Black Lion

My first time at the black lion was the other day. The gentleman behind the bar gave me such a warm welcome that I’ll definitely be back for another pint soon. Cheers to the black lion for the hospitality, and to Charlie!

The room was worth more than what we paid. The stairs and hallway could use a refurb, but the pub was good, with friendly customers and good staff.

The location worked well, with pubs and restaurants close by, and the shower was good. Service was excellent too. My room was rather small, bijou perhaps, and I would have liked a bedside table on my side of the bed.

I never got to stay, and the whole thing was horrible. I’d booked two rooms for five grown men through Booking.com. The day before arrival I messaged to ask about the latest check-in time, and was told there was a plumbing problem in one room. They said they were trying to fix it, but might have to put all five of us in one very cramped room. If I hadn’t contacted them, would I have turned up to find they couldn’t honour the booking? I messaged early the next morning and was told the repair was still ongoing and they’d keep me updated. A few hours later they said they couldn’t honour the booking, so I had to find another hotel. They offered to refund me directly, asked for my details, and promised to send a receipt right away. I kept chasing but heard nothing back. In the end, I had to go through Booking.com to cancel and get my money back, which took two weeks. I suspect the hotel didn’t want to cancel because they wanted to keep the money. I wouldn’t recommend staying here.