If you’re a history buff (particularly a pottery history buff), the surroundings of this DoubleTree alone will be enough to have you in awe. The hotel is attached to Etruria Hall, a neo-classical Grade II-listed structure once home to Josiah Wedgwood – renowned industrialist and the founder of Wedgwood, one of the world’s most famous pottery companies.
Etruria Hall is no longer a stately home but an events venue, and since the 1980s it’s been attached to a hotel. In 2020 that hotel opened as a Hilton, specifically of the DoubleTree brand – yet despite being part of an all-conquering global chain, it’s maintained plenty of character. Beyond the obvious (the in-house restaurant is called Josiah), the corridors and rooms come lined with nods to local heritage; bottle oven skylines, Stoke dialect phrases, that sort of stuff.
Stoke-on-Trent’s DoubleTree, therefore, not only occupies a special historical site but makes sure you fully aware just how special it is. But it’s also a comfortable, well-kitted-out place to stay. I stayed in a king guest room that was extraordinarily spacious and flawlessly clean, with a sprawling, comfortable bed, fast wi-fi, effective blackout curtains and a practical bathroom.
The staff couldn’t have been friendlier or more helpful, the common areas were bright and welcoming, and there was a very sleek indoor pool and leisure centre. There’s on-site parking, too.
Given the building’s age, some of Stoke’s DoubleTree is understandably rough around the edges. In parts, fittings show signs of wear and tear and there isn’t much by way of sound insulation (the building itself also gurgles and clatters a fair amount). Restaurant Josiah also isn’t likely to get your pulse racing: breakfast offers a fairly standard, lukewarm English breakfast spread, while the dinner menu is Italian-ish, but my pizza was limply undercooked.
Neighbourhood
The DoubleTree by Hilton in Stoke-on-Trent is in Etruria, an area to the west of Hanley and south of Middleport. It’s about a 10-minute walk from Stoke’s main railway station, and is likely best known for its retail park. Attractions in Hanley and Middleport are walkable, as are a phenomenal number of shops in Festival Park.
Nearby
- Etruria Industrial Museum, which bills itself as ‘the only operational steam powered potters’ mill in the world’ and dates back to the 1850s. Open March to November.
- The Trent and Mersey Canal, which makes for a lovely walk either up to Middleport Pottery or down to Shelton.
- Festival Park – shopping, restaurants, a waterpark, bowling alley, cinema and more, all in the same complex as the DoubleTree.