When it comes to bed and breakfast locations, there are three things that can make or break the…read moreexperience: 1. The comfort of the bed, 2. The food served, 3. The friendliness of the staff. Granted these three things could apply to any hotel, but with a bed and breakfast - especially if you're staying for a while and/or you're in a remote area - could make or break your vacation.
Hubs and I went on a 10 day trip around Scotland. I pre-booked bed and breakfast locations around the country and we drove to a different city every morning. I used my AmEx platinum points to make the reservations, so these were all well established locations and not some small couch in someone's attic.
One of our stops was in Inverness. Nice city on the water with quite a few shops, restaurants, and pubs. Next to Glasgow and Edinburgh, this was one of the bigger cities we stayed in (compared to Oban, Dalwhinnie, Narin, etc). I mention this because I have stayed in a few B&B at the time of this review and understand that there are some things you just won't get in a B&B that you would the Waldorf Astoria - or even the Hampton Inn.
To make this an easy review to navigate, I will separate this into 3 sections: The Good, The Meh and The Ugly.
The good:
- The Waverley Guest House is in the heart of the city - so getting around on foot isn't bad.
- there are a ton of restaurants and pubs nearby
- our room was clean and spacious (room #4)
- the room has a bathroom en suite
- breakfast was included
- the bathroom was very nice, and quite large for a B&B.
- the linens were soft, to include the towels.
The Meh:
- windows barely opened to get a cool breeze (it was stifling hot in our room when we got here; super hot temps this week)
- the bed is stiff, but in a cheap way.
- only given hand soap for your stay. No shampoo or conditioner. So, if you stay here don't forget yours
- no hair dryer
- no small welcome basket that seems to be the nice touch a majority of our B&B's have offered
- no restaurant on site (which is hit or miss)
- check out is early, 1030hrs. 30 min earlier than any of the other locations we have stayed at
- no close parking. You'll have to park on the street or in a parking garage 1/4 mile away
- the guy at the front desk was friendly enough, but only complained about how many hours he is working and how the breakfast would be determined by how late he worked that evening. In the morning he never said good morning to anyone, he just pushed through with the packaged rolls to refill at the breakfast station.
The Ugly:
- room 4 is adjacent to the alley. Seagulls and Scots kept us up all night, until past 3AM. Since there were no fans in the room or AC, we had to keep the windows cracked or we would have sweated all night. I slept a total of 2 hours, even as a very heavy sleeper that used melatonin and a pillow over their head. I'm not sure how other rooms were, but this one was horrible for the noise quality. If you're going to say, "well, you should have switched rooms", the other rooms faced the other side of the street where live music was blaring from across the street.
- the breakfast left a lot to be desired. Toast, croissants, coffee, and yogurt. That's it. Granted there are cafes near by, but the room rate for this place isn't cheap and I would have expected something a bit nicer. A roll / coffee put out on display isn't a 'breakfast'. Every other location we have stayed at has offered much more - even if the location was smaller and/or more remote.
I'm just glad that I am staying somewhere else tonight. I do not recommend this place to others. There are much nicer, quieter locations just on the other side of the river.
