Old Bank Rooms

For £200 a night in Bourton, there are other beautiful places to stay, and I'd give my money to a business that deserves it rather than the proprietor of the Old Bank Rooms. Here's why. The whole building smelled like the chip shop. I'd read reviews saying the rooms didn't, but ours did. The air fresheners and reed diffusers all through the place seem to back that up. If you can't stand smelling of beef dripping, don't go. The bed was comfortable, but the quilt was worn and had no filling apart from around the edges and bottom. My pillow had hair, food crumbs and an old plaster on it. I think these got there when housekeeping made the bed and picked the pillow up off the grubby carpet. The rest of the sheets were clean. The towels and robes were old, dingy and rough, the sort we'd use for pets at home. The furniture was cheap, and the rooms bare, more like student digs. There was chipped paint and scuffed walls, and I couldn't make sense of the decor choices. Decor may not be a priority, but at £200 a night, there were no finishing touches. An ironing board was propped in the corner, three random chipped vases sat on the stained mantle, and there were enough ceiling spotlights to burn your retinas and make you visible from space. The tea and coffee setup was a wonky cabinet that needed a shim, two half-open cans of coffee already used by previous guests, an opened, previously used foil pack of teabags, and stained teaspoons. A little caravan fridge sat on the floor with a cheap fan balanced on top. Remember, £200 a night. The bathroom had beautiful fittings and a roll-top bath by the window. I can't say how comfortable the bath was because it was so caked in soap scum that I gave it a wide berth. The shower was clean, hot and had good pressure, luckily. There were two sinks, but one had a broken plug and the other had no plug at all, just an open hole where it had been removed. There was one cheap mirror on the wall and one tiny shelf shared between both sinks, so nowhere to put toiletries. It's almost as if they'd spent all their money on a posh bath and couldn't stretch to a mirror and cabinets for each sink. The Penhaligons soaps provided were broken beside the bath, with drip stains down the wall. The breakfast was outstanding, though not hot enough. The walk from the paying car park was longer than two minutes, and the pavement was bumpy for some of the way, not great with a suitcase. This was my birthday stay. We had a lovely time because we went out, but the place was absolutely not worth the money. Being right on the high street doesn't mean you can slack on everything else. I don't see any responses to reviews from the owners. I imagine they're too busy counting their money.

We booked an overnight stay in the Zen Room, but the room looked nothing like its advertised pictures. It was in what could only be described as part of an attic, dirty, extremely hot and uncomfortable. The window was cracked and flaking, and the walls were filthy, with holes, cracks and stains everywhere. The listing mentioned a small shower unit, perhaps uncomfortable for anyone above average size. That's an understatement: even a small child would struggle to fit comfortably. It leaked and went from freezing to boiling while I was under it. Paint peeled off the ceiling and fell on me in the shower. My husband burned his back on the tap, and the shower head fell off and hit me on the head while I was washing. The bed definitely wasn't a standard double, more like a three-quarter size. Towels looked grey, old and worn, and there were no robes despite them being listed. There was a hairdryer but no mirror to use it with. An information pack was provided, but it was sticky, dusty and covered in coffee stains when I picked it up. Tea and coffee were there, but no milk. Breakfast arrived on time and was okay, though unlike the advertised version. We had to eat it in the room, balancing it on our laps on the bed. The most alarming thing for me was the lack of fire safety information. There were three rooms at the very top, with no exit points and no fire extinguishers on that level. I counted two on the floor below. That worried me because there'd be no way out if a fire broke out on the floors below. The motion-timed lights on the steep stairs were really bad. I tripped going up because I couldn't see the step in the dark. The rooms are above a chip shop, so there's a distinct smell throughout. It's self-service, with no one around to complain to. We didn't know that until we got the check-in instructions while on the way there. The hotel's only good point was its location right on the river. I won't return and would advise anyone considering a booking to be cautious. I'm currently looking for management information to seek a refund of the £148 charged for the room.

A great little one-night stay. The Euro room was easy to get into, clean, tidy and nicely presented. The big bathroom had a roll-top bath, and breakfast really impressed us. It's a hidden gem. Our room didn't smell, despite what others had said. I'd recommend it.

The room was spacious and pleasant, with comfortable beds, a terrific bathroom and a lovely view. The location was terrific too, and there's great fish and chips downstairs. Enjoy the village in the cool of the morning or evening. The breakfast was good, though not as hot as we'd have liked. The room was hard to cool in the heat, as only one window would stay open. I also couldn't reach the phone number listed. Those points sound a bit harsh, but the rate was reasonable. Apart from them, it was excellent. You'll need to manage where you park and what it costs.