FoodTravel

Maiyango Hotel Leicester Review

maiyango

Maiyango Hotel Leicester

www.maiyango.com

Reviewed by Michelle Wright

Wow what a fabulous adventure to Leicester we had!

My friend and I were lucky to be chosen to visit the Maiyango Hotel in St Nicholas Place, right in the heart of Leicester City Centre. A stone’s throw away from the shops and cathedral.

Neither of us had been to Leicester before and as it seemed the same traveling distance between Manchester and Cambridge, it was the perfect meeting place for us.

At arriving at Leicester train station we took a £7 taxi journey to the hotel (there is a taxi rank conveniently situated at the front of the hotel); but the hotel does have parking if traveling by car. Unfortunately, outside the front of the hotel there was building work taking place, which we later discovered would be an area to commemorate the Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. Once completed it will make a lovely feature and discovered later that we heard no building work whilst in the hotel, so it didn’t disturb our stay in the slightest.

You enter the Maiyango Hotel through a door off the main street and then straight into the lift that takes you to a third floor reception. I think the initial entrance into the hotel, before lift would benefit from maybe some nice signage – softer lighting, something to make it less harsh, but the hotel has made the best of the space they have. Once in the reception the style of the hotel becomes apparent when you are greeted with a contemporary, modern look of purple and maroon furnishing – very different and very stylish.

The reception staff made us feel very welcome, advising us on places to visit and even showed us to our HUGE bedroom! And it was huge! We were shown how to use the shower, where the safe, telephone and hair dryer was located and then left to unpack. The room had a superking size bed and minimal but nicely designed furniture – with a massive wall mounted TV… and so much space that it felt luxurious and so calming! It had a large, modern en suite’s complete with dressing gowns, slippers, and lovely ‘mad cow’ toiletries – which gave us a laugh! The room was warm, comfortable, if a little sparse in furniture. There was a mini bar and snacks, as well as tea and coffee facilities. One thoughtful touch that I loved, was that here was even a pillow menu (!) so if the type of pillow provided wasn’t to your liking you could call down and exchange it! – fabulous!!!

We had booked a dinner reservation for 7pm at the restaurant downstairs but before that had treated ourselves to the Maiyango Restaurants Cocktail Making Class! We were really excited to do this as we hadn’t done anything like this before – and to be honest didn’t know what to expect! The cocktail bar was in the main restaurant area – although at this time in the afternoon, it was empty of dining guests.

Andy took our class making us feel very relaxed and welcome behind his bar! He guided us through all the different bottles on show and explained how different cocktails worked with different mixers and ice! We got to make our own cocktails under his supervision and even tried to create one of our own – which isn’t as easy as it sounds! It has to be said that the cocktail we designed was a bit of a disaster (!) but we had lots of fun creating cocktails from the Maiyango list including a very delicious ginger and mango mojito and an autumn punch. Andy was very patient and friendly – nothing was too much trouble and his expertise in mixology was very apparent. It was only later when he surprised us buy telling us that we were his first cocktail class students – no pressure then – I wonder if her knew he was going to be reviewed? Miyango use only premium spirits and the freshest fruit priding themselves on making unusual and signature ground cocktails.

I would recommend the cocktail classes – they were only £25 per head and we had lots of fun and actually learnt something too!

Without us even noticing the lights had been dimmed and the restaurant was starting to fill. Our cocktails were taken over to our very cool booth – low hanging Moroccan style lighting with drapes and lots of cushions provided a very rich and indulgent setting for our 9 course taster menu! – although we really should have opted for the 6 course menu as there was SO much food! We chose to try the vegetarian and meat option so we could swap and taste the others menu. The staff were attentive without being too in your face, pleasant with a friendly nature when we asked how many courses left. We were served at the table by numerous members of staff, which meant the courses flowed rather than stilted if someone was busy with another diner. We really couldn’t fault the meal at all, each course was presented to perfection and so totally delicious!

After we had (almost) finished our 9 course meal, we were asked politely to move to the bar area, where we stayed for a short while before moving on to have drinks in Leicester.

However we decided we preferred the ambience and friendliness of Maiyango so headed back to the restaurant/bar.

When had finished one final cocktail and left to go back to the hotel. After 11pm you have to ring a bell to gain access into the hotel premises – a good feature as there is a pub opposite the hotel and one further down the other end of the street. You can only then gain access to the third floor (reception) with the use of your hotel card pass. This made us feel safe in a city we did not know.

Thank you to all the staff at the Maiyango Hotel and Restaurant. We had such a wonderful time and were made to feel so welcome. On a return visit to Leicester I would definitely stay at this hotel and dine and drink in the restaurant and would highly recommend Maiyango to all my friends and family! This is a small, (only 14 very sizable rooms) and intimate hotel for couples and friends.

A resounding 5/5.

Rating: 5/5 

For more information or to book a table or a room visit www.maiyango.com or telephone 0116 251 88 98.

 

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