The Mitre Hotel

Our family room was on the top floor and was clean, though there weren't many electric sockets. That's understandable in a listed building. The steep stairs gave us a laugh when we got back from our night out. Everyone on staff was friendly and accommodating, and Liam deserves a special mention for helping us surprise the birthday girl.

The old, wonky character of this cute, historic building is part of its charm, and the location is handy. Our room had a great view, and the reception and hotel staff were patient and kind. Good value, and I'd stay again. There were some niggles: the stained pillows were a bit dirty under the cases, the bathroom wasn't very clean, and the bar toilet was gross. Bar staff were slow, and the cocktails were disgusting. The TV was small, there was only one chair for three people, and the kettle sat on a high shelf, making it awkward to use carefully. Mind the stairs, especially with luggage. The church bells ring for a while on Sunday mornings and evenings.

The machines connected to the toilets were the real problem. They were plumbed into the sinks and showers too, which seems needless, and they went off every time water was used. At 11pm, one nearby ran every 30 seconds until 12:45am while I watched a film. It stopped when I wanted to sleep, so that wasn't too bad. Then at 4am the one next door started again. The guests were clearly trying to be quiet as they got ready and left, but using water set it off, and moving around made the floorboards sound as though they were in my room. It went on for 30 minutes; I was too awake to fall asleep again until 7am. I'm normally a good sleeper, but couldn't deal with it. There's no reason those machines should be that bad. I expected an old building from the booking.com photos, but with modern facilities. The room was okay apart from noisy floorboards, which you'd expect in an old building. The bathroom was absurdly small, and I could hardly fit on the toilet. I can overlook that given the price and great location, but the machines are a huge problem.

The location is a real plus, and breakfast was good. But the rooms were in catastrophic condition: stained bed linen, dirty toilets, and a bathtub with no showerhead in accommodation for seven people. That really doesn't make sense and is unacceptable.