Serendipity House

We decided to leave and find another hotel as soon as we saw the room. It was tiny and run down, and the bathroom was so cramped I don’t think I’d have used it. We were glad we hadn’t brought our suitcases in, since they wouldn’t have fit anyway. The place didn’t look like the photos, which I suspect are very old. The man who answered the bell wasn’t welcoming. He went to get his book, then ran upstairs ahead of us, and we eventually found him on what I think was the third floor. He scribbled the door code on a torn-out piece of paper and left. There was no mention of the breakfast we were supposed to have. We never went back.

We stayed two nights with my partner, and only then found out the room was in a second building. The emails didn’t make it clear there were two separate places. Our room was at the top of the other house and was unbearably hot, even after we turned off the heating in both the room and bathroom. It could make things difficult for anyone sensitive to heat or prone to feeling sick from it. Breakfast was OK, with self-service pastries, cereal and toast, but it was in the house across the road.

We left and found somewhere else to stay because the room at Serendipity House, Londonderry B&B felt uninhabitable in the Irish heatwave. It was stiflingly hot and strongly musty, with stale air and no noticeable circulation despite four desiccant containers. There were visible stains on the bedding, mold on the floor and windows, and a missing transition piece in the bathroom. We also had to move items just to open the door fully, which seemed like a serious fire hazard. The room looked nothing like the pictures. Getting in was a struggle too. Parking was difficult, and we had to park several blocks away on the street. Before 8:00 PM there was no one on site or at a front desk. The ring system kept cutting out, and the person answering sounded abrupt and annoyed, repeatedly saying they’d emailed the entry information, which I hadn’t received. The call dropped, so I had to phone the direct number for instructions. I called to say we wouldn’t be staying and explained the problems. The person disputed some of what I’d seen, including the bedding stains, which they said were fresh, and explained the desiccant containers were for humidity from four adults in the room. I’d looked forward to the quaint B&B advertised, so the whole experience was deeply disappointing. At $547, I expected a much higher standard than something like a hostel.

The location was nice, though a little out of town, with a small pub around the corner. For one night the hotel was okay, and breakfast was okay too. But it didn’t meet the expectations set by the website. Check-in was self-service, which hadn’t been made clear. I was told the check-in details and door codes had been emailed, but nothing arrived. Luckily, we got there just before the only staff member left for the night. There’s no 24-hour reception, and once that staff member left, the bar and patio were locked. We’d hoped to sit outside at night and look over the city. The room had awful plug-in air fresheners. The toilet kept making a running-water sound, and a timer plugged in somewhere clicked all night and couldn’t be removed. We were near the front door and heard guests coming and going, entering the code and slamming the door. The rooms weren’t soundproof as the website claimed.