Anchor Inn

We didn’t stay in the rooms, just came for a meal, and were very disappointed. There was nothing I wanted on the menu, so I ordered two starters to go with my companions’ mains. My soup arrived warm with a thick skin on top. I sent it back, but it came back two minutes later still warm and skinned, so I asked them to take it off the bill. The other dish, Brie and cranberry, was only warm too, but I ate it because I was so hungry. We were the only group in the entire restaurant, which I now understand. The other three said their meals were okay. I wouldn’t return. I did wonder how hard it could be to heat up soup.

The room was cosy, though the door handle was nearly falling off. Things were fine until the second morning, when everyone seemed to have disappeared at breakfast. The room was locked and there was nobody around to help. Someone in another review described something similar but eventually got breakfast, unlike us. The old emergency numbers were no help, so we had to go to a local cafe instead. Not a good impression.

I had a bad experience, to be honest. I spent the night and bought a meal, but they haven’t provided the VAT receipt they promised. They ignore my emails and hang up when I call. It’s very rude and astonishingly unprofessional, and I certainly wouldn’t recommend this place for business travellers. The room had broken furniture and the meal was pretty average. Like others, I’m puzzled by the reviews. Anyway, there we are.

Breakfast is basic: muesli, scrambled egg or a cold cheese and meat plate, with no buffet or other hot food. The pub could be good, but the manager needs to get a grip or it’ll keep getting a bad reputation. The room we booked over Christmas and Boxing Day was confirmed by email with breakfast included. On Christmas Day there was no one around, no breakfast and nobody to ask. I understand staffing Christmas is difficult, but we would have brought food if we’d known. There’s nowhere nearby to get anything, so we went hungry. On Boxing Day one person was there and we got breakfast. He said we should have received an email about Christmas, but we hadn’t. He also said it was on the website, but it wasn’t, and no one told us when we checked in. It felt like another example of the place not being looked after. We nearly got trapped in the empty restaurant on Christmas too, when the door handle came off in my hand. The pub has been decorated nicely at some point, but it seems the current owner is letting things fall apart. Our room had only two hooks for clothes, with no wardrobe or drawers, so everything had to stay in the suitcase. There was no toilet paper or holder, and the bathroom glass shelf was falling off the wall. When I reported the shelf because I was worried it would shatter, I was told it had been like that for months. The movable shower head’s holder was broken off too, and that looked like it had been broken for a while. The mattress was old, hard and uncomfortable, with springs you could feel. The duvet was too short to cover both your upper body and feet. The towels were falling apart, and the room wasn’t cleaned at all during our three-night stay. There was no TV remote either; eventually someone found one. Between that and the missing toilet paper, it was clear the room wasn’t being checked and prepared for guests.