I spent this weekend sailing in Cowes and so wanted somewhere to stay that was close to both the yacht haven and the Island Sailing Club.

The Watch house barn b&b and coffee shop seemed to fit the bill. Two nights cost me £70. The accommodation was reached via a shabby side door next to the coffee shop. My room was at the top of two flights of stairs, with the bathroom opposite. The room was clean, although the mattress had seen better days. Again, the bathroom was perfectly acceptable. However I had to show the proprietor (Tracey) how to turn her electrics on for the hot water (!), the bin had not been emptied for my arrival (even though I was the only one in for that night) and the fridge contained some milk which the proprietor decided to throw out.

The following day I ate breakfast in the coffee shop. Whilst there I queried the fact that I had no number to ring in case of problems. (No one was there after 5pm.) The proprietor (Barry) seemed surprised that his number was no longer on the board. It made me wonder when the last time he actually visited his own accomodation was!

I returned from sailing at about 5pm to find that my room had not been cleaned, bin emptied etc and that the bathroom had most definitely not been seen to (my makeup stains were there from the night before)

How on earth they could charge £35 for the night, I do not know. I decided not to stay the second night.