The Winning Post

We booked a family room for me and a friend because we needed the space. The photos looked okay and the reviews were good, but we felt badly misled. Owner Jackie gave us no key and just pointed to a room at the back. Its door wouldn't close or lock. We thought it was tucked away through the kitchen and would be fine, but at 4am I got up to use the toilet and found a grown man sleeping in our room. My friend asked what he was doing there, thinking he'd wandered in drunk. He said the owner had sent him there. He woke Jackie, who came shouting, swearing and acting aggressively toward us, so we got ready and left. Later another guest told us Jackie had let herself into his locked room with a master key and got into bed with him and his wife. I don't know which of us got off lighter. The place was dirty and run-down. Avoid it, or you might find a fully clothed man or the owner in your bed in the middle of the night.

We were there from Friday to Sunday as a family of three, with our one-year-old daughter. The room at the winning post was small but clean and nice, and we brought our own travel cot, so everything seemed fine until checkout. Around 9:30 on Sunday morning, after my partner asked Jackie about the time, she said checkout was 10 but that we could stay until 11. Then she started swearing at him and saying he was selfish for being away on Father's Day, even though we were there together as a family with our daughter. She said she'd spoken to his parents, and he came back to the room shaken and told me we should leave. Jackie had been drinking. As we were leaving, the fire alarm went off because she'd been vaping. She came upstairs and abused us again. We had packed most of our things the night before, but with a baby and only two of us it took two trips. While I was carrying the baby and bags and my partner had the suitcase and more bags, Jackie stood at the top of the stairs and wouldn't let us pass, swearing at us. We were on the top floor, and I felt she might push me down the stairs. She had a frightening look, with nothing behind her eyes. She demanded the key. I calmly said we'd hand it over once we had the rest of our things out. When we returned the key, she followed me and my baby, suddenly acting sweet and saying, 'aw my baby, thank you so much.' I stopped her and said she'd been abusing and swearing at us for no reason, seemed drunk, and I didn't want her near my family, especially our baby. On Saturday she'd taken my daughter from my arms. I'd stay well away. The owner seemed crazy and drunk.

We slept comfortably and had no issues with the room during our two-night stay. The new owner welcomed us warmly, and the value for money was exceptional. Our daughter had her birthday while we were there, and the owner kindly gave her a gift, which we hadn't expected. We'll definitely look to come back.

We booked one night for 25th Jan to celebrate our baby's first birthday in Blackpool. Arriving after 5PM, we hadn't received check-in details, so we rang the bell. Nobody answered the door or the available phone numbers. We waited about half an hour outside in the cold with our child, knocking and ringing, and could see the foyer light on. Then the host called and said nobody had opened because they weren't there. They said there was an electrical problem and no electricity, though the foyer light was on. The person on the phone sounded drunk and offered a room next to the hotel, but it was run-down and awful. We were promised an immediate refund and an apology for not telling us, but there's been no reply or refund to this day. We had to drive around Blackpool at night with a one-year-old to find somewhere to stay. I've contacted the owner and Booking and am still waiting for the refund. Absolutely disgraceful. Stay away.