Overpriced, overrated, over for me

At £70-120 per night, this is THE most expensive hotel I have ever stayed and I am a regular traveller, and by comparison is the worst so far. This is why - check this one out for example in Castle Combe http://www.castle-inn.info/ - you get sherry on arrival and a basket of fruit, the choice of breakfast is superb (not just boring full English), and there is an option of evening meals. At West Usk - the standard of cleanliness was that "where the Hoover can reach" but look under the bed and it was full of dust and cobwebs. The fixtures in the bathroom are out of date and the plumbing needs attention. There were dead flies in the hot tub but judging by the state of the cover I probably should not have attempted to use it in the first place. As for breakfast - this place is supposed to be in the country and surrounded by cows and farms, instead the owners shop at Asda - and this is where the ingredients for the uninspiring traditional English must have come from because they were tasteless. It is unbelievable that in this day and age they are not offering fruit, selection of local cheeses and cold meats (so much for being in Wales), continental breads, and fish. In addition, there was this smelly dog in the breakfast room (not by way of ingredient mind) that I personally found extremely unhygienic. The owner did ask each new guest arriving at breakfast if they minded the dog being there but what can one say to that? Everyone was just either too polite, or did not want to appear mean. I did mind and I do not think it is fair to be putting guests in this awkward position. Further to the question of the quality of the meal and their availability - I have eaten better in the youth hostels at under £20 per night accommodation cost, and with the meals costing £11-15 on average for 2 or 3-course meal using locally sourced ingredients. Moving on to the actual owners - I thought they were supposed to be a couple - well, Mr Owner was there (friendly enough chap but giving the impression that this whole B&B running business is just an uphill struggle) but Mrs Owner never materialised but she must exist as she was very quick to send me her website details after I made a booking with all that weird stuff for networking purposes, so I find it a bit strange if not rude that she never came down to greet any of the guests, or helped out at breakfast. Overall impression - tired, uninspiring, needs serious re-think of the tariff - I don't think they can go on justifying charging premium rate just because it is high season and not to provide value for money, nor can they go on relying on the so called quirkiness of the location - it is NOT that quirky (I have seen more interesting places, check this one out: http://www.quirky-holidays-cornwall.co.uk), the scenery is NOT that special or breathtaking (when the tide is out it's just a massive mud flap), and there are other lighthouses that offer a much better deal and experience(http://www.belletoute.org.uk). If I had a choice I would have paid no more than £30 per night (August high season or not) for my stay but it's pointless really. I can just see the owners' response here: we are sorry blah blah and you should have brought these things to our attention but really get a grip: why should the guests bring it to your attention how to run your business?! You should have enough business acumen to be able to foresee these things, or otherwise do not do it! Run a mini cab business, or something, or hypnotise people. I feel utterly cheated.

Amanda Wilson - 25/09/2010 | report this review