I have stayed in my fair share of bad hotels in my time but this visit unfortunately has to rank as the worst hotel I've ever stayed at - bar none. If Basil Fawlty ever franchised a budget roadside inn, it would look suspiciously like the Days Inn by Stevenage North. What Hotels.com optimistically describes as a bar lounge turns out, in reality, to be a lonely fridge of bottled beer and a wheezing Stella Artois tap that spits foam into disposable plastic tumblers. Add a scattering of plastic chairs arranged with all the charm of a GP waiting room, and voilà – “the lounge.” Gastronomy, meanwhile, extends to a proud display of Haribo and Pot Noodles balanced mournfully on a shelf. Fine dining this is not.
But the real pièce de résistance was the room. Mine stank of damp, the décor looked as though it had been carefully preserved from 1992, and, without asking, I was gifted a disabled-access shower and toilet setup. Quirky surprise aside, this would all have been forgiveable with a decent night’s sleep and a hot shower. Except – there was no hot water. Not in my room, not in anyone else’s from my group, meaning an entire floor of guests were left embarking on a cold, bracing rinse before work. Nothing makes you feel valued as a paying guest quite like being plunged into a budget reenactment of the Ice Bucket Challenge first thing in the morning.
Avoid avoid avoid with all your strength. This is an embarrassment of an establishment!