The Arran

It’s been a few years since I stayed here with my autistic teenage son, but the experience has bothered me ever since. We paid for three nights, though my son wasn’t really enjoying it. The room itself was okay, but the bathroom off the stairs was really unclean. I told them we’d leave a day early. I wasn’t expecting a refund, but they still made us leave at 10am even though we’d already paid for that whole next 24 hours. Shocking. Never again.

My stay with ARRAN was really good. The owners are friendly and helpful, the prices are reasonable, and the rooms are clean and cosy. The location is excellent for me, with two beaches close by and shops around.

The WiFi worked and the TV was fine, but after that this room was a miserable place to spend a night. I booked the last room at the Arran the evening before our trip for a last-minute night away with my children, aged 10, 8 and 6. We stayed there last night under my name, Jamie Hoyland. The woman at check-in was polite and helpful, but said no staff stayed on the premises overnight, which felt strange and a bit unsettling in case of an emergency. Our room was at the top after many very steep flights of stairs, and I wouldn’t recommend it for children. The shared bathroom was a flight down, with one bath and one toilet but no sink. That’s pretty gross when you can’t wash your hands after using the toilet, and neither could anyone before you. The floor was uneven and lifting. I’d have preferred a proper sanitary bin too, as I didn’t feel comfortable using the pedal bins in a shared bathroom. Worst of all, there was no lock on the door. I had to escort the children to the toilet and hold the door shut, bracing it with my foot while trying to pee and hoping the elderly gentleman in the next room wouldn’t walk in. We couldn’t have bathed there, so I’m glad it was only one night. The tea and coffee setup was okay and the latte glasses were clean, but my daughter’s drinking glass was dusty around the rim and looked as if it had sat there for ages. She used my water bottle instead. We got no sleep because the window was broken and its lock had fallen off. It wouldn’t shut properly, the wind howled all night, and the curtains blew around. The old, filthy rail made them hard to close, and we were freezing. The window seemed so unsafe, with my children’s single beds right beside it. Please don’t put children in that room until it’s fixed and safe. The skirting boards were filthy with dust and muck, and the place looked as if it hadn’t been painted in years. At 9pm, I saw a woman on the landing collecting a spider from her clothes in a pot. It’s a shame, because with some care, a proper cleaner and a repair person, this could be a lovely hotel. We didn’t have breakfast, so I can’t comment on it. I expected little for £60, but cleanliness and safety shouldn’t be too much to expect. The man who took my keys as we left barely grumbled out two words. The bedding didn’t smell dirty, but it definitely didn’t smell fresh. My grandparents would have walked straight back out. If you have OCD, stay clear. My standards aren’t too high, but gosh, that window made noise all night. I’m glad to be home, warm in my own bed and able to sleep peacefully without feeling like I’m in a vortex. The children are glad too. Staff, please sleep in room 7 tonight and you’ll see what I mean.

The rooms are cheap, tatty and basic, and you get what you pay for. The staff were friendly enough and breakfast was okay. The decor looked like the 1980s and was falling to bits. Rooms 7, 8 and 9 are up six flights of stairs.