Coquetvale Hotel

The room itself was good, but the way we were treated by the owners completely spoiled the stay. I’ve never encountered hoteliers who spoke to customers like that. They seemed to have no people skills, which is pretty important in hospitality, and I was shocked by the whole experience. I wouldn’t return. We arrived with high hopes because the hotel had recently reopened under new management and had good online reviews. Instead, we found the owners rude and felt unwelcome from the moment we walked in. When I asked about booking an evening meal, I was told the restaurant was closed. They took offence when I asked about it. We ate in town, and since we’d been told the bar would be open when we got back, we returned shortly before 10pm for a drink. Two of their 'locals' were outside by the closed bar door. They said the owners were friends of theirs and that they were always welcome in the bar, then followed us into the entrance. One owner told them bluntly to leave, and they went without any fuss. Since it was still fairly early, we decided to go back into town for a drink too. The next morning I went to check whether anything was still due on the bill. The owner immediately accused my partner and me of being drunk at 10pm the night before. We’d had only two glasses of wine after meeting family in town. He wouldn’t listen and kept speaking aggressively, saying he didn’t want 'our kind of people in his hotel' and wanted us gone. I said we wouldn’t be having breakfast, and he replied, "good, I want you to leave now". We left without eating. Breakfast looked like it was continental anyway. The owners are extremely rude for no reason. I was surprised by what people in town told us about the hotel and them. The very positive reviews here and what we heard locally were completely at odds with our experience. I also can’t see the hotel trading much longer with their attitude. I’ve seen FB comments where they say the town is against them and people are being homophobic. That’s rubbish. It’s 2024, not the 60s. We treat people as we find them and live in a very accepting, diverse community.

We enjoyed the breakfast and had a good stay overall. Our room wasn’t quite ready when my partner and I arrived, but the owner/manager made us feel welcome and offered us a drink while we waited. Lovely hotel and excellent service, especially for anyone with eclectic tastes.