Pack Horse Hotel

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On Saturday 28th October my family and I made a 5 hour journey down from Scotland to book into this hotel as my brother-in-law and his new wife were holding their evening wedding party there that night. We booked into room 252 and on entering the room after our long journey were disgusted at the filth which seemed to surround us. The carpet hadn't been cleaned for many weeks at least and to the right of us were the two single beds covered with stained bed throws. Next to these beds which our two young daughters would be sleeping in was a window with no handle (this had broken off) and the only thing which held the window ajar was the bottom bar. Outside this window was the fire escape staircase. To the left was a double bed. Well actually it was a broken double base of a bed which two dirty stained single mattresses had been put on top of and hung over each side. The sheets still had hair on them and the quilt cover was stained. The shower and bath were covered in mould and hair which prevented us from using them for fear of either catching something or coming out less clean than when we first entered. The lampshades had dirty stains on them and only the bedside lamps worked. When I opened the drawers to put away the clean clothes I was horrified to find a pair of knickers which a previous guest had left behind.

We called reception immediately to alert them of these problems. The receptionist apologised and said they were well aware of the lack of housekeeping at the minute. Their excuse was that they weren't given staff long enough to clean properly and so had to make do with a quick wipe round. They said they would send clean sheets etc up to our room but unfortunately couldn't change the mattresses even though they were badly stained as they had no others. After 45 minutes a member of staff arrived with clean pillow cases and a clean sheet. She also had a clean quilt cover but said she wasn't allowed to change it while we were in the room. By this stage my husband had seen and heard enough and just took the sheet and pillow cases off her and said we'd do it ourselves. We went to see what the big deal was with the quilt and when we removed the cover we were able to see that it was not only covered in a number of different stains but it also held a stench which would have made it impossible to sleep under. The staff said they couldn't change rooms for us as the hotel was fully booked.

That night we all had a very unsettled night. The bed was extremely uncomfortable and the fear of someone coming through the broken window was enough to keep us awake.

We woke early packed and left as soon as we could.

My parents-in-law also stayed that night and found their room as disgusting as ours.

I would also like to bring to your attention the buffet that was laid on for the wedding guests. It was a table of chicken strips, sandwiches, pizza slices and sausage rolls. There was also a couple of plates of cheap jam tarts. This was fine if it was a kids party but absolutely unacceptable when it was actually meant to be a buffet for nearly a hundred people mostly adults and at the price of over £10 per head. The bride and groom had put their 3 layers of wedding cake on the table for the guests to admire and try and when the staff decided everyone had had enough they disposed of the lot including the wedding cake without a word to anyone.

After two months, a letter and numerous phone calls my inlaws and myself finally were given a full refund. My sister in law who was having her wedding party there has still to be refunded any of the money they initially promised her. It will be a year next month since this all happened and the hotel have made excuse after excuse why this problem isn't finally being rectified.

I am also considering contacting the local newspaper of that area to bring to their attention the filth which lies behind 'this impressive hotel which has been a landmark for over a hundred years'.