The Xxxxx Guest House in Xxxxxxxxxxx - my stay reviewed
Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2012-10-20 10:08:29 - Graham EllisWe run a hotel. And because I teach training courses away, I stay at lots of other hotels too. That gives me an excellent opportunity to learn about how others do it ... to come back with ideas to adopt, and things which we should take care to avoid. Such feedback is valuable for us and for our team at Well House Manor as it helps us do even better - just as we enjoy getting other feedback and ideas by watching TV programs such as "Four in a Bed". I have written the following review in such a way that the establishment will remain anonymous; whist I received excellent value and just might stay again (near to where I sometimes train, good night's sleep, close to takeaways) it's not all positive and probably wouldn't be seen as good publicity!
Enough of the pre-amble
I can't expect a 35 pound a night room to come up to the standards of a 85 pound room, can I? So I'm going to comment rather than complain at the lack of en-sute facilties, the lack of a desk to work at, the "slight" version of the continental breakfast, the lack of a front door bell ("knock the letter box" you learn later) the creaky floorboards, "we have no parking - you should be OK in one of the residential streets around here", and the front door ("please lock behind you") which was so stiff or had a knack I couldn't get. For the price, what I got was considerable, and fulfilled my needs. Very old fashioned (cash rather than card), not especially business guest friendly (not VAT registered, teddy bears and dolls occupying the chair!), but based on my Monday night stay, I would stay there again.
On Tuesday, I couldn't stay over - a Chamber of Commerce meeting meant that I had a long commute home and back to where I was training.
On Wednesday, I had prebooked the same place, but this time found myself - for two nights - in their new 'luxury log cabin'. Now that was a real surprise to me in a tight-packed Victoria Terrace area of a big old town, hard by the massive retaining walls of the railway embankment (which is now a footpath, so no train noises!). My over-critical eye noted a few things (hey - I'm in the trade so I'm tuned to them!) - the ash tray on the patio beside the cabin door which had the previous guest's butts still floating in rainwater in it, and the "mood" lighting which made it pretty darned impractical to read were little things. Returning at the end of the second day at work, my cabin had been serviced (good), but I was shocked to find that it hadn't been relocked and the admittedly-little I had left there was open for a casual walkin theft - and it should be born in mind that the cabin is in the accessible garden, and not within the hotel behind any other door.
On my second morning, I rose early - to discover when I went to shower that my shower mat and large towel had been cleared the previous day ... and not replaced. OK - little slipup, and I did still have a handtowel that provided a little drying capability. And I noticed that the two hospitality tray mugs had shrunk to one. Then I'm in the shower, and an insistent knock on the door is heard; covering as best as possible, i unlock the door and - with an apology - I'm handed a larger towel and bathmat with a "sorry - overlooked" comment from the proprietor. Nice gesture / good follow up when he or his partner discovered the error. Huge shame that they [towels] stank of his tobacco smoke, which I learned to my distaste as I dried.
Did I raise the matter of the door being unlocked with the proprietors? I was going to, but no. As I paid that morning, I asked where I should drop off the key when I was done - "through the letter box?". "Oh - just leave it in the lock, we've never had any trouble" was their reply, and that was my signal that they were at least aware (and could take casually) the security.
For 35 pounds for the second and third nights then? Yes, again a good deal. I actually prefer the security of an inside room, the ability to get to my room without having to pick my way over stepping stones over the sodden garden, and light enough to read papers without eyestrain. But would I have stayed in the log cabin with Lisa at the double rack rate of 80 pounds? That's getting rather close to our 95 for a double. Perhaps I would with the dogs - after all, I found the hotel on a per friendly site. But one small problem - I mentioned this to the proprietess to find out whether 1.5 greyhounds and 0.5 staffie would be a bit much, and she told me "we DID once allow some dogs to stay BUT ..." and apparently the experience is not something she wished to repeat. Indeed, she asked me to let her know where they were listed as per friendly, because they ain't. You can't believe everything you read online!