Riverside

The place was disgusting, and I think it should be condemned. To get in, you have to call a number and wait for someone to let you through. There were no staff on site, and the staff member I did see seemed high on something, though I couldn’t say what. The hotel was infested with woodworm, and the rooms with bedbugs. Everything was truly outdated. The pictures show tea-making facilities, but there weren’t any in the room I was shown. There was no breakfast either. It’s rated three stars, which I can’t understand. I didn’t book under the name I use here.

The room was very clean, and to their credit the staff were friendly and efficient. But there were several things that put me off. The staff smoked heavily, and the car park was filthy, with rubbish including a soiled nappy. The hotel dates back to 1604 and has a charming old building, though one of its two large windows was in the bathroom, leaving anyone on the street able to see in. We stayed for two nights. I went down hoping for a nightcap, but there was nobody at the bar. Breakfast was a generous portion of a typical fry-up, but the tables hadn’t been cleared, and someone else’s leftovers were still there when we sat down.

The breakfast was lovely, and the staff were very friendly. The building itself is nice and old, but the rooms were awful. There were stains on the ceiling and up the walls, with cobwebs everywhere. The bed was hard and uncomfortable, and there was only one pillow. I work in housekeeping, so I know clean cups and mugs matter. Ours weren’t replaced with clean ones, and housekeeping didn’t leave new coffee sachets. The heating was on in our room, making it unbearably hot.

The hosts are really nice, and they make a good breakfast. For the low cost, I’d say it’s good value. It’s only a five-minute walk from the city centre, in a very old house with lots of character. The rooms are a bit small and the staircase is narrow, as you’d expect in an old place. A couple of basic things, like toiletries, were missing and could easily be added.