Review of Hendham House 2*

I stayed at Hendham House recently with my two children. Our arrival: We received a friendly greeting. The room: big with plenty of storage. However the beds creaked every time we moved. We were next door to the shared bathroom so didn't have far to travel but unfortunately heard everyone else coming and going — the fire doors to the rooms were very loud as they banged shut. Disappointment: A waste paper bin sitting proudly on a huge tub of paint — not a welcoming feature! My daughter found a Pepsi can balanced on a curtain track — was the room cleaned and prepared before we arrived?! Three windows in the room but only two sets of curtains. No sink in the room which became a huge problem the first morning when we wanted to clean our teeth and couldn't use the bathroom because it was in use. I'm not sure how many bathrooms there are in the hotel but it could definitely do with more. The bathroom itself is poor. It is in need of decorative repair so visitors don't have to look at a hole in the ceiling. The shower is less than powerful and when attached to the holder on the wall doesn't spray water far enough out to reach you. There is no plug for the bath. No drinking facilities in the room. It would have been nice to make teas and coffees in the room. We wanted a cup of tea and coffee on our first morning but at 8.30am the lounge area still wasn't open. We were told that the manager had been called and would be bringing a key in. The receptionist eventually brought drinks to the room but we didn't have time to order/make breakfast by this time. Hooray for MacDonalds which is just down the road! We didn't bother having breakfast at the hotel the next morning and left as early as we could. The room was not comfortable. The website for the hotel states that there is air conditioning in each room, a sofa and a fridge. These were not featured in our room. MY BIGGEST CONCERN! The door to our room didn't close — the wood was warped. We were helped with this and told to lift the door into position in order for it to close. We left the hotel for twelve hours on the first day, locking the door behind us. When we returned at 9pm we discovered the lights to the room were on and the door unlocked! Access from outside the hotel is easy. There is no code to use to get in and anyone could walk in undetected. We did notice however that the door was no longer sticking and had, it seemed been repaired. When I politely expressed my concern I was told that the DIY man had MAYBE been to the room but there was no apology for leaving the door unlocked. Feel free to look at the pictures on the website. We stayed in the room with the picture of the leopard on the wall. Sadly the room looked nothing like the photo on the website when we got there! We camp a lot as a family and are used to 'roughing it'. We pay less than £45 a night for our accommodation which includes the use of all facilities and our stay is ALWAYS more relaxed, comfortable and pleasurable. We will not be returning and will not recommend this 'hotel' to others.