Bay Tree House

The studio at the back of the building was absolutely fantastic. My mother and aunt stayed in a room inside the building and liked it, though they mentioned some traffic noise at night. The studio was on another level. I live in Oz and plan to come back to Bath in 2 or 3 years. I'll book well ahead to get the same place. I hope this review doesn't mean the studio gets fully booked for ages! ;-)

Louise was lovely and helpful, with great suggestions for places to visit. She also let us leave our bags there after checkout in the morning, before our evening bus. My friend and I had a twin room on the top floor of this clean, nicely set-up Georgian house, about 15 minutes' walk from Bath centre. We had a shared bathroom, enough room for our things, and even a small TV. One window opened fully, looking out over the neighbouring houses and the large car park. I'd definitely recommend staying here.

The beds were extremely uncomfortable, and our backs suffered for weeks after the holiday. The room smelled, and although we kept the window open during the day, road traffic right below it meant we couldn't leave it open at night. The hall was dark and smelly too, and the number carved into the dark leather key ring was hard to see. There was no clear explanation of which floors were private and which were for guests. I was vulnerable and used the first toilet I could find, only to learn later it was private. They should put the room number in the welcome letter so guests aren't left guessing. That letter mostly listed city restaurants, which we could easily have found using technology. We were promised a parking space or permit but arrived to find none. It came too late for us to get to our room on time. Communication before arrival was lacking, and the welcome itself wasn't pleasant. There was no humanity in how we were treated. We will never book a room with hosts in the house again.

The room was lovely, with a comfortable bed and a nice modern bathroom, close to Bath's attractions. There wasn't breakfast, but they left fruit and yoghurt in the fridge, which was nice. The refreshment tray was well stocked, though we couldn't use any of it because the kettle was badly corroded and its filter was falling apart into the water. I would have liked more contact with the owner during our stay. Self check-in and checkout felt very impersonal.