Review of Charlotte Guest House 2*

I have rewritten this review to reflect my disgust at the lack of concern for the well-being of guests, even after being alerted to damp and mould in rooms. The pictures on the website are not an accurate reflection of the rooms that I saw or the one I stayed in. The 5 houses that comprise the hotel/B&B/guest house/hostel are not adjacent to each other, but in some cases over 100 metres away from the main reception area with no means of contact provided by the owners in cases of emergency. We were asked to wait in the breakfast area whilst the receptionist showed the people to their room. I walked through to the back of the place and was not impressed by the breakfast area at all. It was shabby and grubby with old furniture, stained, dirty cushions and seating and very worn floor covering. The garden outside the conservatory was unkempt and full of old tools and ornaments left lying around, with the grass badly overgrown. Not at all like the pictures shown on the site. The manager did say that this is for security, but how secure are 5 houses all spread out over a street with no telephones to contact reception. We were then shown to our room. I expected to walk up the tired old staircase with the worn out carpet, but I was in for a surprise. We walked out of the front door and down the street to another house about 100 metres away. We were then shown down into the basement area, where the room was. It stank of damp and there was evidence of mould. The manager totally ignored this health issue and I was ill after staying in the room. We entered the room and I do have to say, it seemed clean and well decorated. The receptionist told me breakfast was in the main building and left. I then heard this tremendous rumbling sound and the ground actually shook. I looked out of the window just in time to see an express train, metres away from the back fence, hurtling through the station. The whole house looked in a state of disrepair and the garden was little more than a complete mess. I looked over the fence at the train tracks at the station and knew I was in for a long night. I went back into the room and immediately banged my head against the TV which was hung on the wall. I turned it on, only to find the reception was appalling. Not at all worth the money I paid for 1 night here. I went to bed about 11.00pm, only to be kept awake by trains hurtling through the station at speed, or stopping and starting at the station. The other guests were entering and leaving at various hours and noise travelled throughout the building. It struck me that there were no phones to contact reception, so you would have to walk the 100 metres if you needed them. About 3.00am, the central heating, which had been turned on by the hotel to try to hide the damp smell, started banging. I managed to stop it, but the night's sleep was broken constantly. The manager told me in his reply, that the central heating is always turned off and has to be turned by the guests in each room. Not true. The shower did work, but the toilet hardly flushed. The tiling had lost its edging, so very sharp edges were exposed around the bathroom window. Manager ignored this part of my review as well. Breakfast was decent and the staff were very good, but very busy. The only plus point of the whole disastrous episode. This is NOT a hotel, more of a hostel, but charges exorbitant prices for their services. No mention is made of the train station or the noise on nay website they are advertised on. This is a collection of houses in quite a run-down area and a female on her own may find it a little threatening at night. The manager disputes this, but I am speaking as somebody who had a female with them and she told me she would be afraid to walk down this street alone at night, but the manager says this is not the case. Wifi does not work in the annexes at all, so forget working in your room. My advice? Avoid this place like the plague and go to a decent hotel. Reading other reviews makes me wonder if these people actually stayed here or even exist after my experience.