I received a kindly welcome from the owner when I arrived late evening to stay for three nights whilst I worked locally. After reviewing the pictures on trip advisor I had been looking forward to staying at this hotel. While the reality fell quite far short of what the images lead me to imagine - I want to add that it is certainly not a ‘poor’ hotel. In fact it’s more of a quirky B&B. If you’re looking for somewhere to lay your head while you explore the local area, this might be perfect for you. But it’s not a hotel you would want to hang out and relax in. The main disappointments for me were, a) the cold temperature of the hotel; the absolutely charming chef/waitress cooked and served my delicious breakfast in a hat, scarf and coat. And I ate it wearing my coat too! Lovely breakfast, terrible atmosphere. b) The room I stayed in didn’t look like any of the attractive pictures, but was a very small double with a view onto a wall. I made sure I was in there for as little time as possible. c) The lounge looked warm & welcoming in the images too and I imagined doing a bit of work in the lounge on my laptop with a beer next to a log fire in the evenings. But the bar was never open/manned and the fire was never lit while I stayed. In the defence of the hotel though, this was hardly surprising, as over a three day period I didn’t see one single other resident or any other staff member, except for the girl who served me for breakfast - so it would have been uneconomical to man the bar or heat the lounge for just one person, who might not even turn up. I do get it. I just didn’t expect it. d) It is a quite expensive, arguably overpriced Hotel in my view. Therefore I do wonder, if it is true that I really was the only one in the hotel, why they didn’t decide to upgrade me to a bigger, nicer room. This point is a bit presumptuous of course, but it’s what I would’ve done. Lastly, I am aware that the owner of this hotel has just sold it in favour of retirement. I spoke to some local people about the hotel who told me that, in years gone by, The Hodgkinson’s Hotel and restaurant was the venue where local people would book for treat but that it has become very tired over time. I can certainly imagine this place being restored to its former splendour and run by new, visionary & passionate owners. When that happens, I would certainly like to return to experience what they do with the place.
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