. The rooms are small, but clean and comfortable, obviously designed for the one-night business custom they get through the week, but have everything you need for a short stay. The A127 is alongside the hotel, but is in a dip and there was no noise at all.

Campanile's French ownership is reflected in the bar/restaurant. Breakfast is 6.95 whether you have the Continental buffet or the full cooked works (or both) and there were no complaints.

Didn't eat there in the evening so can't comment. Instead headed to the Festival Leisure Centre (aka Bas Vegas!), which is only five minutes away by taxi and full of life.

Will need to go back to Basildon on occasions and will definitely head for the Campanile.

When I arrived I was pleasently suprised. Its a very american style more a motel then a hotel. Reception resturant and bar in the middle with the rooms around the outside. The room was very small and quite dark but clean and comfatble, much nicer than i was expecting. Most of the staff do not speak the best English which was actually quite frustrating when trying to ask simple questions like can I have that roll wihtout onions only to get it without mayonaise! There is no hairdryer in the room or iron. If you plan to take anything eletrical you will need an adaptor/extension bar as there are no plug sockets in the room apart from the one for the tv. And dont bank your hopes on the sky tv we had 1-5 and ITV3 and 4. The food was very good, again much better then expected, slightly expensive but generous portions. We had our two dogs with us and we were able to bring our meals back to our room (as you are not allowed to leave the dogs in the room). The room was also very quiet despite being near a busy road and in a block of several surronding rooms.

I travel to the area at least once a month, and decided that the hotel I had been using for the past few months was getting a bit boring, so a change was needed. The Campanile was a lot cheaper than I usally pay but it looked OK on the web. When I finally found it (not the hotels fault by the way, Tom Toms) I suddenly realised I'd just driven into the Crossroads Motel!

Reception - No problems very polite (French I think)

The room - Security shutters and bottle opener bolted to the wall aside it was very clean (though a little dark) and there was a half decent working area.

The restaurant - Very good food and the big surprise of my stay (other than the bottle opener that is) and very good service and the best ribeye steak I've ever had (and that includes the States)

Very good salad bar. Breakfast again was very good, full English and a continetal selection, cheeses, meats etc.

If you are just there for one night its OK any longer ??????

But it is cheap and clean so therefore I have to say good value, Will Eye Stay Again? -- probably not.

This hotel is like a motel, rooms are accessed via the car park so you do feel a little "open" as your bed is approx 5ft from the door/pavement outside. Saying that the room was just right in size, a work desk with tv and wifi,modem connection but only one plug socket. The bed was a double and comfortable. The bathroom had a shower/bath with a few packets of toiletries and a small soap, 2 hand towels, 2 bath towels.

The room was clean and comfortable for the £52.95 per night rate(not including breakfast).

We had a bite to eat mid afternoon £5.95 for a 3 filling panini and chips-nice but nothing special.

I did have a problem checking in, they put me in someone elses room(with there belongings still there!) then moved me but it was a twin, i'd asked for a double. The 3rd room was a double but smoking and stank of tobacco-yuk! I had asked for a nonsmoking but decided not to push my luck.

The worst experience was being caught in the act when the maid walked in(as the door opened out onto the carpark i'm sure others saw too!!!) despite the DO NOT DISTURB sign being on the door. Fair enough they are all foreign but the sign says do not disturb in 5 languages and what did she think it was for anyhow!!! I was naturally red and coy upon check out.... I must say that staff here make regular mistakes but never apologise for them or try to make you feel like returning. Perhaps the manager should explain to the campanile workforce the importance of happy customers and repeat custom??

I stayed here on an overnight business trip and found the rooms to be very basic. It is more suited to a lorry driver stop than for a pro-longed stay. The staff were average as well as the food.

Stayed here for the night and I though the room was lovely. We had a ground floor room. The bed was comfortable. The whole room and the bathroom was very clean.

We didnt stay for breakfast so I cant comment on the restaurant. But reception was polite and we had no problems at all.

I will definitely stay here when I am in this area again.

Mmm some reviews have mentioned traffic noise? Luckily enough I found that this was not excessively loud or disturbing in my room. However I found that the room was tiny, and not really welcoming. I would not recommend it for a leisure user or for someone staying more than 1 night. However I would also point out that I got my room for a bargain price of £40, which was the cheapest I found in the area so was extremely happy with this. So for such a low price should I have really expected more?

To sum up was ok, but would not stay at this hotel again as room does not meet my standards for a relaxing break.

Good Points:

* Price

* Shower

* Tea / Coffee making facilities

Bad Points:

* Room was two small

* Bath was tiny (could not wash my hair properly as bath was too short)!

* Only 1 plug socket

My disappointment in this hotel began the very moment I checked in. After reserving my room online by credit card as per normal procedure, I was made to pay a cash deposit of £50 in addition to the cost of the room!! I have stayed in many hotels of different star ratings but never have I been made to feel like I was about to abscond with the towels or whatever else was removeable from the room. Staff were very rude upon check-in when I questioned this and if I had not been staying there out of sheer necessity I would have left there and then! Upon checkout, I was made to leave the room so it could be checked by a member of staff and my deposit was returned.

At best, the room was clean and warm, albeit very small however, I shall never return the very least I expect is a polite and courteous service and sadly this was not forthcoming.

We stayed on new years eve 04/05 and had lots of problems. Room was cold but nice.They Messed up the food 3-4 times during new years eve, even arguing with us that we had had the food, RUDE VERY RUDE! Manager gave us a token free bottle of wine when he finally appeared. Tried to charge me 3 times for one breakfast that wasn't mine and when our party of 18 (5 families) checked out, which took over 45 mins, every bill was over charged. The final staw was when they also charged an extra £100+ to my friends credit card after we left, still arguing that! We won't be going back.

Staff unhelpful and spoke very poor english. The breakfast waiter was downright rude. My plate was literally thrown on to my table!

Rooms are clean but dark and basic.

Bar/Restaurant shuts at 11pm - you are then thrown out. We ended up finishing our drinks outside, whilst the staff continued drinking and watching TV in the bar!!

Reasonably priced, but I definately will not be back.0

I travel to Basildon on a weekly basis from the North of England for work purposes and have stayed in quite a few hotels down here... and this place is award winningly bad. I was booked in for 3 nights and arrived about 9pm. The carpet in the room was badly stained, the room itself smelt a bit musty and was dim and dingy. If you end up on the ground floor you also get the noise of the shower and toilet from the room above. I asked for an ironing board and iron. I was given a desktop(??) ironing board - very small and not ideal for ironing a shirt for work. The cover kept coming off - not that it really mattered. The cover was so thin all I managed to do was iron the metal 'criss cross' patterns into the shirt anyway. I called reception and asked if they had a 'proper' board. I was told that they did - but that I'd have to collect it from reception as they 'don't do room service'. So off I went, rubbish ironing board in hand, ready to exchange it. When I got to reception, it turned out that I'd been misinformed and that the small boards were all they had. I was given a replacement... which was covered in food! Not just a water mark.. or even a tea stain... But real dried on food with lumps! I pointed this out, politely, to the 3 receptionists at the desk. I was expecting them to be slightly concerned about it... but what I actually got was an uninterested 'that's all we have'. I pointed at the dried on food in disbelief and said again 'but it's covered in food...' Clearly bored with the subject, one of the receptionists just shrugged her shoulders at me whilst the other 2 stared blankly past me.

Needless to say, I cancelled the remaining 2 nights and checked out the next morning - in an unironed shirt.

Would I stay there again...? Yes! Right after I'd removed both my eyes with a rusty spoon and filled the empty cavities with sea salt.

DO NOT stay at this hotel.We made 3 telephone calls to directory enquires and got charged £23.40.We said we are not paying that for 3 calls that are only 50 pence each but the next day my partner got charged on his credit card without our authorisation.

The rooms are very basic and staff are very rude!!

What can I say? I stay away for work at least once a week and chose this hotel when I was in the southend area. The receptionists were rude on check in - the rooms were clean but smelt bad and the facilities couldn't even be classed as basic. The restaurant was poorly staffed and the menu was poor. I also got my car broken into in the car park along with many other guests and the man who came to fix my window said that he's there everyday as it happens every night. Reception were not bothered! As i walked in to report it I didn't even have to tell them what had happened they just told me to join the queue of people on the phone to the police.

DO NOT GO NEAR THIS HOTEL.