I had an extremely disappointing stay at The Pilot Boat Inn, in the 'Bridge' twin room (£404 for 3 nights, Monday-Thursday). There were some good bits - it's centrally located, the beds were comfortable, the room was clean and pleasant (although a bit shabby), and breakfast was good, with lovely pastries. The toilet and sink were clean. Unfortunately, the shower unit was full of black mould, limescale and soap scum build-up in multiple areas. Even the squeegee was dirty.
I sent clear photos alongside a polite message to Abbie (who I assume is the manager), whose only suggestion was that we check out early and find other suitable accommodation with booking.com - no doubt to avoid a complaint/refund request to booking.com, and with the knowledge that trying to find last minute twin accommodation in Bembridge would be nigh on impossible. At no point did anyone come in to even attempt to sort out the mould. Abbie said that the bathroom had been thoroughly cleaned, but it is obvious from the photos that there is inadequate ventilation and that mould, limescale etc built up over time have not been properly treated. I wasn't expecting a luxury experience, but I was expecting basic cleanliness and I have never seen anything so unhygienic in anywhere I have stayed.
Smaller issues:
I had to ask for a sanitary bin, which should have been provided from the outset. The sanitary bin was a very basic swing bin, which isn't great for shared commercial accommodation.
The bathroom and bedroom bins were not emptied at all during our 3 night stay.
The curtain doesn't pull completely closed because of a broken hook, so light floods into the room at about 5am.
Toilet paper wasn't restocked, so we ran out on the last morning.
Security felt lacking, as the external entrance door into the guest accommodation was left completely unlocked all day and night, leaving the bedroom door as the only barrier between us and anyone walking off the street.
The other major issue was noise. The pub's advertised closing hour is 9.30pm, but on our second night the music went on well past that hour and was directly blasting below our room. I texted Abbie saying that it was very loud and asking what time the pub would close, and was completely ignored. Thankfully the pub closed on time the other days, but during opening hours there is the constant sound of loud music from the bar below coming into the room.
(Music aside, if you're staying in this room and are bothered by noise generally I would recommend bringing earplugs, as the window is single glazed and you can hear pretty much everything on the road outside, including loud conversations after the pub closes.)
I left with the sense that the room was too expensive for what it was, and that the owner/manager has very little interest in rectifying issues.
