The Queens Hotel

The location is good, but I may have dodged a bullet by not staying. We booked months ahead for a weekend trip and were turned away at the desk by two rude, unhelpful receptionists. They didn’t even look at my reservation, spoke to each other in another language, and refused us. We went back to show the Booking.com reservation and got the same response. We had to scramble for last-minute accommodation, then they marked us as a no-show that evening. I spent hours on the phone with the hotel and Booking.com, and still haven’t received a refund. The hotel hung up when I asked to speak to a manager. Booking.com said it couldn’t refund us without the hotel’s permission because we’d been marked as a no-show. I disputed the charge with my bank, but they got the same response from the hotel. Booking.com also said the hotel had been taken over and they couldn’t access previous CCTV footage, while the hotel told me they did have it. People at the hotel I ended up staying at said I was lucky I didn’t stay, as the place was being used as temporary accommodation at the time, rather than only for hotel guests.

The room was clean, the bed comfortable, and one of the better showers we’ve had in a small hotel. We stayed over Easter weekend when the hotel was full, and the balcony was a nice surprise. The couple were very nice and accommodating when we asked for more milk. The location is perfect, and I’ll definitely book again.

The location is the one thing this place has going for it. The room cost £155 a night, and the condition was awful: dust and dirt everywhere, badly stained carpets, and mould on the wall beside one side of the bed. The kettle was left on the floor by the door with two dirty mugs, but no spoons, teabags or coffee. There were only two sockets, one near the door and another high up. In the ensuite, the shower wasn’t fixed to the wall and a piece of its rose fitting was missing, leaving a hole in the tiles. We did get hot water, but of the rolled towels in the drawer, two were already wet and another was dirty. The bed and bedding did at least look clean and fresh. We arrived to angry, loud customers arguing at reception, and heard more rows while we got ready to go out. The hotel provided none of the amenities its policy said it would, and the place felt very unsanitary. The next morning at 8am, I got an email from Booking.com thanking me for my review, even though I hadn’t left one. When I spoke to them, the hotel admitted it had used my reservation and PIN to give itself a 10 rating in the app. Shocking. It’s a shame because the location is great. I’ve stayed in £17-a-night B&Bs in Blackpool that were cleaner and better equipped. I have video and photos of everything in this review.

There was no privacy in the bathroom: the sliding door couldn’t close because a floor stopper blocked it. The bathroom curtain was dirty and full of holes, and the wardrobe looked as if it hadn’t been cleaned in months. The toilet was disgusting, so I had to ask staff to come and clean it. We also had no towels when we asked, and there were no tea or coffee facilities. The lift was out of order. The rooms looked nothing like the booking pictures, and there was no bedside table or light. Other guests we spoke to outside said their rooms were filthy too and that the staff were rude. Wouldn’t recommend.