The Westbourne House

We booked two rooms for a one-night stay. The family room had a shared bathroom that wasn’t clean, and the toilet was disgusting. There were no toiletries in either room’s shower room, no bath mat or water glasses, not enough towels, and no spoons for tea and coffee. The little milk pots were turning. The bed was fairly comfortable, but we’d thought breakfast was included in the price, and it wasn’t.

The food came back on a new cold plate after they simply removed a long black hair, even though I’d already cut into it and could tell it was the same food. I’m a qualified chef, and replacing it entirely is basic food hygiene. We had no idea when booking that the shower was communal, with no private one. Our private toilet was filthy, the seat wasn’t attached, there were stains and urine on it from the previous guest, and marks on the wall that looked like blood. The cups hadn’t been cleaned either, so we didn’t use the tea and coffee facilities. The TV remote wouldn’t connect, and the so-called sea view was just the backs of other run-down hotels. Overall, Faulty Towers would have been better.

The room was dark and dingy, far too small, and the bed was awful. I could feel every spring just by resting my head on it. The sheet was old and dirty, and I had to put three pillows on the mattress so my five-year-old could lie down. The bathroom was small and not very clean. When I arrived, they asked me to order breakfast for the next morning; I was early, so leaving my bags and coming back at 10pm after being told I couldn’t check in until 2pm was fine. But music was still blaring at 11.40pm in this family b&b, and the fire alarm went off at midnight with no staff member knowing how to turn it off. We grabbed our bags and left for another hotel. I tried calling the next morning, as requested, to explain why we’d left, but got no answer. After five days trying to reach a manager, I finally got through. They were extremely rude, said I was lying and had changed my “story”, then hung up. PLEASE PLEASE AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

If you only need a roof over your head, the location is very central. We didn’t see the host after arriving, even though we tried ringing the bell as instructed, and had to buy our own toilet roll. The shower got hot but had very little pressure. It was filthy, covered in mould and in a cramped cubicle. Our room was absolutely freezing, and all night we could hear the toilet system when other people used their toilets. The room was supposed to have a sea view, but it definitely didn’t. Breakfast was meant to be included, but there was no sign of the host or any breakfast in the morning.