Chris's Motel

For the price, it’s a reasonable place to sleep overnight. The rooms are basic but clean, with fresh sheets and no bad smell. Bathrooms and toilets are shared. It seems geared toward lorry drivers, so I wouldn’t suggest it for families with children, though it could suit someone travelling alone. There’s free parking outside, but you need to register your vehicle. If you arrive late, check-in is done over the phone. One thing for the owner: the toilet door needs rubber pads. People use the bathroom often and keep slamming it late into the night. Bang, bang, bang. Not nice.

At £25 a night, this very basic place was fine, but I wouldn’t pay more. The showers were hot. You can hear the trucks starting up outside the windows, so you’ll need to be a deep sleeper.

The facilities were clean, and the staff were so friendly, kind, and attentive. They were always there to help and never made anything a problem.

I arrived after a stressful, busy day, having failed to get a room at any of my usual stopovers. I paid the rate because the place had parking, which was handy as I was towing a trailer. But when I got there, I was told parking cost an extra £20. I strongly disagreed, since I’d rented a room, and the owner eventually lowered the charge to £15. While checking in, a staff member complained that I’d booked a double room while travelling alone. I didn’t understand the issue. I offered to take a single, but was told none were left, and I’d paid for the room anyway. The shared bathroom wasn’t very clean. In the morning, someone had left urine around the toilet seat after using it without lifting the seat. I know that was down to a lazy guest, not the owner. The location was perfect and the price reasonable, which is a shame, but I won’t recommend the place or stay again.