Carrington House

The hotel was very disappointing. The corridors leading to our room were dirty, and the lifts were also unclean. The carpet in our bedroom was stained and dirty. The bed sheets were clean, which is the only reason I gave this hotel one star. Overall, the hotel was not clean, and we were very disappointed with our stay. We will never be back.

We stayed her for the weekend: 2 nights @£220 for a double room. On first appearance it’s very dated but we kept hope as we thought the room would be comfortable. There’s one small lift that sounds like it will jam at any time and the carpets throughout the hotel are old and ripped. This was the case in our room. The TV is not Smart so pretty useless. The plug sockets are on the opposite side of the room which made ironing really hard. The bathroom looked like the tiles were falling off and the bath had stains in it. It even had a rubber inside bath suction mat! Towels were not changed or the room cleaned during our stay. The mattress was the most uncomfortable I’ve ever slept in, where you can feel the springs…I actually have bruises on both shoulders it was that bad. We didn’t pay for the breakfast so I can’t comment on that and the only good thing was free parking.

I rarely leave negative reviews, but after our experience at the Carrington House Hotel, I feel I have a responsibility to share it so that others can make an informed decision before booking. My wife and I paid £249 for a two-night stay and travelled over three and a half hours from Birmingham. We had been looking forward to this break for a long time, but unfortunately it turned into one of the worst hotel experiences we have ever had. From the moment we entered our room, it was clear that the standard of accommodation fell well below what we expected. The room contained a very large number of insects around the coving. I have a continuous video recording showing me entering the hotel, walking to our room, entering the room and filming what we found. There were also concerns regarding the condition and cleanliness of the room, including mould. The room was unbearably hot. I fully appreciate that the hotel does not advertise air-conditioned rooms, however I specifically paid extra for a room with a window after being offered a cheaper room without one. Despite this, the room was still extremely hot. I asked reception whether we could be moved to another room, but was told the hotel was fully booked. I also asked if a fan could be provided and was told there were none available. No practical solution was offered. The conditions became so uncomfortable that we spent time sitting in our car with the air conditioning running simply to cool down before attempting to sleep. On the second night, we barely slept at all. The following morning we faced a three-and-a-half-hour drive home, but I became so exhausted through lack of sleep that I had to pull over and sleep in the car before it was safe to continue driving. No hotel stay should leave guests in a position where they are too fatigued to drive home safely. The most concerning incident involved the hotel's only lift. On our first evening, the lift stopped before reaching floor level and became stuck, leaving my wife and me trapped inside. I immediately pressed the emergency alarm and waited for assistance, but nobody came. After waiting, I was forced to pull the lift doors open myself so that we could get out. My wife suffers from claustrophobia and the experience caused her significant distress and panic. I reported the incident to reception immediately and was assured it would be reported to maintenance. Despite this, exactly the same fault occurred again the following evening. I remain extremely concerned that an emergency alarm was activated yet no assistance arrived, and that the same lift fault occurred after it had already been reported. During our stay we also witnessed several other guests making serious complaints about their rooms. One couple complained that their room had not been cleaned before they checked in, stating that the bed had already been slept in and a used towel had been left on the bathroom floor. We also saw other guests leaving shortly after checking in because they were unhappy with the conditions. From what we witnessed, our experience did not appear to be an isolated incident. Following our stay, I raised my concerns directly with the hotel and provided supporting evidence. Whilst I received an apology, I was left feeling that the seriousness of what we experienced had not been fully recognised. My intention in writing this review is not to unfairly criticise the hotel, but to provide an honest and factual account of our experience. I have photographs and video recordings supporting the concerns described above. I sincerely hope Britannia Hotels investigates these issues thoroughly and makes the necessary improvements. No guest should have to endure the experience that my wife and I had.