Poor stuff. Largely disinterested staff. Phantom cleaners who apparently cleaned the rooms by looking at them. School dinners cooking at prices which would make a five star plus hotel owner blush. Shoddy business practices - make sure you have written confirmation of the terms of your booking if you momentarily lapse into temporary madness and make the mistake of booking anything here.
Quite simply - don't go there.

My sister's review has already been posted on this site (review of 13 November 2005). I agree with all she has written and and I only want to add some brief comments of my own.

I was extremely disappointed with the standard of cleanliness in my room. The bath had some of the previous occupant's hair in it, the sink had the hard stuck-on remains of someone else's soap and I could see a water stain where someone else's washbag had been sitting in the bathroom. A piece of feather boa was on our floor, which would have benefited from a more careful vacuuming. It all made me wonder about what I couldn't see. I regularly stay in hotels which cost a fraction of what this hotel charges and have found them to be considerably cleaner.

As my sister has said, there was a half-used open bottle of shampoo in my shower when I arrived and a half-used bottle of body lotion amongst the toiletries. In general, the toiletries were a bit of a mixed bag and gave the impression that the hotel was just using up odds and ends. The top of the bath tap was missing and the shelf in the shower was broken. Not exactly four star quality.

As my sister has said, the worst aspect was that my parents ended up paying more than the rate indicated on the hotel's website - there was no indication at any time that there was an 'allowance' for the inclusive dinner, bed and breakfast rate. If that is the case, this must be stated on the hotel's website and/or on information given to guests.

I have just returned from a one night stay at this hotel which was booked by my father as a family treat to celebrate his birthday. Six years ago we stayed here for my parents' 40th wedding anniversary and liked it very much. The food in particular was excellent at that time. My parents also stayed there three years ago and were very happy with it, so they thought it would be ideal for this occasion.

Unfortunately, since their last visit, standards have dropped considerably. However I wouldn't have bothered posting a review at all if at check-out they had not told my father, for the first time, that there was only an allowance for the cost of dinner in the dinner, bed & breakfast rate and charged him the extra cost not covered by the allowance. I checked the website when I returned home and there is absolutely no mention there of any allowance or additional charge, nor was it mentioned to my father at the time of booking. This is an appalling practice and I am so angry on his behalf. I did not feel able to raise the matter with the hotel because my father is not the kind of person to make a fuss and I didn't want to embarrass him. However, because of the hotel's dishonest practice and since this hotel was such a letdown in other ways, I'd like to share its shortcomings with you. I apologise in advance for the length of this review, but I urge you to read on.

Despite the booking being for dinner, bed & breakfast for seven people, we discovered that no table had been reserved for us. We were somewhat grudgingly offerred a table in the Oak Room Restaurant at 6.45pm, a little earlier than we would have chosen but better than 8.30pm as originally suggested, because the restaurant was going to be 'very busy' (which it really wasn't). Sadly the sample dinner menu on the hotel's website is very much more interesting than the real thing. The main course selection was pretty uninspiring - the only vegetarian option was a cold Brie salad - in November, in Scotland!! I don't think so!! When our food arrived, the portions were tiny - the starter of 'Field Mushrooms' were not 'mushrooms' but one single none-too-large flat mushroom with a small dollop of onion marmalade and a little mozzarella on a bed of rocket. Tasty enough but a disgrace at £5.95 . The main course of sea bass was nicely cooked, but nothing I couldn't have made at home. It was totally plain, served on some kind of potato thing with the minutest selection of plain boiled vegetables you can imagine. For £15.95 I would expect much better. I have to admit that the creme brulee was delicious, even though they had forgotten the caramelised sugar on top! Just 'creme' then! There was nothing specifically wrong with the food (although those who chose lamb found the going pretty tough) but it was nothing special and nowhere near the standard of our last visit and was really poor value. A complete disappointment.

Nor is the cleanliness what it should be in a four-star or any other hotel. When I stay in a hotel, I prefer not to find evidence of the previous guests. However, the shower screen in our room had obviously not been cleaned, and my sister, who was in the room next door, found a used bottle of shampoo in her shower and a half-empty bottle of body lotion among her toiletries and a piece of what appeared to be feather boa on her floor. I believe she intends posting a review on this site so I will leave her other particular complaints to her. I too found a piece of feather boa on our floor, along with some sparkly confetti or sequins. I also noticed a ring on my bedside cabinet where a glass had been. There were a number of bulbs in each of the three rooms used by our party which needed to be replaced and only my parents' room had bathrobes. All this suggests sloppy housekeeping which makes you wonder what other corners have been cut. The sheets seemed to be clean however, but the beds had only one quite elderly-looking blanket - why not a duvet? - which didn't exactly make for a cosy night in what was an otherwise extremely comfortable bed. The bedroom carpets are also looking very tired and shabby.

In the morning, my husband decided to shower after breakfast, only to discover that there was no hot water left. I have experienced that on holiday in countries which rely on solar panels to heat their water, but it should not happen in a four-star hotel.

I would also have to say that the toilets in the reception area were pretty appalling. The toilet-roll holders were broken in all of the cubicles and the rolls were all over the floor and there was no soap in either soap dispenser. You would expect these kinds of details to be checked in a hotel which purports to be a four-star.

After all this negativity, is there anything good I can say? Surprisingly, yes!! The bedrooms and bathrooms were a good size and the beds very comfortable. The cooked breakfast was very tasty - not greasy as many cooked breakfasts can be and plenty of it. The coffee was pretty decent as hotel coffee goes and more toast and coffee were offerred before we had to ask for them. More attention needs to be paid to re-stocking the buffet table more quickly though and to ensuring that the coffee cups are clean before they are put on the tables.

We left disappointed overall with the current standard of the hotel and their shoddy overcharging of pensioners who can ill afford to be ripped off. I really feel for my parents who put the money aside over a long period because they wanted this to be a special weekend for all of us. They were so disappointed that it hadn't been as special as they had hoped. None of us will be back to this or any other hotel in the Portland Group chain.

I used to stay here on occasion when visiting family. I won't be staying here anymore.

According to my family, who live in the area, the hotel's reputation has fallen greatly, and it shows. There seem to be an awful lot of non english speaking staff, and whilst I have no objection to people coming to the uk to work, it is folly to put them to work ont the "front line" if they cannot understand english or be understood themselves.

The service was terrible and it would appear that everything was too much bother for the staff rather than everything being a pleasure as it had been when I have stayed previously.

The standards within the whole hotel have fallen dreadfully low and I would barely rate the service as one star.

Food was dreadfully disappointing and rooms barely clean.

It is my understanding that there is an unusually high turnover of staff - including General Managers. I would suggest that says a lot about the company who own it - they can't be bothered.

Won't be staying here again. What a farce.