Guest User
July 16, 2023
Wonderful room and superb bathroom. Fabulous bed and superb linen. Restaurant average. On arrival the hotel, situated alone on a long, quiet, straight stretch of road looked like hotel from a Hitchcock film. The long-neglected neon lit sign on the front seemed incongruous with Dickensian wooden beams, distinctive having been painted green. We passed a faded menu and entered the reception. The door did not creak, but otherwise all appeared as it had done in an original Hitchcock film, the wooden desk littered with hand-written notes, the pigeon-holes for letters remained largely empty, and a musty smell of 'old'. A congenial man whose appearance matched the style of the hotel welcomed us in French. We booked in, and selected our choices for the following breakfast, ticking boxes on an A4. We were led up some stairs which must have once been ancient, but had recently been covered with extremely hard-wearing surfaces that would not look out-of-place in a high-street bank. No creaking. We entered a huge room. We had booked the most expensive room to avoid disappointment. The bed was also huge. The modernised bathroom was truly magnificent. We were so delighted. Later we were to discover that the bed was wonderfully comfortable and the bedlinen was superb. We had a cocktail in the garden before going into dine. The dining room had been decorated by someone with unusual tastes. The waiter smiled knowingly when I joked about the wallpaper. Large red roses, orange carnations, and pink peonies adorned the walls, enhanced by orange and red tentacles that were the wall-lights. As it was Monday, there was only one choice on the menu, a chicken and vegetable casserole which was delicious. The following morning we arrived 30 minutes early for our pre-ordered breakfast. Looking around the room, some tables showed signs of departed guests, and others were laid out complete with selected food. We recognised our selection on one of the tables. We had ordered ham and cheese, and these were already on our table, uncovered. As flies attempted to land, we wondered how long they had been out in the open, given that we had expected to arrive at least 30 minutes later. As we tucked in, the food was delicious. The ham was the best quality and the home-made marmalade was wonderful. Overall it had been a good experience. The perfect venue for a murder-mystery writer. As the work to improve the hotel continues, I hope some of the old-world atmosphere remains.