In October 2007 I stayed here with my sister and aunt while helping to clear the family home.
We were not told of any particular cut off times for checking in although we had said we were travelling in from outside London so were surprised on arriving late to find the place apparently locked up. We had to pay up front for the whole stay before we were allowed to see the room.
The basement room that we stayed in had a toilet that didn't flush properly, despite asking for it to be fixed several times. We were told that we had to use the bathroom down the hall during the night, which was not easy to find as the hall lights got turned off. It was supposed to be a no smoking hotel but the rooms smelt of cigarette smoke (I have asthma). The decor did not match the photographs posted by the hotel on the internet. Apparently there were no other rooms available.
The breakfast that was served, cold hard boiled eggs and white toast, did not fit what we had thought was meant by the term 'cooked breakfast'. We were told that there was a kitchen we could use on the first floor to make tea and coffee but although there were cups and a kettle there were no tea bags, coffee, milk or sugar. The kitchen looked as though it had not been cleaned for a week, the rubbish bin was overflowing with take away food containers and there were dirty dishes in the sink.
We were in a fix as it was the only local accommodation we could find but were very disappointed that what we found did not fit the description of the hotel on the internet. Trying to raise concerns with the receptionist did not get any response. Raising a complaint with the hotel after our stay did nothing except slightly relieve our frustration. read more