Good downstairs, poor upstairs

Liked: We were part of a large party to welcome my son and his partner from Australia. The bar staff weere fabulous - friendly, helpful and they moved us into a part of the bar which we could mainly have for ourseldves. The same happened for dinner where we weere in a back area of the restaurant which allowed us to mingle without inconveniencing other diners. Again, staff were lovely and very helpful and accommodating.
Disliked: Our room, although fairly spacious was very tired and the deccor extrremely gloomy. As we looked out on to another tall brick building, as one might expect in a city centre, the room was dark. This was compounded by dark green walls and brown furniture. My husband and I are tall, and the bed was too short. The bathroom, again spacious, was very dated. The washbasin a pedestal basin which meant there was no room for sponge bags or make up, and the glass shelf above was on a slope which meant that almost nothing would stay on in. The lighting was appalling - I was unable to make up either there or in the bedroom. Extremely poor for this calibre of hotel. I might also add that the shower only had a large rain head. This may be fine if you want to wash your hair as well. but many people prefer a lower shower head that can be also hand held. The shower screen was leaking and there was water on the floor. Finally, the wardrobe doors were extremly noisy to open and this minor problem was nothing some oil on the hinges couldn't rectify if the staff here paying attention. In all, for a four star hotel it was dated and disappointing especially after our positive experiences downstairs.