When Mr A and I returned from our short break to Greece in August 2020 we decided to go on a couple of short UK breaks, while we had the time and the weather on our side.  First stop was Cambridge, a city I’d only ever been to once before, four decades ago.  I couldn’t find any small luxury hotels in central Cambridge, but when I found there was a Hotel du Vin I booked a “Superior Room” for £225 B&B for a Friday night. Although I’d never stayed in a Hotel du Vin before, I was we’ll aware of the chain’s good reputation for style and comfort, after visiting Hotel du Vin Brighton several times for meals and for hotel industry events and meetings.  Hotel du Vin Cambridge is an easy, leisurely 20 minute walk from the main railway station. I could have chosen to take a bus or a taxi, but during the covid pandemic I wasn’t comfortable getting into enclosed spaces!  One thing that caught my attention on the walk was the old-fashioned open drains at the side of the road, right outside the hotel.

Because of social distancing we had to wait more than 5 minutes to check in.  A few days earlier the hotel emailed me about last minute upgrades, but in the event none were available.  We proceeded up one flight of stairs to our room, called Henley, which was more spacious than anticipated, so there was no need at all for an upgrade!  Our ‘first impressions’ were very positive.

Despite having just a regular height ceiling, the room felt bright and airy, with two sash windows (in need of a little refurbishment) overlooking the street and some mature trees.  The road wasn’t at all busy (not sure if that was a covid thing?), so we were able to leave our windows open overnight for fresh air, without any noise disturbance. The room did have an old style aircon unit, but we prefer ‘fresh’ air!  We also had a good-sized TV on the wall opposite the comfortable king sized bed, a writing desk and chair, and a couple of armchairs.  There was adequate clothes storage space for short visits. Inside the wardrobe was a small fridge which was empty due to Covid restrictions. No mineral water was in the room, for the same reason, but reception was happy to give us some on request, and we kept it chilled in the fridge.  There was a coffee making machine, but only 4 capsules, though again reception was happy to give us extras.

Our room contained a staircase which, mysteriously, went up to a locked door.

Connecting from the bedroom was a small ante-bathroom featuring a free-standing bath tub. This lead onto a toilet area with single washbasin and then a very spacious walk-in shower suite. Toiletries were by L’Occitaine; one of our favourites!  Bathrobes and slippers were in the wardrobe, as were extra towels (the bathroom had only been set up with 1 set of towels).

Hotel du Vin Cambridge is in a great central location, so after checking in we went out for a walk and ended up at the river Cam, near the historic ‘Mathematical Bridge’. We hired a chauffeured punt (£120) and had the most delightful guided tour (45mins).  You can hire a 6 person punt for just £30 ‘self-punting’, if you have the strength for it, but it was quite windy when we were there and we saw all the self-punters really struggling.  So whilst I first thought the £120 was a tourist rip-off, I can honestly say this short peaceful journey was a memorable highlight of our visit to Cambridge.

Back at the hotel we rested a little before going out for dinner, at the Michelin 2 Star Midsummer House (the main reason for our mini-break).

Overnight we slept well and in the morning we went down to the hotel’s Bistro for breakfast. Staff were masked up and extremely friendly and jolly. There was a small buffet of cereals and fruits which was not self service, but we could help ourselves to coffee and juices, neither of which were good quality. We were also able to order cooked items from a menu viewed via a QR code.  My personal benchmark dish, Eggs Benedict, was pretty good; the muffin was very fresh and the egg perfectly runny, but I would have added a little vinegar to the Hollandaise sauce.

Overall Hotel du Vin exceeded my expectations and we were very happy with pretty much every aspect of the stay, especially the jolly staff. 8/10