Sam Residence Hotel

Fleas were on the toilet roll and in the room, and the staff didn’t even apologise. The place smelled awful, cleanliness wasn’t acceptable, and nobody helped us with parking locations. It should cease to exist. We checked out just five minutes after arriving.

The photos looked decent and it seemed close enough to the beach, so we chose it over a Premier Inn for our rare child-free night in Blackpool. We’d come to relax with my partner, watch the sunset and get fish and chips. The room looked nothing like the pictures: there was damp, mouldy mushrooms growing from the ceiling, and a horrible smell. I wouldn’t have used the shower or toilet. It was so bad we left and went home after a couple of hours on the pier and beach. I’d absolutely avoid this place.

The online pictures don’t look anything like the rooms now. They’re outdated and filthy. I lifted the blanket and found someone’s hair, so I don’t think they clean the sheets. The free WiFi barely worked and kept cutting out, and the TVs weren’t connected to anything and didn’t work. On arrival, the door said to ring the bell; I waited ten minutes, then opened what was supposed to be a secured locked door and went to reception. The sign there also said to ring and wait. I rang and waited another 15 minutes. Management apparently sent a woman who said she didn’t even work there to give me my key. I’d planned to stay longer, but after one night I made other arrangements. This place is mad sketch.

Good location, quiet, and about a five-minute walk from the beach and shops. The bedding and shower were clean. Still, I couldn’t justify giving it three stars. It feels like the owners and staff don’t care about the hotel. There were handwritten scraps everywhere, even for the Reception sign. It’s just a cheap place to sleep: the TV didn’t work, the carpet was sticky, the plastering dodgy, wallpaper peeling, and the furniture looked like charity shop finds. No hotel parking, though there are two spaces that staff seem to take. The car park down the road cost me £11 from 6pm to 11am. Not somewhere I’d pick for families or couples, but fine for a couple of young lads paying £15 each for a bed for the night.