I rarely stay in non chain hotels, and this place fully exemplifies why.|Before I continue, I will state how good the staff were. All 4 we spoke to were amazingly polite, helpful, and friendly. |The room was massive and had 3 single beds (booked a twin, but rather this than a double!), TV was working and in a decent location for watching when we got in later. Tea/ coffee facilities were good, plenty of sachets, milk etc. Beds were comfortable if a bit narrow, bedding was clean, pillows were an odd combination of hard and soft. It was as if they were filled with wet sand, but they were comfortable to sleep on.|There was a musty smell in the room, but it was clean.|The bathroom however was grim. Or at least the floor was. A lot of places have dust in the corners or round the Base of door frames, but it was clear that the floor has not been cleaned properly in a long time.|Storage was good if you need it.|WiFi also good.|Breakfast OK, although you have to get staff to poor your coffee! Even though it's a buffet breakfast.|The complaints I've read about staff attitudes I feel are probably a side effect of the attitude of the owners, because if it was my business, I'd be concerned about the condition of the place. Which is a shame, because it has potential to be a really nice hotel.|In general, the whole place needs a refurbishment, but I paid £53.22 for 2 people including breakfast. So I feel that it's very much a case of you get what you pay for.|Can't say I'd stay again by choice, but the location is good (train station and citadel is literally across the road, Carlisle Utd 12 mins walk, castle and cathedral also close) and as I said the staff met my expectations.|I'm guessing it's target demographic is lads and lasses on nights out, football fans and from what we saw people being put up by their employers.|Definitely not a good choice if you're using Carlisle as a Base with the family to visit the lakes and Southern Scotland.|2 out of 5 for cost and location. |