Clifton Hotel

The bathroom smelled so strongly of bleach it made me nauseous, and the room had an overpowering stench like old trainers, sweaty feet or pungent blue cheese. This was the worst hotel experience I’ve ever had. I’d made a last-minute one-night booking through the hotel website in Bristol, and the smell hit me as soon as I checked in that evening. I went to Reception. The staff agreed the room smelled, but at first refused to move me and asked me to wait while they re-cleaned and aired it out. When I returned, the smell was still there, now covered with so much air freshener that the mix made me feel ill. I said I couldn’t sleep there and asked for a refund, another room, or a transfer to a sister hotel. They said no, explaining that because I’d checked in, they couldn’t resell the room and couldn’t give a full refund. Reception also said they had no authority to approve refunds. I spent a few hours arguing at Reception instead of going out for dinner. They kept me waiting while supposedly calling the manager for instructions. At one point they suggested their sister hotel, but said I’d have to pay an extra fee because it was more expensive, or else claimed they were fully booked. It took about two hours and a lengthy argument in the lobby, where other guests could hear us, before they finally firmly committed to a full refund. The reception staff were polite enough, but seemed completely powerless to help, which made the whole thing incredibly frustrating. Charging £125 a night for a room that smells like an old gym locker is staggering. I moved to a proper 4-star hotel near the city centre for £114 and had a perfectly pleasant stay. If you don’t want to risk being stuck in a foul-smelling room with no easy way to get your money back, stay away.