Brentwood Aberdeen City Centre Near Union Street

“An affordable stay”

Having read some other reviews of this hotel, I had lowered my expectation before visiting. Given its very low price during a major Bank holiday weekend and a prime location in proximity to the train station, I still decided to stay here because for the majority of my time I was travelling outside … more

Having read some other reviews of this hotel, I had lowered my expectation before visiting. Given its very low price during a major Bank holiday weekend and a prime location in proximity to the train station, I still decided to stay here because for the majority of my time I was travelling outside Aberdeen. I was simply looking for a simple place to rest, shower, and charge my phone. Hence the asethetics did not matter to me at all for this trip. The reception staff members were friendly and helpful. I booked a deluxe single room, and the bed was smaller than what was shown in the photo on Oyo's booking page. The general environment was also quite different from the photos. I found this slightly misleading. That said, overall, I found the room clean and it was in reasonable conditions. The shelves and the bedside lamp were perhaps a bit dated and had rust marks, but at least inside my room, there was no visible sign of worries related to hygiene. The shower with hot water and the toilet were well-functioned. I was also highly satisfied that there was a good quality TRESemmé hair dryer in the drawer, together with a big kettle. There were also ironing facilities in the shelf but I did not use them. In terms of noise, it was highly noticeable including normal footsteps upstairs or knocking from nextdoor. Hence it may not be suitable for anyone who would need a very quiet environment for rest. Ideally, I would like the door to have a double lock for enhanced security, which is important for female/solo travellers. The door could be opened by anyone from outside with the access code. Fortunately, I did not encounter any troubling scenario. Apart from some minor disruptions to sleep, I managed to enjoy two largely pleasant nights. The only issues I would like to highlight were the check-in procedures. I found the emails and messages confusing. Although I already checked in and was given access codes, I got a second email the day before asking for the same actions. During the online check-in, I was requested to upload a digital copy of my ID and there was no option to choose an alternative way to verify my identity. The online portal was not displaying the correct information at times, for example, this hotel is in Aberdeen but the travel information provided was for Cardiff. I was also uninformed how my information would be kept or used. I found this concerning from a GDPR perspective, as although I understand that there are legal requirements for hotel to hold guests' information, it seems excessive to request an upload of a copy pre-arrival. At other hotels, I could choose to present a physical copy of my ID upon arrival. Often they do not request so when my booking was made online using a UK credit/debit card with a UK billing address. Lastly, despite having these worries and having done the self-check in for two times, I was given a room different from the one named on the email sent to me. I am unsure what this means for the original room I got allocated to, and I am not sure if the access codes I were given would still work on that door despite a different person was probably staying. I would suggest OYO to review these procedures and consider simplying the check-in measures.

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