Allison House 17

The woman who came to look at the room was helpful, but the rest of our brief stay at Allison House 17 was shockingly bad. We booked weeks ahead because the location, free parking, and price seemed ideal. Check-in was from 2pm, but when we tried to enter at 2, our room key wasn't in the lockbox. We buzzed and were let inside, then told to wait 10 minutes. After that, we were told the key was on a table behind us. As soon as we opened the room, the cigarette smoke smell was overpowering. We couldn't unlatch the window at first, and the smell made us lightheaded. My asthmatic partner had a coughing fit, so we had to leave. There was no one at reception, and the phone number on the Booking.com profile turned out to 'not exist'. We called through the door intercom and were told to wait another 10 minutes for someone to come look. When they arrived, they opened the window and agreed the smell was unbearable. With no other rooms available, they offered us a free cancellation, so we had to find somewhere else to stay. By the time we left, it was 2:45, and we were upset that so much time had been wasted.