Strathmore Hotel

We left in the early hours after a miserable night, and I’d never stay here again. The hotel is in a good seafront location with parking, but it’s old, dated and needs a general overhaul. Our basic room had a broken bed base, though we didn’t know until we got into bed. We were already in our pyjamas, so decided to put up with it and mention it in the morning. At about 11.30pm, we woke to someone walking around upstairs. The floorboards were so loud and creaky that we couldn’t sleep. It went on for over an hour, then the shower and toilet flushing were also extremely noisy. At 12.45, we got dressed and packed to go to reception, but nobody was there, so we left the key and headed home. I emailed twice to complain and got no reply. It ruined the weekend.

The hotel is a little dated, but the friendly, helpful staff make up for that. Breakfast was great. Unfortunately, the restaurant isn’t operating at the moment because they don’t have a chef, so there’s no lunch or dinner.

The staff were pleasant, though one person at reception was rolling cigarettes, which felt very unprofessional. The hotel is quite tired, but things did improve after a rough start. At night I could hear footsteps above and even yawning in the next room, the walls are that thin. There were no hooks or anywhere to hang a towel, and the fan switch was above the door where I couldn't reach it. Breakfast was nothing special, but you get what you pay for.

We found the lounge clean and relaxing, with a lovely view across the Bay. Breakfast was good and the dining room had plenty of space. The staff were friendly and helpful.