My partner and I have recently stayed in this guest house and have to say that it has got to be the worst place we have ever stayed. As soon as you walk in through the front door there is a pungent smell of cigarette smoke. It is a non-smoking guest house, however, it is not the guests that you have to worry about, the smell comes from the owners living area downstairs in the basement. We decided to stay here based on the photos listed and reviews, however, we believe that the reviews and photos are clearly doctored to make this B&B look better than it really is. We booked to stay here under false pretences. As for the room, it is dark, smelly and damp. There were clean towels, however, the "shared" toilet was too small to even step into, had excrement on the toilet seat and had next to no toilet roll. The morning after, we were really looking forward to a delightful full English but what we were given was cold toast and a plate full of cooking fat.

I think this sums up the guest house that has been self-certified as 4* which is clearly no better than a back-packers hostel.

I fully reccomend this guest house, perfect location close to the Hoe and town centre.
I traveled by car and parking was available directly outside the premises for a £2 charge.
The rooms are basic but very good value, quiet and with plenty of free tea/coffee, clean towels and bedding etc.
I was attending HMS Raleigh for my sons Passing out parade the morning after I stayed and found the journey time from the Avalon to Torpoint to be easy, taking about 30 minutes including the ferry crossing.
The breakfast was very good also, freshly cooked full English with toast tea/coffee, various cereals, and self serve orange and grapefruit juice.
Their are many hotels and guest houses in Plymouth charging a lot more but offering less. I would definatly stay again.

Welcome to my review for the 'Avalon Guest House' everybody.
I wanted to stay in Plymouth for five days during July 2011 primarily to visit a transport rally taking place on Plymouth Hoe on Sunday the 24th,and afterwards to enjoy a few days exploration of the city and its surrounds,as I've not visited Plymouth for many years now.

I travel on a budget, so as is my usual practice I looked on the 'Tripadvisor' website for suggestions for suitable bed and breakfast establishments which are affordable which I needed to be close to Plymouth Hoe and also to the main bus and coach station as I was travelling by coach as 'National Express' coaches had a promotion running and I had managed to secure myself a return ticket by direct coach from Peacehaven in East Sussex where I live to Plymouth for just a £9.00 return fare - now that's real value for a nine and a half hour coach journey each way!

There are so many bed and breakfasts in Plymouth that one is really spoilt for choice,but after careful deliberation,I decided to stay at the 'Avalon Guest House' at 167 Citadel Road,PL1 2HU as it was so conveniently situated for all the amenities that I required. Upon my arrival I discovered that it was only two hundred yards or so away from Plymouth Hoe, and it was just a five minute walk to the city centre,and about ten minutes walk away from the bus/coach station so I was extremely pleased.
When selecting places to stay, things are made so much easier these days with 'Google Street View' so that you can check your hotel's actual location and the access roads beforehand over the internet which is a great help. I felt that I almost knew the locality before I even arrived there thanks to Google!

I arranged and paid for my booking a couple of weeks beforehand using the Avalon Guest House's own website which was a simple enough task as their website was easy to use. Upon my arrival on Saturday evening 23rd July I was given the keys to my room and to the front door,I was told where my room was,and advised the times for breakfast,and upon asking I was informed that I could come and go whenever I pleased.

My room (No.5) which was on the first floor was furnished with a single bed,a small wash hand basin with plenty of hot water,and adequate space to put your clothes and store your suitcase. It was well lit,and it had a pleasant view from the window towards the Hoe. A clock-alarm and a hairdryer were both provided,and a courtesy tray of tea & coffee were supplied together with a kettle.
Freeview television was provided in the room, but I discovered that reception could be erratic and that the picture 'froze' quite a lot, and the sound 'stuttered' as well which was rather a pity as this did tend to spoil one's viewing enjoyment.

It was not an en-suite room,and you needed to go down a small flight of around five steps to reach the bathroom - but this gave me no problems as the bathroom which contained a shower,wash hand basin and loo was luckily always vacant whenever I needed to use it.
Unfortunately the toilet seat had become detached from the bowl on one side,and I reported this on the Monday morning to be told in response that the management were away of this fact. However the toilet seat had still not been repaired by the time that I left the guest house the following Thursday,and I am disappointed that something like this was not attended to much sooner.

Regarding the bedroom,I did feel that perhaps there was space for either a chair or perhaps a small bedside cabinet to be provided,for although there was shelf space it was minimal and you really needed somewhere to put down your mug of tea.
The bedroom door squeaked and the hinges needed oiling, and I'm sure that my comings and goings must had been a source of irritation to the other guests.
Looking on the brighter side of things,my bed was comfortable and I slept well,and when closed the double glazed window kept out all exterior noise from the street outside together with noise from the nearby pub.

Breakfast was served from 7.30am to 9am(Mon/Fris) and 8.30am to 9.30am at the weekends,and in my opinion was very good indeed and the helpings given were most adequate and were served each morning by an extremely courteous and helpful lady called Karen. Orange juice,cereals,and a full english breakfast together with toast marmalade/jams and tea or coffee were offered to me every day,and it was always well prepared and served hot. The dining room with its views overlooking the putting green opposite was a most pleasant place to enjoy one's breakfast and it was kept clean and tidy.

In addition to the putting green (fees for this were;£2 adult/£1.50 child) just opposite the Avalon there was 'The Wheel of Plymouth' big wheel (fees for this were; £7.50 adult/£5.50 OAP/£5 Child) situated only a couple of hundred yards away which can been seen from all over the city,and just past the big wheel was the beautiful Plymouth Hoe which is only a two minute walk away from the 'Avalon Guest House.'

Regarding value for money the 'Avalon Guest House' is in my opinion fair and seems to be average for this area. My stay of five nights cost me £25 per night,and I did find it to be generally clean and comfortable,although as I've mentioned there were some minor niggles which were rather disappointing. As I've already said, it is centrally located in a pleasant street with everything that may be needed to keep adults occupied and the children amused being extremely close by........and you get a good breakfast too.

Would I stay there again?? - Yes,I think so....but I'd certainly bring along some oil for the bedroom door together with a new nut & bolt for the loo!

Kind regards to you all,
Roger.(Peacehaven,East Sussex,UK)

I have to say we booked only purly because it was the one b&b which we could stay in one room as 4 adults ( at the time when we were looking for any accommodation in Plymouth). We did enjoy it but dont expect much to go there. It s a bit old fashioned and damp place however it s got the charm.
We have been put into room upstairs so the bathroom was one floor below and the toilet was just next door. the room was clean but the hairdryer didnt work and the kettle was small only for one cup of tea ( cups were not washed properly tho).
breakfast was alright nothing special. not much for the continental option and it looked a bit like everything was counted. We need to ask for more becon or eggs - after the boss permission we get it :) the internet doesnt work properly by the way :)
Overall we liked it and we can recommend it. you ve got what you re paying for ( 4 adults - b&b - 60 pounds per night)