Bickleigh Castle

I stayed only the 1 night of 2 booked. Upon arrival I found the reception area, rang the bell and was given a friendly slightly harassed welcome. I was shown to my room which on opening the door had not been made up, I was then shown to another room which had not been made up, third time lucky I was given a made up room. The cleanliness of the room was disturbing, carpets that needed a serious vacuum not just a quick go over, skirting and edges that hadn’t seen a hoover in a long time. The shower had black droplets hanging out of the head and the sealant had all seen better days. I didn’t have a shower. The bed crunched every time you moved. The telly didn’t work as no batteries in the remote, I got it so far but needed the remote. Just the nature of the property this one but you could hear everything from the person upstairs. Onto breakfast, lumpy off milk, strawberries that were discoloured and off, no hot water for tea, no standard breakfast tea bags in the tray, hard bread. Just awful. I got a cup of tea from my room and had that with a slice of toast. No one ate well that morning. It is staggering that none of this was noticed by the lady. I stay away a lot due to work and see a lot of hotels this was by far from start to finish the worst I’ve stayed in. I’m sure in its day it was wonderful as the setting and surrounds are great but it really has seen better days. I will not go back or recommend.

On reaching the hotel, there was no one around so had to wait. We were shown to where breakfast was going to be laid out, and told everyone eats outside in this weather. We were shown to the room and told the key would be on the bed, no sign and we did ask a few times throughout the stay. The bedroom and linen had seen better times . TV was so small and if you managed to view you were an expert. Bathroom area was small and to get a steady flow out of the shower was a struggle. We went to breakfast! Strawberries looked as they had been there a while and were rotten. The milk the same and was full of lumps and the smell horrendous. The bread had obviously been laid out a while as it was hard. One guest was trying to get a cup of tea and ended up going back to her room for one. Another walked in and just walked away. Absolutely disgusting! After this we packed up , made an excuse and left. We did not stay a 2nd night. How people have given this 10 out 10 amazes us. As the other client said you won't stay and managed to get another hotel. Would not recommend until major changes have been completed.

The breakfast was very basic

Breakfast - basic, only toasted bread and croissants, basic choice of cereals. There’s nothing continental about the breakfast, and no cooked breakfast at all. Fruit - blueberries, strawberries and raspberries - not fresh, and I saw the owner Sarah clearing tables and uneaten fruit was put back onto the main table! Accommodation - Dirty windows, bathroom dirty, new sealant on top of old, black sealant, shower screen grim. And the rest too (walls, skirting boards full of dust). No hairdryer. Beds dirty and uncomfortable, it was as sleeping on bed springs. Don’t expect cleaning on a weekend. We stayed there 11 night, so experienced 2 weekends, when asked why the room hasn’t been cleaned, it’s because they don’t have a cleaner on a weekend! The busiest time for any hotel. Grounds - need to hire a gardener! Overgrown, weeds growing everywhere, fruit orchard neglected, ponds not worth looking at. We stayed there 5 years ago at the height of Covid pandemic and at that time it was more like a 4 star hotel, hence returning! Back then we had cooked breakfast, grounds were beautiful and we took a lot of pictures. Not this time. Nothing worth taking pictures for. We stayed at the very same room, and it hasn’t changed a bit! Same bed spreads, small TV, same paint, as if frozen in time. We won’t be returning ever again. Sarah husband’s health has deteriorated and staying in a room below ours - on late evenings Sarah was arguing with her husband and swearing. Very unprofessional.

On arrival, no one was at reception. We rang the bell for 15 minutes before the owner finally came out and casually told us they had been in the bath. We were given the key to Room 18, only to walk into a disgusting scene—dirty floors, used coffee mugs, an unmade bed, wet towels on the floor, a full bin of leftover food and cigarettes, and a filthy bathroom. The toilet hadn't been flushed, there was urine on the seat, and grime everywhere. We returned to complain but were left waiting another 15 minutes. The manager eventually came and reluctantly agreed to view the room. She apologised and offered to clean it, but told us to be quick getting changed as she "had plans in 30 minutes." Not professional at all. Later that night, it was clear the room had barely been touched. The bin was still full, the toilet still dirty, and the bed just remade—not changed—crumbs and all. Even the bath mat was still wet from the previous guests. The next morning, we were given towels with holes and tears. Breakfast was included, but we felt too uncomfortable to eat anything. This hotel was run-down, unhygienic, and clearly not maintained. By far the worst hotel we’ve ever stayed in. Would never return and absolutely would not recommend.