We have only just returned from this hotel as of June 2007 and have firmly stated WE WILL NEVER STAY THERE AGAIN and we sincerely beg hard working members of the public not to burn their hard earned money by giving it to the owner of this run-down, sub-standard hotel. We have taken pictures and are considering posting them here for the protection and information of others.
Upon our arrival we were not properly greeted and the hotel owner, Ken, did not assist us with our bags and simply watch us struggle - his friend helped us and was very friendly.
The reception area couldn't even be classed as a reception. There was no desk, no formal furniture to suggest this was a reception - there was only a sign.
The decor was very dated, old and in need of replacing but this appeared very unimportant to the owner. The place was tacky, tasteless and unimpressive.
We stayed in a room on the first floor and found this room to be dusty, musty and unclean (we have pictures to substanciate these claims). I had to dust the surfaces, glass lampshades, window sills, alarm clock etc all which were covered with a thick layer of dust! This is unacceptable and shows exactly how much time is spent in taking care of the upkeep of the rooms - VERY LITTLE! The owners dog constantly barked and as it is kept in an enclosure at the back to which our room faced, we found this extremely irritating and annoying as it happened during the night too!
The bathroom was far too small and it was hard manouvering or changing after a shower. The suite was white but not as clean as other hotels and the shower basin was black with mould, the shower screen was watermarked, the handle for the shower came off in your hand and there was very little actual water pressure. The toilet seat was loose and the floor tiles were loose and the grout was cracked and coming away from the tiles and they moved underfoot.
The manager of this establishment was friendly at times but much of the time he was completely unavailable if you needed help and the dining experience left much to be desired:
There were NO menus
There was no choice of skimmed, semi-skimmed milk. ONLY full fat!
There was only butter available - no healthier options.
There was only WHITE bread available - NO brown or wholemeal.
There was no choice of fruit or fruit juices (until the last day but a female cook, who was very friendly and capable, who we had never seen before, put out fruit juice and asked us if we needed anything etc and couldnt have been more helpful, something we founfdthe owner completely lacking in).
On our first day our bedroom and bed HAD NOT been made or changed in any way and we came back to NO CLEAN TOWELS and AN UNMADE BED! We brought this to the managements attention and we are glad to say this didnt happen again but he did state to us he is unknowing about how to cater for lesbians!! Are people not people? His attentions were more focused on the male customer and he would sit and talk to men and act in a way he simply wouldn't for us. This attitude is intolerable, we believe.
One late night whilst trying to sleep the managers tv was up so loud that one floor up I simply couldnt put up with the volume so went downstairs - IN MY PJ'S and told him to PLEASE turn it down. His reply was that he couldnt hear anything!! He was standing at the door to the TV room!! I am glad to say he turned the TV off but am still baffled to this day by his response! lol How could he not hear the tv he was standing next to???
There were so many unsatisfactory parts to this hotel and at one point I was ready to come home when the couple next door began to make love wildly and in a fashion closely akinned to When Harry Met Sally. I then thought this place has hit another new low.
I have read the previous statements that are positive about this hotel and I dont know where these people stayed that I didnt!! The positive responses about this place are completely unfounded and they are either made up or done by people who are in the niche with the owner because we were all too happy to leave, we were not wished goodbye oir helped with our bags again!! We are two friendly, happy-go-lucky women who came to Blackpool for some fun but the accomodation severly let us down. Please inspect this hotel before you stay here PLEASE! I simply had to put this summary of my stay on here to inform other gay travellers about the horrors and inadequate services this establishment will provide. Management is unhelpful, uninformative and service is either far too slow or non-existant. This hotel was not worth the price we paid and we strongly advise other men and women to try before you buy with the Stratford Hotel. Thank you for reading.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
