The Podworks Hotel

The staff were great, but even they had trouble finding us a room with working air con and hot water. It took five room attempts to get the air conditioning sorted, then the shower had no hot water. Avoid if you need the basics in your room.

We paid £215 for a Valentine’s night and left not long after arriving. The corridor smelled awful, and the room was worse. It was tiny and cramped, nothing like the bright, spacious, modern rooms shown in the online photos. What we got didn’t match what was advertised, and the quality felt nowhere near worth the price. I know Valentine’s rates can be higher, but £215 for a room usually around £40 a night is shocking. This was meant to be our first special Valentine’s together, but the stay ruined the evening and we didn’t feel comfortable staying overnight. When I raised it by email and tried to speak to the manager, she was very rude, misrepresented what we’d said in the complaint, and didn’t help or seem to care that we’d wasted our money. Very disappointing. I wouldn’t recommend it.

I managed one night, then left because I couldn’t stand the awful smell in the bedroom. It smelled like something dead, perhaps mice, rats, or something else in the floorboards. The room had no windows to open and air it out. Staff didn’t seem to care when I complained, and wouldn’t offer another room or a refund. They said the place was fully booked, but I checked online and rooms were still available. Disgusting to let guests stay in that room. I wouldn’t recommend this hotel.

A very kind and lovely lady worked there, and the location was good. The internet wasn’t great, and there was a strange smell in the room that might be helped by better ventilation. Apart from that, it was nice.