The Castle Hotel

Red kites come into the garden in the morning, and there’s unlimited tea and coffee during your stay. The family room is great too. It’s a quiet, well appointed hotel, surely one of the best near Brecon, and perfectly placed for the area’s best sightseeing, the Hay Festival and everything else around here. The staff are incredibly friendly, the rooms comfortable, and the showers great. Breakfast is a good continental spread, with an honesty bar available in the evenings. There’s a children’s play area in the garden and an excellent fish and chip shop next door. Please don’t all book at once, though, I want to get a room here too!

The check-in was chaotic from the start. Alarms were sounding all over the building when we arrived, and the receptionist walked us to our room without giving us a key, so we had to go back to reception after a full day of travel. The room had a strong, unpleasant smell. We were too tired to deal with it that night and decided to sleep, but regretted that by the next day. We went out in the morning and skipped breakfast. When we returned, we took a closer look and were shocked by how filthy it was: toenail clippings, thick dust built up everywhere, lots of hair in the shower and drain, stained sheets that clearly had urine on them, and squashed spiders. The whole room was dirty. Given that, I’m relieved we didn’t eat breakfast, and concerned about what the kitchen might be like. This was unsanitary, not just budget friendly, and I wouldn’t consider it suitable for paying guests. We had paid for two nights but left after the first. The alarms were still sounding as we went, and we had to book somewhere else for the same price, with much better facilities and basic cleanliness. I emailed the hotel asking for a partial refund and explained why we couldn’t stay, including the extra cost of booking elsewhere. They never replied. The lack of accountability and customer service made an already unacceptable stay worse. Avoid this establishment. It’s not a hotel, it’s a health hazard.

We found it fantastic for the price. The owner and staff were so friendly and helpful, the place was clean, and the food was delicious and very reasonably priced. My other half and I are looking for houses in the area, and we’ll stay here again next time we travel down. I’d highly recommend it. Don’t be put off by one or two negative reviews, any issue was clearly a thing of the past.

At check-in, there was a handwritten note asking us to call a mobile number. Just as we were about to, a woman appeared and asked what we were doing. We said we were checking in. She asked our name, disappeared for a few minutes, then returned and said our room was ready. We followed her to a room partly below the main building. She let us in and left. The room was shocking. Leaves and dirt covered the area by the front door. There were two bathrooms, one in decent shape, the other covered in mould and long black hairs. We tried the decent one, but after several attempts to turn the controls in every direction, no water came out of the shower, so we had to use the dirty bathroom. Its shower tray filled with water, and we had to wait for it to drain before opening the door. Gross. The bed was large, but the old mattress squeaked at the slightest movement, and the pillows were so flat I needed four to get comfortable. The tiny, dirty sofa had red pen marks. The carpet and rugs were filthy, so we kept our shoes on. Cobwebs were everywhere, even in the bedside lampshades, and there was rubbish in the bedside drawers. There was black mould on the ceiling outside one bathroom. The small kitchenette had forks but no plates or bowls. The hand-wash bottle was nearly empty and watered down, and there was no bin. One night, just as we were going to bed, my husband spotted a slug climbing up a bedside cabinet. Yuck. A loud rumbling noise at night kept us awake for much of the night. There were several cigarette butts in the private courtyard. Breakfast was literally toast and cereal, nothing like what other reviews had mentioned. We went to the main building several times for more milk, but no one was ever around. When we called the number at check-in to leave, the woman said she didn’t know why we’d been put in that room when we’d only asked for a double. We said we needed to pay, and she told us payment would be taken automatically since we’d paid online. I’ll be asking for a partial refund. The room was awful, and we barely slept. Don’t stay here. The place needs to close for a full refurbishment. I’m going home to get some sleep!