The Gardeners Country Inn

Bar and food closed too early. No staff available after 9pm. Shame no breakfast available on site.

This room was £70 a night and we had booked for two nights, and whilst I wasn’t expecting luxury I was expecting the room to be clean and to have a decent night sleep ahead of a family funeral. Having driven 8 hours from northern Scotland, all we wanted was a clean room and a decent nights sleep to be rested ahead of the funeral. The first morning we were woken at 6:30am by a delivery van arriving, reverse warning beeping followed by 15 minutes of clattering and doors banging. Then 8am a road sweeper arrived followed by an hour of cleaning the car park. Ordinarily an 8am start would not be an issue but this was on too of the 6:30 earlier wake-up call. Spoke to a lady in the car park and who worked at the hotel and was supervising the road sweeper, I explained the issues with the duvet, and then being woken up etc. she sympathised said she would speak to the cleaners about the duvet and that she had previously spoken to the delivery truck. We returned after a long day attending the funeral. We decided that we would have some drinks and a bite to eat in the pub. Given the dire state of the rooms it was preferable to sit in there than in the rooms. At 9:30pm as we were chatting, the chef appears and announced that the bar was closing. Thinking that this was quite early, we asked what time it usually closed, his response “11pm, but there’s nowt doing and we can’t keep the lights on and staff here just to serve you. But you can take your drinks back to your room” As we were leaving we heard the lady who I had spoke to in the car park the previous morning that she would have to speak to the cleaners because she’d had ANOTHER complaint about the rooms from a lady in the car park!!! If you know there’s an issue with the rooms, fix the problems!! The second morning we were woken again at 5:30am by the deliver truck, clattering of crates being rolled along the car park, opening and slamming truck doors etc. Bedroom Duvet was too small for the bed, it just covered the top of the mattress, no overhang. Only 1 bedside lamp for a double room Cobwebs, clearly been there a while which were full of dead flies Neither wall lights worked, even if they had worked only 1 had a bulb. Carpet was covered in grit. Walls paper thin we could hear very worm on the to next door. Bathroom Only 1 hand towel provided for 2 people No soap provided for the sink Sealant and grout full of black mould and split Hole in wall Toilet roll holder hanging off the wall No soap provided for the sink Paint peeling off the ceiling. The photos on the website are not recent photos, and don’t be fooled by the google reviews - they are for the pub not the accommodation. Avoid!!

Food was lovely however the rooms need a LOT of TLC. Freezing cold rooms, mouldy bathroom, the bathroom floor was disgusting. When we turned on the bath black water initially came out. The matress on the bed practically sunk to the floor when sitting on it. Not to mention the dirt, tissues and hairs underneath the bed (only saw as I had dropped something) It really doesn't take much to give a place some tlc. Considering we had paid for a 'luxury room' with a whirlpool bath, there was certainly nothing luxury about it. Paint work is awful and bathroom ceiling was all peeling away. Certainly would never stay again and would not advise anyone to either.