Schooner Hotel

We had a great time. The staff were excellent, and the room was okay, with just the right feel for a haunted-house stay. There's a lot of history here, and the pricing felt fair for such an unforgettable experience. If you're after the Hilton, go to the Hilton. If you want something with character, the SCHOONER is it.

We didn't eat or drink there after seeing the state of the place, and only used the room to sleep. There was no hot water, the shower room had no heating, and the room was only half painted. The sockets were coming away from the wall and made the lights flicker. The window wouldn't open and was covered in mould. The corridor smelled strongly of raw sewage. Cleanliness, decor, services and health and safety were all appalling, and I felt unsafe and intimidated. We were given a sheet at check-in telling us not to post photos on social media. When someone couldn't get in through the keypad entrance and kept banging, my husband went down to let them in. A younger man in the corridor told him to get back to his room and shut up. We booked a one-night Black Friday deal. This was our first night away since I found out I have T4 cancer, so staying somewhere so dirty, damp and mouldy was especially upsetting. Companies House lists the company as dissolved, and looking further, it seems it has been shut down at least once for much the same problems. If nothing is done, I will report it to Health and Safety and the local council. The town itself is lovely, and I feel sad for the locals who have to put up with this property and owners who clearly don't care about the community. They were happy to charge extra for breakfast when I booked online, though we didn't end up having it. When I called last week, they said they weren't serving food at present, but their website was still charging extra for it. I wouldn't let my dog eat there.

We drove three and a half hours to The Schooner for a one-night stay, only to find it closed to guests with renovations underway. We had booked through Booking.com on 02.11.2025, hoping to stay in what is reportedly the hotel's most haunted room. The booking was confirmed, including my special requests through Booking.com messages. We paid the balance in January 2026. A builder told us the hotel wasn't safe for guests. When I called the hotel number, the man who answered didn't apologise for the inconvenience. He said he'd pass my number to the manager and that I would need to get the refund from Booking.com. The manager still hasn't called me back. An email or text warning us about the closure would have taken less than five minutes to send. The customer service was rubbish. The location is lovely, and from what I saw of the downstairs renovations, the place could look lovely when it reopens, if the rooms are being upgraded too.

There was nobody around to ask for help, and the whole stay was awful. We booked The Schooner for my birthday and our engagement, but the room was dirty and cold. The towels were dirty, and the shower was filthy, with used complimentary shampoos. There was no heating on and the radiator was stone cold. We eventually got the small electric heater working. Breakfast was really bad too. The egg had black bits on it, some bacon was burnt while other pieces weren't cooked, and the tea tasted like tap water warmed up rather than water from a kettle. Very disappointing. I would NOT recommend staying there.