Overpriced and very tired
Stayed for 2 nights as a last minute break. We were drawn in by the AA 5* rating and the website photos. What a disappointment!
No idea where the AA got 5*s from as neither the room or the food warranted that rating.
We were "greeted" at the pub entrance, to check into our room, by a seemingly harassed waitress. No "how are you", "welcome", "have you travelled far?", just a "this is how much you owe" and " you'll have to book if you want dinner".
Food in pub (2 evening meals) was average to poor. The "roasted tomato soup with basil" at £7.50 had the taste and texture of a tin of Mutti chopped tomatoes with chilli flakes added and chopped parsley on top. The chicken burger that I had on the second night was almost inedible. I struggled to get a fork into it or a knife to cut it. I think that it had been cooked earlier and reheated. In the end I sent it back and received a free dessert. The cooked breakfast was a little better but the "Bury black pudding" was a thin texture-less slice of something but it definitely wasn't what was advertised!
The 5* rooms... Tired, old fashioned, dark, not particularly clean with a view of your car parked outside. The noise from the room above sounded like a herd of elephants everytime anybody moved. Specifics... The single bed that was also in our room had a castor missing off the corner and had been propped up with folded paper napkins. There were no chairs in the bedroom so we had no choice but to sit on the bed. The lights were dim... which might've been a good thing... glad that I'd brought slippers. The bathroom had cracked and chipped tiles on the floor. We spotted a sticker stuck to the floor tiles in the middle of the floor which obviously hadn't been cleaned off during the changeover. Interestingly it was still there the next day even after the room had been cleaned again. Cushions and throws on the bed were drab and faded looking like a leftover from the 1980s.
Don't know when the AA reviewed the place or which room they were shown, honeymoon suite maybe, but at well over £100 a night plus breakfast it was a rip off. Would've had far better and cheaper at a Travelodge





