Today I wanted to share my first experience of staying in a hotel with our little Fred because we've never actually spent any real time away from our home but we wanted to try a trip away in the hope that over time Fred would get used to it. At first I really struggled to find a hotel at a reasonable price to have your dog stay because I didn't realise at the time that hotels always charge extra and some charge in excess of £25 for one night which I thought was a little obscene however The Old Ship Hotel only charged £12.50 which is reasonable. I'm going to be honest about the hotel because I feel like sometimes it's really hard to find the right hotel when you have a dog so I would rather this post be helpful as opposed to just being a positive review, I obviously haven't been paid to write this, just putting it out there in case anyone has any suspicions.
First Impressions
There is no shadow of a doubt that this is a dog friendly hotel! When I walked in every member of staff wanted to stroke or play with Fred, we felt so welcome even down to the detail of having a jar of dog biscuits next to the jar of mints for the humans! Everyone was smiling and helpful, the foyer was clean and inviting it actually had a very luxurious feel to it and there was a wedding going on so that should give you a little idea of what the first impressions were like. We booked through Booking.com where I make all of my bookings and the only disappointing thing was that we couldn't check in until 3pm which feels a little later than I would have expected at most hotels but they were fine in letting us just wait around until the room was free. Also, the location is honestly so perfect, it's very close to Brighton pier and right on the seafront!
The Room
For me, this is where things start going down hill a little, as you can see the room is fine the decor may be slightly outdated but on the surface I was really happy with it until I started to look a little closer. The first thing I noticed were the carpet stains, I understand that we were in a dog room so of course it's not going to the top tier but it did put me off a little. I know dogs have accidents (ours didn't) but when you sit down and notice the vast amount it was a little disappointing. Also, the sink had a giant crack in it and the chairs had a layer of dust at the back which again was off putting. One nice touch though was that they had put a little dog bed and water bowl in the room which again highlights that dogs are very welcome additions. The room was obscenely hot because of the weather and the fact they left the heated towel rail on but they had a tall stand up fan so that was great! Fred did not like the room at all, it was probably just because it was somewhere new but it was so hot he really struggled to settle down.
Would I stay again?
No! This is purely because of the price, the cost of this room was £198 (includes £12.50 dog fee) for one night!! Unfortunately there is no way the quality of the room was worth that cost. I completely understand an appreciate that we would be put in a room of that condition because we have a dog, they are hardly going to place us in a premium room when there's a chance our dog could ruin it but it felt very much like a room that they didn't mind if it did get ruined, if that makes sense? If I was basing my stay purely one the customer service and welcome then I would definitely stay again in a heartbeat and I would probably even stay again if the room was around the £130 (excluding dog fee) mark because the location is good but for me the room doesn't warrant the price tag!
So there we have my little mini review of the hotel, I think in future I would probably opt for an AirBnB because I think Fred would settle a little easier and because we wouldn't have to worry if Fred did bark but also because it would feel like we would have a more comfortable stay and not feel like we are given a below par room just because we have a dog!
Post a Comment