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guidebook is confusing re: Hotel du Vin in Cambridge

I'm a little confused. The 2013 England guidebook writes "This mod place manages to be classy yet unpretentious" whereas the 2016 Great Britain book says it is "a pretentious place that rents 41 decent rooms at a high price." Has it upped its pretentiousness in 3 years?

Posted by
16024 posts

I cannot answer that question as we have not stayed at that Hotel du Vin, but we have very much enjoyed three others in the U.K. I would not describe any of those as "pretentious" but rather "interesting."

Looking at the Cambridge one, I see the room prices vary widely by date---from £145 on some nights (mostly Sundays or Mondays) up to £325 on an upcoming nights March. That one must reflect some event. I would be happy with anything under £200 for the du Vin hotels where we have stayed. Note that many have in-room bathtubs, a quirky feature, but generally there is a separate, private and very nice rainshower.

Posted by
171 posts

I have never stayed at the Hotel du Vin in Cambridge so I cannot comment on its pretentiousness. It is located on Cambridge's main drag and is liable to be a noisy location in "term" time.

Instead I would recommend the Doubletree by Hilton Cambridge City Centre. The Doubletree is not actually in the "City Center" as its name would imply. It is marginally closer to the center than the Hotel du Vin but the main appeal of the Doubletree is that it is on a back street and has a great riverside/country-like setting. It is also marginally cheaper than the Hotel du Vin - in my "less than comprehensive" check of prices.

We stayed in the Doubletree a couple of years ago and were very happy with it. It is very close to Queens' "Mathematical Bridge" and only a little further away from King's chapel - two of the must-see sights in Cambridge.

Posted by
23177 posts

Things change in three years. Hotels get added and dropped between each revision. I would go with the most recent evaluation.

Posted by
4 posts

Thanks for the replies. I'm in Cambridge for one night before presenting at a conference. The Blu is more than I'd want to spend. (I was primarily tickled by the contrasting reviews.) However, I am surprised at how few lodging options there are in the city centre.