A Victorian House That Has Been Done Properly
You arrive on a quiet, tree-lined street of tall red-brick houses, park for free on the gravel outside, and walk into a hotel that looks nothing like its old photographs. Since 2024 the Claremont has been substantially refurbished, and the bedrooms and bathrooms are the point of the place: new beds, big walk-in showers behind patterned tile, flat-screens, kettles and fridges, and a lot more floor space than anyone expects at this price.
The house itself is Victorian, gabled and bay-windowed, with a black fire escape zigzagging up one flank and a lawn out front. Inside it is a mix: some rooms are crisp and white with a wall of decorative mirrors, one is clad floor to ceiling in warm pine like a cabin, and the annex lounge has a brick wall and a slatted wood ceiling that has not changed since about 1970. It should not work as a set, and somehow it does.
What holds it together is the running of it. Reception is staffed twenty-four hours and guests write about the team more than they write about the rooms, which for a budget hotel is a rare and telling thing.
A Mile Out, and That Is the Whole Trick
Vivian Avenue sits on the Sherwood Rise and Carrington fringe, immediately north of the Forest Recreation Ground. It is a residential street of Victorian terraces, community cafés and food shops rather than anything touristy, and it is genuinely quiet at night in a way nowhere in the centre of Nottingham is.
The trade-off costs you about ten minutes. A Yellow Line bus stops at Berridge Road, a hundred and fifty metres away, every ten to fifteen minutes on weekdays and runs straight down Mansfield Road into town. The Forest tram stop, with its own park and ride, is a ten-minute walk and puts you on the light rail into the centre and out to Hucknall. Guests report a taxi into town for the price of a coffee.
The Forest Recreation Ground on the doorstep is the local fact that shapes this address. It is a huge open green, and every autumn it becomes the site of Goose Fair, which in 2026 runs from 25 September to 4 October. If you are here then, expect road closures, crowds and a very short walk to the waltzers.
Two Things to Settle Before You Book
First, breakfast. There isn't any. Food and drink stopped during the refurbishment and had still not restarted by the middle of 2026, and there is no restaurant and no bar. Plenty of listings still imply otherwise. Every room has tea, coffee and a fridge, and there are cafés and shops a few minutes up Mansfield Road, so it is easily solved, but solve it deliberately rather than discovering it at eight in the morning.
Second, the stairs. This is a Victorian house and the property says so itself: no lifts. Most bedrooms are on the first floor and above and are reached by stairs. The only step-free option is the two-bedroom deluxe apartment, which sits entirely on the ground floor and opens onto the patio. If stairs are a problem, ask for that one specifically when you book, and do it early.
One smaller thing. In hot weather the rooms can get warm and window opening is limited, so fans are provided. Recent guests in a July heatwave mention using them and being fine, but flag it if you are heat-sensitive.
Why Book the Claremont Hotel?
This is a small independent hotel in a big Victorian house, a mile out of the centre, that has quietly had a great deal of money spent on it since 2024. The rooms are the reason to book. The car park is the reason you will be smug about it.
Park at the door, for nothing
There is a spacious private car park on site, free, with no need to reserve a space. Anyone who has tried to park near Nottingham city centre knows what that is worth, and it is the single most praised thing in the reviews after the staff.
The rooms were rebuilt, not touched up
Since 2024 the bedrooms and bathrooms have been done properly: large walk-in showers with patterned feature tiling, new beds, flat-screens, kettles and fridges. Guests keep using the same three words, which are spotless, spacious and modern.
Someone is on the desk at 3am
Reception is staffed twenty-four hours, which matters if you are arriving off a late train or a hospital visit. Guests single out the reception team constantly, and a solo woman traveller specifically wrote that she felt completely safe here.
No breakfast, and no lift
Both need saying before you book. Food and drink stopped during the refurbishment and had not restarted by mid-2026, so plan breakfast elsewhere. And it is a Victorian house with no lift, so most bedrooms mean stairs. Only the ground-floor apartment avoids them.
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Interesting Points About Claremont Hotel
- The operating company, Claremont (Nottingham) Limited, was incorporated on 17 March 1982
- The Forest Recreation Ground is 550 metres away and hosts Goose Fair, one of Europe's largest travelling funfairs, which drew 493,200 people in 2024
- The building is a Victorian house that has been substantially refurbished since 2024, which is why older listings describe it so differently from recent reviews
- Nottingham City Transport's Yellow Line buses stop at Berridge Road, 150 metres from the door
- Some listings carry the name OYO Claremont Hotel at this address. It is the same Vivian Avenue property under a former franchise name
- The Elmsleigh Suite is not a separate hotel. It is this property's annex at the same address
Rooms & Accommodation at Claremont Hotel
Standard Double Room
About 9 m², private bathroom
The entry-level room and a compact one at roughly nine square metres, with a pine-clad ceiling, a wall of small decorative mirrors and its own bathroom. Upper floors are reached by stairs. Best for solo travellers and couples who want somewhere clean and cheap to sleep and will spend their day in Nottingham rather than in the room.
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Deluxe Double Room
Refurbished, larger, private bathroom
One of the rooms that came out of the refurbishment best: more floor space, a glass desk, a wall of mirrors and a bathroom with a big walk-in shower behind patterned tile. This is the bathroom guests keep photographing. Best for couples who want the smartest room in the house without paying apartment money.
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Superior Triple Room
Three single beds, upper floor
A genuinely large room under the roof with three proper single beds, a fitted wardrobe and a desk in the dormer. There is a lot of empty carpet here, which is unusual at this price. Best for three friends or a small family who want their own beds and do not mind the climb.
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Deluxe Single Room
Compact, private bathroom
A neat, bright single with a wall-mounted television, a small desk and the same mirror-wall trick as the doubles. Best for a solo traveller here for one or two nights who wants a private bathroom rather than a shared one, and the lowest price in the house.
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One-Bedroom Apartment
About 16 m², private entrance
The largest of the standard options at around sixteen square metres, self-contained with its own entrance, a seating area, a fridge and a microwave. The bedroom is lined floor to ceiling in warm pine with an arched window and a skylight, which is the most memorable room in the building. Best for a couple staying several nights who would rather have their own front door.
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Two-Bedroom Deluxe Apartment
Ground floor, garden view and patio
The annex apartment, and the only step-free option in the property: two bedrooms, one with a double and one with two singles, sharing a bathroom between them, plus a lounge with a brick wall and a slatted wood ceiling that is pure 1970s and rather lovely. Patio doors open onto the garden. Best for families of four and for anyone who cannot manage the stairs, but note the shared bathroom before you book.
Check PricesIs the Claremont Hotel Right for You?
Best Suited For
- Drivers, because the free car park a few steps from the door is worth real money in Nottingham
- Solo travellers who want a staffed desk at any hour and a room they do not have to apologise for
- Families and small groups, with triples and a two-bedroom ground-floor apartment
- Anyone here for Goose Fair, cricket at Trent Bridge, a match or a university weekend
Worth Considering Alternatives If
- Anyone who wants breakfast included, or any food or drink on site
- Guests who cannot manage stairs and cannot get the ground-floor apartment
- Travellers who want to walk to the city centre rather than take a ten-minute bus
- Heat-sensitive guests in a July or August heatwave, given the limited window opening
Amenities and Facilities
In Your Room
- Private bathroom in most rooms, with free toiletries and a hairdryer
- Flat-screen TV
- Electric kettle with tea and coffee
- Refrigerator in the apartments, and on request elsewhere
- Desk and wardrobe
- Iron and ironing facilities
- Fan
- Heating
- Carpeted floors and a socket by the bed
- Hypoallergenic bedding
- Free Wi-Fi
Building and Services
- Reception staffed 24 hours
- Daily housekeeping
- Shared lounge and TV area
- Garden and a patio
- Luggage drop can be arranged by calling ahead
- Not available: Lift
- Designated outdoor smoking area
Parking and Transport
- Free private car park on site, no reservation needed
- Berridge Road bus stop 150 m away for Yellow Line services 68, 69, 70 and 71
- The Forest tram stop and park and ride, a 10-minute walk
- Nottingham railway station about 1.9 miles away
- East Midlands Airport 13 miles, roughly a 30-minute drive
Food and Drink
- Not available: Breakfast
- Not available: Restaurant
- Not available: Bar
- Not available: Room service
- Tea and coffee making facilities in every room
- Cafés, takeaways and shops a few minutes away on Mansfield Road
Policies
- Not available: Pets
- Non-smoking throughout
- Children of any age welcome; check-in age is 18, and under-18s must be with a parent or guardian
- Cots free for under-twos on request
- Extra beds
- No security deposit required
- Not available: Hen and stag parties
Location and Getting Around
Nottingham is an East Midlands city of caves, lace, Robin Hood and a lot of students, and it packs its sights into a walkable centre around Old Market Square. The Claremont is not in that centre: it is a mile north, on Vivian Avenue in the Sherwood Rise and Carrington fringe, on the northern edge of the Forest Recreation Ground.
That is deliberate and it works. You get a quiet residential street, a free car park and a neighbourhood with actual local life on Mansfield Road, and you get into town in about ten minutes on a Yellow Line bus from Berridge Road, a hundred and fifty metres away, or on the tram from The Forest. Nottingham Castle, the City of Caves, the Lace Market and the Motorpoint Arena are all a quarter of an hour away by bus.
For drivers, East Midlands Airport is thirteen miles and about half an hour, and Wollaton Hall, the Elizabethan mansion that stood in for Wayne Manor in The Dark Knight Rises, is a fifteen-minute drive west with five hundred acres of free deer park around it.
- Berridge Road bus stop: About 150 m, a 2-minute walk
- Forest Recreation Ground: About 550 m, a 10-minute walk
- The Forest tram stop: About 0.4 miles, a 10-minute walk
- Nottingham city centre and Old Market Square: About 1.2 miles, a 10-minute bus ride
- Nottingham Trent University city campus: Just under a mile, about a 20-minute walk
- Nottingham Castle: About 1.6 miles, roughly 15 minutes by bus
- City of Caves and National Justice Museum: About 1.7 miles, around 15 minutes by bus
- National Ice Centre and Motorpoint Arena: About 1.9 miles, roughly 15 minutes by bus
- Nottingham railway station: About 1.9 miles
- Wollaton Hall and Deer Park: About 3.2 miles west, a 15-minute drive
Getting to Key Locations
Photo: Will robson, CC BY-SA 3.0
Forest Recreation Ground
10 min walk
A 10-minute walk south brings you to the big green that gives this corner of Nottingham its shape, and every autumn to Goose Fair, one of Europe's largest travelling funfairs. In 2026 it runs from 25 September to 4 October, and it turns the field into a wall of light and noise a few hundred metres from your room.
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Nottingham Castle
15 min bus
About 1.6 miles away, roughly fifteen minutes by bus, the ducal mansion on its sandstone rock reopened after a major refurbishment and now tells the Robin Hood story properly, cave network included. The wicker archer in the grounds below is the photograph everyone takes.
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Photo: Mike Peel, CC BY-SA 4.0
Wollaton Hall and Deer Park
15 min drive
About 3.2 miles west, a 15-minute drive, the Elizabethan prodigy house stands over five hundred acres of free deer park, and film fans will recognise it instantly as Wayne Manor from The Dark Knight Rises. The hall itself is a free natural history museum.
View on MapHow to Get to the Claremont Hotel
- From Nottingham railway station: Take the tram northbound towards Hucknall or Phoenix Park and get off at The Forest park and ride, then walk about ten minutes to Vivian Avenue. Alternatively head to the Parliament Street or Victoria Centre stops and take a Yellow Line 68, 69, 70 or 71 towards Sherwood Rise, getting off near Berridge Road, 150 metres from the hotel. A taxi is about two miles and roughly ten minutes.
- From East Midlands Airport: The Skylink coach runs from the airport into Nottingham city centre, and from there a Yellow Line bus or the tram brings you north. There is no direct service to Vivian Avenue. By car it is thirteen miles and about half an hour.
- By car: Head north out of the centre on Mansfield Road or Sherwood Rise; Vivian Avenue runs off it just past the Forest Recreation Ground. There is a spacious free private car park on site and you do not need to book a space.
- Getting into town: Use the bus or the tram rather than driving in. Nottingham City Transport caps adult single fares, with a cheaper evening single after 19:00 and an all-day ticket that pays for itself in three journeys. A Robin Hood card covers bus, tram and local trains across Greater Nottingham.
Nottingham, Ten Minutes Down the Road
Nottingham rewards a short stay. The caves under the city centre, the castle above them, the Lace Market's warehouses and Old Market Square are all within a few streets of each other, and the whole lot is a ten-minute bus ride from Vivian Avenue.
Time your visit if you can. Goose Fair takes over the Forest Recreation Ground on your doorstep from 25 September to 4 October 2026. Trent Bridge has international and county cricket through the summer, Nottingham Forest and Notts County play through the winter, and the two universities fill the city on graduation and term-start weekends. Late spring to early autumn is the best of it; winter is quieter and cheaper.
Close by, the Polish Eagle Club on Sherwood Rise is a genuinely characterful bar with real ale a few minutes' walk away, and Café Cchino, twelve to fifteen minutes up Mansfield Road in Sherwood, is the independent café to know given there is no breakfast here.
Watch: A Walk Through Nottingham City Centre
A slow walk through the city centre you would be riding the bus into: Old Market Square, the shopping streets and the Lace Market, all about ten minutes from Vivian Avenue.
Is the Claremont Hotel worth it?
Yes, and by a wide margin at this price. The refurbishment since 2024 has produced clean, roomy, genuinely modern bedrooms and bathrooms, the reception team are the most praised thing about the place, and the free car park on a quiet street a mile from the centre is worth the booking on its own. You have to accept no breakfast, no lift and a ten-minute bus into town. Sort breakfast in advance, ask for the ground-floor apartment if stairs are an issue, and there is very little to argue with.
What Guests Say About the Claremont Hotel
Scores and review counts are aggregated from verified guest bookings on major travel platforms.
Very good
For a budget hotel these reviews are unusually consistent and unusually warm. The staff score is the highest thing on the card and it is not close: reviewer after reviewer names the reception team. After that come cleanliness, the size and standard of the refurbished rooms, and the free car park. The complaints are narrow and repeat: no breakfast, stairs instead of a lift, and rooms that get warm in a heatwave. Nobody complains about the price.
Praised how spotless the hotel was and how welcoming the team were, with a handy spot close to the centre. He thought it excellent value and said he would gladly come back.
Scott
Praised how spotless the hotel was and how welcoming the team were, with a handy spot close to the centre. He thought it excellent value and said he would gladly come back.
2026-08-17Loved the location and found the room immaculate and unusually roomy. He noted a few communal areas felt a little dated, but reckoned the modern, beautifully finished bedrooms more than made up for it.
2026-08-13Booked two freshly renovated rooms with lovely bathrooms and comfy beds on a quiet, leafy street, ten minutes from town on a bus that stops almost outside every ten to fifteen minutes. She marked it down only because breakfast was not on, and singled out the in-room tea, coffee and fridge and the fan in the heat.
2026-07-28Found her room bright, clean and comfortable with a fantastic bathroom, called the receptionist a real credit to the place, and as a solo woman traveller felt completely safe and keen to return.
2026-07-30Enjoyed a smooth check-in from friendly staff, a very comfortable bed and an impressively large, clean bathroom, plus handy round-the-clock access. Her only niggles were an ironing board with no iron and towels she wished were bigger.
2026-07-26Liked being near the Forest Recreation Ground and The Forest tram stop for quick trips into town, valued the on-site parking and found the rooms clean and a good size. The only downside was a bathroom fan that was a bit loud overnight.
2026-07-25Good to Know Before You Book
There is no breakfast
Food and drink service stopped during the refurbishment and had still not restarted by the middle of 2026. There is no restaurant and no bar. Every room has tea, coffee and a fridge, and there are cafés, takeaways and shops a few minutes up Mansfield Road, so plan it in rather than discovering it.
No lift, and most rooms are upstairs
It is a Victorian building and the property confirms there are no lifts. Bedrooms on the first floor and above are reached by stairs. The two-bedroom deluxe apartment sits entirely on the ground floor and is the only step-free option, so ask for it specifically if stairs are a problem.
Free parking, and no need to book it
The private car park is on site, free, and does not need reserving. It is one of the most praised things about the hotel and genuinely unusual this close to a city centre. No capacity or height limit is published, so if you are driving something tall it is worth ringing ahead.
Timings, payment and extras
Check-in runs from 15:00, with early check-in from 13:00 for a fee on request; check-out is by 11:00, with late check-out to 13:00 for a fee. No security deposit is required. Cots are free for under-twos on request and extra beds are charged per night. Some listings still flag this property as cash-only, which appears to be a stale data point, so confirm card payment when you ring.
Cancellation terms depend on the rate
Cancellation and prepayment conditions vary by the room and rate option you choose, and the exact terms show once you have entered your dates. Check them before you confirm, especially around Goose Fair and graduation weekends.
Call Claremont Hotel
Ring the hotel to ask for the ground-floor apartment, confirm card payment, arrange a luggage drop or ask about a fridge in your room.
+44 115 784 1813Photos of Claremont Hotel
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. There is a spacious private car park on site, it is free for guests, and you do not need to reserve a space. It is the single most praised practical feature of the hotel and unusual this close to a city centre. No capacity or vehicle height limit is published, so ring ahead if you are driving something tall.
No. Breakfast is not available, and there is no restaurant or bar. Food and drink stopped during the refurbishment and had still not restarted by the middle of 2026, whatever older listings suggest. Every room has an electric kettle with tea and coffee, and there are cafés, takeaways and shops a few minutes' walk up Mansfield Road.
Arrivals are taken from 15:00 until midnight, and rooms need to be vacated by 11:00. Early check-in from 13:00 and late check-out until 13:00 can be arranged for a fee on request, though neither is guaranteed. Reception is staffed twenty-four hours, so a late arrival is not a problem.
There is no lift. The property is a Victorian building and says so directly, and most bedrooms are on the first floor and above, reached by stairs. The only step-free option is the two-bedroom deluxe apartment, which is entirely on the ground floor and opens onto the patio. Ask for it specifically when you book if stairs are a problem.
About 1.2 miles, which is roughly a ten-minute bus ride or a twenty-five minute walk. The nearest stop is Berridge Road, 150 metres away, served by Yellow Line buses 68, 69, 70 and 71 every ten to fifteen minutes on weekdays. The Forest tram stop is a ten-minute walk and also runs into the centre.
No, with the exception of assistance dogs, which are welcome. The whole property is non-smoking, though there is a designated outdoor smoking area.
Yes, free throughout the hotel, and it scores well with guests. A couple of reviewers have noted it can be patchy late at night, which is worth knowing if you plan to work or stream in the small hours.
No security deposit is required. Some listings still flag this hotel as cash-only, but several other sources show Visa, Mastercard and Maestro accepted, and that cash-only tag looks like a stale data point. If you intend to pay by card, confirm it when you ring the hotel.
Yes to both. Some listings carry the name OYO Claremont Hotel at this Vivian Avenue address, which reflects a former franchise branding rather than a different hotel. The Elmsleigh Suite is this property's annex at the same address, not a separate business. It is also worth saying that this is the Nottingham Claremont: there are unrelated hotels of the same name in Blackpool, Eastbourne, the Isle of Man and the United States.
Directories most commonly list sixteen, though some show eleven, thirteen or fourteen, and the property does not publish a figure itself. Sixteen is the best-supported number. There are eleven room types on offer, from singles and doubles up to triples and two self-contained apartments.
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