Hotel No.9

I'll preface my review by saying I don't like contactless hotels very much in general as I prefer having a front desk person to talk to, and who is overseeing things. Nonetheless, I understand it's not financially feasible to run a small hotel in a city centre with full staff anymore :-( We seemed to have mobile phone/data issues as soon as we crossed into Northern Ireland, so when we encountered difficulty getting into Hotel No. 9, our stress level went to 11 in our efforts to use the posted phone number. Having said that, once we were able to make a phone call (and we found free wi-fi around the corner at the Visit Derry centre), our entry and room issues were quickly resolved. The room attendants were also very helpful once they were allowed to let us in. Other than the first 10 minutes, the rest of our stay at Hotel No. 9 was very good. It is in an excellent location - just a short walk from the Guildhall, the Derry walls, the Bloody Sunday site, the bus terminal, Centra (convenience store with ATM), restaurants and Tesco. It's about a 20 minute walk to the train station. The rooms are small with a limited space for hanging a few clothes (no closet), but ventilation was good, and I appreciated being able to open a window. The building seemed new or newly renovated, the elevator and security pad worked, the beds were clean and comfy, and the showers & toilet were new. Our room faced into the alley, so it was quiet. One of the other guests arrived in the middle of the night singing pop songs very loudly (see aforementioned comment about front desk clerk), but fortunately, she went to bed quickly. The only amenity we really missed in our room was a safe - that would be a good addition. I would stay at Hotel No. 9 again.