The Ayrlington — Hotel in Bath

A Disappointing Experience at the Arlington Hotel in Bath

I recently stayed at the Arlington Hotel in Bath with my partner, lured by its supposed popularity among students and tourists from China, where I’m from. The hotel claims to be five-star, but honestly, it felt like a cheap hostel rather than anything premium. I’ve been to three-star hotels with far better amenities and conditions.

We were looking for a blend of traditional charm and modern comfort, but instead, we found an old building that felt rundown. The staff seemed oblivious to customer service, giving the impression they were there to fulfill a duty rather than make our stay enjoyable.

Our room was cold, with decor that looked like it hadn’t been updated since the 70s. The wallpaper was jarring, and the color schemes felt like they were chosen by an interior designer high on something from the 80s.

To make matters worse, in the middle of the night, we were abruptly disturbed by a staff member who spoke to us in a rude and condescending manner, reminiscent of a prison officer. It felt belittling, and I couldn't help but wonder if it was due to our being Chinese. Despite the hotel profiting from the Chinese community, I plan to share my experience on Asian social media platforms that misled me into booking this place.

For £240 a night for what was labeled a “premium room,” I expected so much more. It turned out to be the most depressing accommodation I’ve ever encountered. My partner paid for the stay, so I tried to hide my disappointment until she expressed that she wished we had chosen a modern place at less than half the price.

During the night, I was kept awake by unsettling scratching noises coming from the walls. At first I believed it to be rats; but the chilling sense of dread that made it impossible to relax, leads me to think is something far worse and unholy.

If you’re looking for a place that feels like a haunted house run by the Gestapo, with terrible interiors, outdated common areas, and freezing rooms, this is the hotel for you. I was embarrassed to share any photos of the place on my Instagram, fearing ridicule. With rates of £240 for the best room and others going for just £70, I can only imagine how much worse the standard rooms must be.

Please avoid this hotel. There are so many better options out there. The only thing I can say in their defense is that the poor service seems to come from the top down. The staff appear to be strictly following “house rules,” which only adds to the oppressive atmosphere. The lady that worked the morning shift was very pleasant and deserves to be at a better hotel . I am sure it was management that insisted that she impose fines for breaking a house rule and demanding £150 and £30 for being 25 mins late for checkout.

If you’ve been misled by a Chinese social platform to consider this hotel, think twice. The embarrassment of not wanting to share any photos of this place...

AVOID, AVOID, AVOID THIS HEARTLESS MONEY GRABBING HOTEL! As others have said on Trip Adviser, we’d give 0 stars if possible! Freezing fog, heavy snow, ice left us stranded for hours preventing us continuing to The Ayrlington to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Despite phoning to explain our situation in the midst of this horribly distressing experience, Asst Manager Bianca Whelan had no concern at all for our wellbeing, only for the hotel’s “Conditions of Service” as she kept repeating, and then “Come tomorrow instead”. That we’re long term repeat customers counted for nothing from her money-grabbing “Conditions of Service” perspective. We offered to move this existing 3 night stay forward a couple of months to celebrate hubby’s birthday. SHE REFUSED. When we finally moved off the sliproad, our journey home during treacherous conditions was SO scary. With BBC’s advice next day not to travel we naturally expected a compassionate response when we again phoned The Ayrlington. No chance! THEY’D ALREADY TAKEN THE FULL BOOKING PRICE PLUS CAR PARKING FEE FROM OUR CREDIT CARD!!! Disgusted, we phoned but Bianca continued to distress us with her lack of compassion. We emailed with photos as proof of us being stranded. We repeatedly asked to speak to Manager David Muffet/requested he reply to our emails. No chance! Instead cold hearted “Conditions of Service” Bianca told us “He is too busy with the 2 other B&Bs he manages”. After our insistence, David Muffet finally emailed saying “I’m well aware that you have been regular clients for many years at The Ayrlington. However, I’m forced to uphold our cancellation policy from the Gods above that control what I’m allowed to do and also what I’m not allowed to do.” ??? He offered only a ‘credit value against a future booking’ for 1 of the 3 nights of our stay that they’d sold (at much reduced price compared to what we’d paid) AS IF WE’D EVER WANT TO STAY THERE AGAIN!!! Eventually, after repeated demands, we got a refund for 1 night plus car parking fee. In informing us about the refund, Bianca offered a weak apology for being less than understanding of our circumstances. So, after the extremely distressing, actually disgusting, way The Ayrlington treated us - long term repeat clients - would you choose to stay at this money-grabbing hotel whose Assistant Manager & General Manager care only about profit with no concern for their clients’ wellbeing? We love the City of Bath and have travelled there every year for countless years, BUT we will never again stay at The Ayrlington. Shame on you both Bianca Whelan & David Muffet! You defile the fine reputation of The Ayrlington (& the staff such as Casey who actually do care about...

We probably got the worst room in the hotel, so please take this review for that specific room (bamboo)

Cleaning: the room was pretty clean, but the shower window was broken (see pictures) and there was no vent, so it still smelled like the previous guests. There was a fireplace in the bath which is a nice idea, but it had spider web (and spiders, see pictures) and I prefer my hotels room bug free when I pay 340 pounds for two nights.

Noise: The room was facing the main road, to air it out because of the broken bathroom window, we tried to leave the bathroom door open and the room windows open, but it sounded like the street cars, buses, trucks are in our room.

Service: When we asked the young lady at the front desk if we can checkout a little later, her response was: check out is 10:30, we “don’t do” late checkouts Without asking, “what time would you like? / Let me check if we have any guests after you”, zero flexibility. We’ve been travelling for a few weeks now on different hotels around the UK and that response was a first. On Saturday, the breakfast dining room was staffed with one waitress, she was struggling, bringing people the wrong orders or waiting 20 minutes for your coffee, she was lovely, but again, for that price they could have hired more staff. It became kind of a joke between the guests who were sitting around waiting.

Location : The location of the hotel was great, 10 minutes from the city centre

Comfort: The room was not comfortable, although I made this booking almost 4 months in advance and asked for a double bed, we got two beds pushed together. The middle was extremely hard so we could either sleep separately on two sides or squeezed to one side.

Again this is specific about the “Bamboo” room which was quite awful, we walked down during checkout time when all the other rooms were open for cleaning and we saw some incredible rooms, which was even more discouraging because when I made the booking (4 months ahead) I wrote to the hotel that this is a birthday gift for my partner, NHS doctor that had an extremely hard year due to covid. Asking if they could do anything to make it special for him, at least thinking they will give us the best room in the price range we paid, certainly not expecting we’ll receive the worst. I guess I should have expected the bad service when they never replied to my message.

Bath was incredible, we will definitely come back, but I will try a different...