We spent a month traveling through Scotland & England plus a week on the Rick Steves tour of Paris (had a great time). We went through England based on the sights and recommendations of Rick’s tour book. On the whole it was excellent, with one exception. His recommendation for Pratt’s Hotel in Bath was way off the mark.
Pratt’s Hotel in Bath, UK was far and away the worst place in which we have ever stayed! (not just this trip but any trip). If we could rate it zero stars, we would! The only redeeming feature was the “breakfast lady”. She was always cheery, polite and helpful. How they managed to retain her was beyond us! Speaking of breakfast, they always seemed to be out of some important ingredient. One morning there were no sausages, the next no potatoes.
We were there for three agonizing days. The best part of it was when we left. You can bet we did lots of sightseeing and spent as little time in the place as possible. If we hadn’t paid in advance with no refund, we would have left right away. But, all that time touring Scotland must have made us “cost aware”. (I’m told the Scots are not stubborn but are persistent.)
The first room they gave us was terrible. The paint and plaster was falling from the ceiling above the shower, mold (black ugly stuff) was growing all around the corners of the shower bottom and up the door. I got the feeling I was back in the military enduring a biological warfare drill. The carpet was stained and dirt was packed into the corners. The furniture was stained and dirty with food and crumbs in the folds.
The second room was better (we refused to stay in the first). The bathroom ceiling wasn’t in immediate danger of falling and there wasn’t as much mold in the shower. The rugs were not as stained and the furniture wasn’t being used to store food. Unfortunately, the heat didn’t work and we had to use a small portable heater. The first thing we did was buy some disinfectant and cleaner to fix anything we were going to touch.
Stay there at your own risk.
I even have pictures to prove this. I should send them to Rick so he could talk to whoever researched this hotel for the guidebook – they didn’t do Rick any favors. Come to think of it, I should send the photos and a letter to Rick so he knows what is going on.