Harrowgate Hill Lodge

This is a practical, affordable place if you just need somewhere for a night or two. The room was basic but functional, with a slight musty smell that wasn't overwhelming or enough to affect my stay. There was a small soap bar in the bathroom, though I'd bring my own toiletries for more comfort. Shared fridges and microwaves in the common area are useful if you want to store or prepare your own food. A good budget option for a short stay.

We stayed as a couple with our dog and appreciated the big room, with plenty of space for a large dog and no extra charge for bringing one. There was lots of parking, public transport into the town centre was easy, and the location was good. The room was very clean, with fresh towels and a comfy bed that felt great after a long journey. It was hot inside despite the day being only around 18 degrees, and the fan provided wasn't quite enough for a good night's sleep. There was also a cigarette smell even though the room was marked non-smoking. For the price, quiet setting and cleanliness, it's well worth staying, and we'll return when we're next in the area.

Getting here from the A1 was easy, parking was free, and it was pretty quiet. There's a pub 50 metres away doing excellent food, plus a night porter/security. A few minor things brought it down to average: no standard toiletries in the bathroom, wooden stirrers instead of spoons, and no food on site beyond things like crisps. If you want breakfast, bring cereal and milk or a sandwich.

We'd been house hunting after the Airbnb we wanted fell through, so we needed a cheap hotel and didn't expect much. The staff were really nice and I think they're dealing with a difficult situation, but I wouldn't stay here again. We finally checked out a day early, once my boyfriend was well enough to leave. He got food poisoning and was too ill to move after the first night, so we couldn't leave then. I asked a staff member about a refund for the remaining days if I checked out, and he politely said I'd need to speak with the manager. I was too tired from caring for my sick boyfriend and everything else I had to do during the day to follow that up. Those were the worst nights of sleep I've ever had. The room smelled musty and like pee. At least the sheets were clean, and the shower worked fine, but the chair had a hole and was very dirty, the carpet smelled musty and had a stain, and the furniture looked as if it hadn't been cleaned in years. There were questionable dried liquid stains on the unit by the bed. The mirror above the dresser-like unit was streaked, and there was a weird sticky patch on the headboard that kept catching my hair. The mattress was so hard it hurt to sleep on. I asked for a duvet to put on top, which helped a little. The bathroom was okay, though the tile grout was dirty and the sink's hot tap was scalding. There was only a small bar of soap for washing your hands or showering. The hotel's decor is very old and dated, and there were always questionable people hanging around smoking outside. I also did a Google search and found it was being used to house emergency homeless people. I saw that it had housed youth offenders in 2011 and then changed to over-18s. If you don't mind staying in a hotel full of offenders, then stay, but I wouldn't. The man in the room next to us would randomly swear and shout, and he blasted some really bad music. I heard him talking about heroin on the phone. Staff did knock and ask him to keep the noise down, saying the night porter was there. I think the owner needs to rethink mixing regular guests with homeless offenders, and the place badly needs a refurb, since it clearly hasn't been decorated in a long time. My advice is to stay away. They should take the leap and turn it into a full-on homeless offender hostel. The only saving grace was leaving, and the pub next door was a nice place to chill and get away from the hotel.