Barrington Lodge Hotel

The room smelled terrible, and the bathroom seemed like it might never have been cleaned. I took a ten-second shower in the morning, then found someone else's hair in a big knot inside my folded bath towel. I could barely stand to look at the pillows, which were dirty, and the fluids on the walls were anyone's guess. The main light was hanging by a couple of broken wires. We had nowhere else to go that night. We were ill, tired, it was late, and we had an early flight, so we stayed for the one night. On arrival, the hot, dishevelled and dirty reception in the middle of an estate made us quickly realize we'd made a huge mistake. We were told our room was lovely, though the TV didn't work. That turned out to be the least of our problems. There were old, dirty upholstered chairs, a table that wasn't level, broken drawers and a dirty area around the kettle. A noisy family nearby shouted and talked loudly, with children laughing or crying. We don't know who they were, perhaps the owners, but it was unwelcome when we had to be up at 5am. Please don't stay here. It was one of the worst experiences of my 60 years.

I booked a night so I could get to Gatwick Airport the next morning. I didn't really engage with the service, but had no complaints about it. The shower pressure was weak and the sink didn't drain properly. Otherwise, it was a good place.

We arrived easily after a late flight, driving about fifteen minutes from Gatwick. The entry instructions worked fine and caused no trouble. The building is beautiful, with the car park just downstairs. Our bedroom was fine and the bed very comfortable, though the place could use some care. We had a quiet, relaxing night, and appreciated the coffee station and two bottles of water. Very good for the price.

The warm room, clean bedding and convenient location were positives. But several other things made the stay unpleasant, so I can't recommend it. The fire door was propped open when we arrived and during our stay, which alarmed me. There was so much air freshener that it was overpowering; once the smell wore off overnight, it seemed to have been covering up smoke. The main surfaces and bedding were clean, but other areas had dirt and dust, including the skirting boards, around the bed, curtains and walls. The bathroom ledge had a collection of hairs, and there were damaged walls and broken light fittings. It didn't look as though those areas had been cleaned regularly for a very long time, if ever.