The Ship Hotel

I went for a meal last week, the first time since the change of owners, and it was awful. The sirloin was gristly, the burger had no taste, and the chips were soggy. I didn’t complain at the time, though we should have, as it had been a long day. It used to be great.

My room at the Ship Hotel was adorable. It was small, but I only needed somewhere to sleep, and I slept incredibly well. The bathroom was beautifully clean and had everything for a shower, including hair and conditioner. This quirky place serves delicious, affordable food, has functions, free wifii and parking, though you need to check in for parking. Breakfast was included in my room price, which was cheaper than Premier/Holiday Inn. There’s heating, a fan blower, an extra duvet if needed, and plenty of tea, milk, coffee and biscuits. The water system growls after you flush the loo, another quirky touch. I’m looking forward to future visits, as my friend recently moved nearby.

The room was still vacant, and it showed as available on both booking.com and the hotel’s website. I was only ten minutes away, so I called at 7:30 pm to book. A polite young man told me they weren’t taking bookings. When I asked why they wouldn’t take me if the room was free, he said the manager wouldn’t accept any more bookings. I asked to speak to the manager, but was told they were eating and couldn’t talk. The man on the phone agreed the policy didn’t make sense, and I don’t blame him for being stuck explaining it. Turning away someone who just wants a room while vacancies are available is bizarre, and leaves staff in an unfair, awkward position. Such a backwards policy. Weird place.

I’ll come back since I’m local, just not on a busy day. The Sunday style roast was excellent, and the cosy space was lovely on a twixmas day. Service let it down, though. The staff didn’t seem to be paying much attention to customers, and it felt like management hadn’t trained or supported them well enough, or given them enough breaks to manage the restaurant during the busiest season.