The Inspector is charmed by the ‘warm and cosy’ Sheffield hotel that once hosted the artist Picasso
Sheffield is enjoying itself.
The award-winning musical Standing At The Sky’s Edge based on Park Hill, the brutalist block of flats built in the late 1950s, has transferred from the city’s Crucible to the National Theatre in London.
‘It’s the talk of the town,’ says the man who greets me at Brocco On The Park.
But that is not the same as saying that everyone likes the Grade II-listed building overlooking the city centre. ‘I can’t stand it,’ says a fellow member of staff.
It’s a damp Wednesday evening but everything in this eight-bedroom hotel next to Endcliffe Park is warm and cosy.
The Inspector stays at the ‘warm and cosy’ Brocco On The Park in Sheffield
‘Did you know that Picasso stayed here in 1950 while visiting Sheffield for the international peace conference?’ says another member of staff. I didn’t.
It must have looked different at that time. Today, all rooms are named after birds. Mine is called Owl’s Burrow. It’s small and there’s nothing on the white walls but, somehow, it has character.
Two slices of home-made coffee and walnut cake wait to be devoured on the table; bedside lights hang from the ceiling; the neutral colour palette is restful and the cleverly designed bathroom has a free-standing tub and walk-in shower.
The ground floor is given over almost entirely to the inside-outside restaurant, which serves sharing plates under the headings: gardener, fish and hunter.
Above is the Inspector’s room. ‘It’s small and there’s nothing on the white walls but, somehow, it has character,’ he says
The ground floor is given over almost entirely to the inside-outside restaurant, which serves sharing plates
I’m on my own and pleased that I don’t have to share any of my spectacular choices, especially the king prawn taco, with kimchi, roasted cashews and coriander.
Back in the room, I read that there’s a ‘hygge hour’ from 5.30pm to 6.30pm each evening when everyone is offered a complimentary glass of prosecco.
It’s that sort of place.
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