Ashfield Hotel

I was desperate for a hotel room for the night and hoped this would at least be acceptable. Reception was a ring doorbell with an old-fashioned telephone beside it. After I finally emailed photos of my ID, I got into a room that looked nothing like the pictures. The signal was dreadful, so I could barely take a call, and there was a horrible smell coming from somewhere. Milk had been left on the counter in the warm room, so it would have gone off, and the door locks felt flimsy as a sheet of A4 paper. We left within 15 minutes. When I asked for a refund, they hung up on me. Poor rooms and poor customer service. I’d rather have slept in the back seat of my car.

For a short stay, the hotel did the job. The room was clean and spacious, the bed very comfortable, and the shower easy to use and refreshing. There was no breakfast, but a small kitchen with a microwave and fridge. My only complaint was that the TV remote needed new batteries. There were some nice touches too, including art decor pieces.

Worst place I’ve ever not stayed in! Two days before our booking, I got a call offering a “free upgrade”. When we arrived there was nobody at reception and no check-in information. Eventually I reached someone by phone and found the safe with the room key. The room was filthy, with old, tatty furniture. I wrote my complaint in the dust. Light fittings had exposed wires, the main switch also turned on the fan in February, and an old rug was a serious trip hazard. The bathroom wasn’t as pictured and certainly wasn’t an upgrade: the sink and tap were loose, the water was cloudy and dirty, and the buttons on the dirty spa bath didn’t work. Worst of all was the sewage smell, so we left straight away. There was nobody at reception to complain to, and the staff member on the phone wasn’t interested and cut me off mid-sentence.

The location is perfect, not far from the city centre. The room was spacious and had a nice flat-screen TV. It was cool enough without a fan. There was an old can and biscuit wrapper behind the bed and lamp table, and it needed a bit more cleaning, with cobwebs and a spider. The manager called to check whether we were still coming as it was getting late, then welcomed us warmly and gave us the keys.