The Altavia Hotel

The breakfast was a miserable excuse for an English breakfast: one sausage, one egg, a crusty hash brown and some beans, with no bacon at all. There was banging all night, bad enough that someone from the room below came up to ask what was going on. The room itself was tiny and covered in stripes, flowers and horses, which made everything feel old-fashioned. We had to haul our suitcases up three flights of stairs, and the bathroom door was falling apart. In the shower, water went straight onto the floor because it faced the curtain, so I had to hold the shower head the whole time. The single bed made a surprising amount of noise, though the beds were otherwise alright. Other people told me theirs had stains and mold. I was there for a residential trip and wouldn't go back. The hotel felt more like a camp than a hotel, and no activity would make that stay worthwhile. I'd choose the Premier Inn near the beach instead. And I still can't believe just how many stripes were everywhere.

Getting out of the hotel and down to the beach quickly was its only saving grace. Over the week there were several serious problems: my ground-floor room had a broken window, a student's bathroom door came off its wall, and an unsheathed saw was found under a child's bed. Meals were so small and disappointing that students and staff were left hungry after each one. The owner was yelling at my students when we first arrived for the residential trip. On our last morning, at 7:30am, he was yelling personal and professional insults at me. It was a miserable way to end the stay.

Our school stayed here for a residential trip, and I wouldn't have come if I'd known what it would be like. There were four of us in the room and hardly any space to move, so we had to shuffle around. Someone said there was mold on the sheets, and the bunk bed mattress had a stain. There was crust around the toilet flush, and the shower area was tiny. It kept switching off before we were finished, so we had to use a spare room. We also had to carry our luggage up two flights of stairs when we arrived.

Breakfast was generous and tasty, and the staff and service were top-notch. John was especially kind. The shared seating space and dining room look out toward the ocean in the distance, which makes for a lovely setting. Rooms have a Victorian-era feel, while the ensuite bathrooms are retrofitted and a bit cramped.