Thurrock Hotel, Belmont

I had a Junior Suite. Fantastic room. Best in the Grays area. Only downsides are no air con, no gym, doors slamming outside your room and small LG TV. Friendly staff. Spotless rooms. I'm definitely staying here again as it's value for money.

Hotel was convenient for the purpose of my trip. Room was spacious and not sufficiently heated but staff provided a portable heater that did the trick. The hot water in the shower was tricky to figure out but it did work. Food was surprisingly good. However in my 50 years of travelling, this is the first time I have had such an unpleasant experience of having a used condom stuck through the door knob of my room. Obviously a prank and an act of vandalism and not the fault of the hotel and staff was very apologetic. Nevertheless it made for an unpleasant stay and a reminder for solo travellers to stay safety conscious wherever you are. All in all, staff was responsive and nice.

Perfectly adequate rooms but we had a few issues with this hotel - we were not warned that people often struggle to find it and Google sent us over the Dartford bridge back, despite booking two rooms at the same time and the hotel not seeming very full we were put on different floors and there is no food available at the weekend although the staff helpfully gave us takeaway menus and cutlery.