One of the worst hotel stays we’ve ever experienced
I very rarely leave negative reviews, but I genuinely feel other people need to know what they are booking if they are allocated a room in Jasmine Cottage.
Before I say anything else, I want to be fair. The receptionist was extremely kind and accommodating. Our third-party voucher had accidentally been issued for the wrong date, and despite this, she very kindly honoured it and found us a room that evening. Looking back, I honestly wish she hadn’t, because had we arrived at a more reasonable time, we would undoubtedly have left and found somewhere else to stay.
We arrived at around 7.45 pm, tired, hungry and with very little choice at that time of the evening.
We knew we had booked accommodation in Jasmine Cottage, but nothing prepared us for its condition.
To reach it, we walked past buildings that looked derelict and were covered in scaffolding, with little evidence that any actual construction work was taking place. Rather than arriving somewhere welcoming, it felt as though we were walking behind an abandoned renovation project. The cottage itself looked little better. It appeared tired and neglected from the outside, and our hearts sank before we had even stepped inside.
Unfortunately, things only deteriorated from there.
The room was in an appalling state of repair and cleanliness. The windows were filthy, with dirt and grime obscuring the glass. Several of the leaded window strips had detached and were hanging loose from the panes. The window frames and sills were full of dirt and debris, the wooden headboard had an obvious build-up of dust, the furnishings were tired and worn, and the overall impression was one of prolonged neglect rather than simply an older property.
What disappointed us most was not that the accommodation was old. We love character hotels, and many older properties are beautifully maintained. It was the apparent lack of care, maintenance and presentation that made this stay so upsetting.
The outside areas did little to improve that impression. There were broken plant pots, damaged walls that had been cordoned off, visible building works, construction materials and general untidiness around the property. The photographs I have attached honestly do not convey just how depressing the overall environment felt in person.
A few years ago, I had the unfortunate experience of staying in another hotel where there were bed bugs. Because of that experience, the condition of this room caused me genuine anxiety. Although I found no evidence of bed bugs here, I was so uncomfortable with the cleanliness and condition of the room that I could not bring myself to sleep properly in the bed. Instead, I spent the night lying on top of it because I simply did not feel comfortable getting underneath the bedding. Thankfully, the weather was warm enough to make that possible, but no guest should ever feel that uneasy about spending the night in hotel accommodation.
Dinner was equally disappointing.
We ordered a starter to share, followed by two main courses, but the starter never arrived. Instead, both main courses were brought straight to the table. When we queried it, we were offered the option of having our meals taken away while the starter was prepared, or having the starter brought afterwards. We declined and cancelled it.
My husband also requested English mustard with his meal. Despite asking twice, it eventually arrived when he was already halfway through eating.
Before dinner, we ordered two vodka, lime and sodas. Both drinks tasted flat and stale, so we returned them immediately and declined to pay for them. Replacement drinks were provided.
By the following morning, we had completely lost confidence in the hotel. Despite breakfast being included, we simply packed our bags and left as early as possible without staying to eat.
I had previously seen a terrible review mentioning Jasmine Cottage from 2019, but assumed that, approximately seven years later, the issues would have been addressed. Sadly, based on our experience, they clearly have not been.
I cannot comment on the standard of the rooms within the main hotel, as we stayed only in Jasmine Cottage, and they may well be considerably better. However, based on everything we saw during our stay, the overall presentation of the property fell well below what we would expect from a hotel of this rating.
The photographs attached were all taken during our stay and accurately reflect the condition of the accommodation we were given. I would strongly encourage anyone offered a room in Jasmine Cottage to look at them carefully before deciding whether this is somewhere they would be happy to spend the night.
I had to give it the ONE STAR to process the review but it wasn’t worth that even.
