Greyfriars Lodge

The room was fine as a place to sleep, and the price was reasonable. The host was helpful and nice, and the spot just off the high street was great. The bathroom felt a bit worn and untidy, though. The shower holder was broken, there was a damp smell, and with no hand towel rail I had to leave the towel on the toilet seat.

The guy running the place was nice and went out of his way to help, though he did take a backhander for an unadvertised parking space on site. He also asked me the night before to stay longer in the morning, then seemed upset when I left at 9.30. Breakfast was cheap stuff, Aldi or Lidl, I think, and while I was very hungover, it didn’t taste great. The room was spacious, but calling it rustic would be generous: there was masking tape on the bathroom tiles and the windows looked like they might come off in a strong wind. There was a strong incense smell too. I needed somewhere for a works Xmas do, and chose it because it was nearby and seemed good value. Strange little place, hard to tell if it was an amazing dream or a nightmare.

The bathroom was the worst part of our stay. The extractor didn’t work, there was mold everywhere, and the shower had been retiled badly. In our ground floor twin room, number 10, the carpet was damp and the ceilings had mold. The old spring mattresses were uncomfortable, and the thin, worn shower curtain let in light and noise. My partner and I paid £68 for one night. Appalling.

There’s no parking at the lodge, but reception can take prepayment for 24 hours at a time at a multi-storey lot a street away. The place is tiny and straight out of the Canterbury Tales. Our room was old, with creaky floors. There seemed to be just one staff member, and he’d appear like a ghost whenever we needed him. Still, the room was warm and clean, and the Continental breakfast was very congenial.