Thornfield Guest House

It's a quiet place in a great location, and the room looked like the pictures. It was bigger than it seemed, too. The WiFi was fast and reliable. Parking was a bit hard to manage. The room and linen were fairly clean. The bed was okay, but the pillows were very thin and uncomfortable.

The bedroom and bathroom were a good size, and we paid £226 for six nights, including a full weekend, which was great value. It's a cosy little guest house in a quiet spot, just a short walk from the city centre. I'd happily stay again and recommend it. The room's heating temperature couldn't be adjusted, and the bathroom floor and mattress could use replacing.

The biggest issue was the bathroom listing. Expedia described it as private, so my partner and I understood that to mean an en-suite, as most people would. Instead, it was a separate room beside the other rooms. We had the only key, fair enough, but it should've been listed as external, like the other guest houses. We couldn't relax and had to get changed in a tiny, cramped, dirty bathroom. When I raised this, staff kept repeating, “you won’t get a refund,” instead of apologising. The manager was professional but stubborn and not understanding. He told us to contact Expedia because they had misadvertised it, and took no responsibility. Expedia agreed with us and gave us a £25 voucher, which was kind, but they also said the owner controls how the place is advertised. The room was depressing and poorly maintained. There was just a kettle, no hairdryer, shampoo, soap, or bathroom floor towel. The toilet wouldn't flush, which was unhygienic. The bed was actually comfortable, but there was a strong paint smell, even though the place looked like it hadn't been decorated in years. We arrived at about 2:05 pm for check-in and waited until around 2:35 to be let in. The manager said staff had “gone to the shops.” Nobody apologised for the wait.

“Free parking” means finding a free spot on a nearby street. The toilet and shower weren't attached to the room, but across the hall. The caretaker didn't seem to be having her best day. The room was tiny and badly designed, the bed was old and uncomfortable, and there was no air conditioning. It's on a busy, noisy street, there's no breakfast, and it was totally overpriced.