Hatherley Studio Lets by RoomsBooked

I won't be coming back. The shared toilet on our landing reeked of stale urine, which was stomach-churning. The beds were comfortable enough and the oddly placed shower was adequate, but the radiator gurgled all night and needed bleeding. It was very hot along the bottom, too. There wasn't a wardrobe for our clothes. When we arrived, three foreign-speaking women were sitting on the landing outside our room, tapping on their phones. It wasn't a pleasant experience.

The room was basic but as expected, clean and warm, and the blackout curtains worked well. But the TV was stuck on bb2, and there's no door catch, so you have to take your key whenever you use the shared bathroom or you'll lock yourself out. The doors slam, making the room noisy and leaving me worried the door could burst open at any moment. Squeaky floorboards upstairs kept me awake, too. They also took a £100 bond when I arrived at the complex, which I hadn't been told about before booking.

The room was above standard, with a usable kitchenette, tea-making facilities, and enough crockery, plates and cutlery for a hot drink or takeaway. The kettle, though, was filthy inside and clearly hadn't been used for months. I cleaned the offending inner part by boiling it thoroughly. For the money, this cheap-by-modern-standards accommodation is a decent deal, but only just. It puts you in a convenient spot for Cheltenham, though it's in a very congested residential area and doesn't have the charm of a nice hotel. I'd have gone elsewhere if I'd known the front door code wouldn't arrive by SMS to my mobile phone until 2:00pm. Once inside, there was no reception or sign of anyone around. To get my room key, I had to find a tiny key safe and enter another code. I later helped a young Japanese Cyclist who was trying to get into my room because two separate neighboring properties had identical room numbers, which made the system confusing.

The place was clean otherwise, but the shower drains need attention. I shared a twin room with a friend, and the shower was oddly right beside her bed, so we agreed to look the other way. Its drain was blocked, meaning we couldn't shower for long without flooding the room. The hall bathroom was flooded as well, so this clearly wasn't an isolated issue. You get what you pay for.