Black Horse Inn (Canterbury) Ltd — Hotel in Canterbury

We came here to celebrate my partner's birthday in this town that is very dear to him. Because we wanted it to be special, we chose what seemed to be a perfectly charming BnB.

But the manager had other plans for us.

The wind was angry the day we arrived, and after a lovely yet brisk walk, it was time to warm up before dinner in our charming (in an old lady with a questionable hygiene way) room. At that time nothing could have hindered our spirit. Even if the sink was the size of a postcard, even if the mirror above it laughed in the face of practicality, and the wifi was lost at sea, we were determined to overlook this tired scenery with an amused glance, until we noticed that our bones were still shaking with cold. It was at that moment we realised that the radiator wasn’t responding.

After ringing the given number numerous times, we finally had the honour to speak to the manager and explain to her that we were not particularly fond of the fact that it was warmer outside than in our room, especially since we had planned to spend a night there.

After two calls and in-person interaction, still, nothing was done. And when we came back later to find ourselves face to face with an antique electric heater that smelled of bad news, we realised that our weekend of celebrations wouldn't include this establishment.

The mattress, denied the honours of a deserved and necessary retirement, tried with all its might to offer what it is no longer capable of. But hearing was the sense most solicited that night. As surprising as it might seem, this inn, which offers only the blurry memory of its former glory, is found to be in the centre of Canterbury's night festivities. As much from the neighbours above as from the passers-by with gastric reflux difficulties and other types of joyful expressions.

We woke up some hours later with a vague feeling that particularly violent waves shook us at night on the deck of an ocean liner. But it wasn't the majesty of the waves, it was the mattress, and it wasn't the sea breeze but the room temperature that made us actually sick. My partner's birthday started with a cold, a headache, back pain, and a terrible night's sleep. What more could one ask for?

We were the first ones at the surprisingly confusing breakfast set-up. We had a choice between some supermarket cereal boxes, reheated mini pastries, some bought jams and very bright juices. Here is the breakfast lady! We order two veggie breakfasts. What a shame! On this particular day, the chef was out of vegan sausages and hash browns. But they had vegan bacon, not the best one on the market, but we appreciate the effort. Do we prefer white toast or brown toast? We asked brown, we had white.

We appreciate the effort nevertheless.

In order to save the rest of our weekend, we decided to check out earlier, as we were both sneezing like Swiss clocks. A broken radiator in winter should be enough of a reason to offer a refund. The manager seemed very confused and panicked. She tried to keep us there by promising a room with real heating (why she didn't propose it the night before is a mystery wrapped in a riddle) and finally said that “the owners” accepted to give our money back, how kind.

She asked us three times to please not write a bad review, “we will refund you”, she said. It does have the sweet aroma of blackmail, but ok, it’s £80 after all, and it’s not our fault, we only wished to stay if the heating was working.

A week, 3 unanswered emails and 3 days with a cold later, still no sign of any refund. We lost £80. So as they failed with their promise we are free to let you know that if you happen to visit Canterbury, there is many charming accommodations with professional and competent staff, tasty breakfasts and functional heating in winter and that the Black Horse isn’t one of those. Don’t lose your money, your time and your health in this inn forgotten by Men and Gods. Yet with so...

We paid £120 for two nights and I know the saying goes “you get what you pay for” but I would rather believe, if you pay, you should get something in return.

Our cousin collected our key but he received a phone call asking what time he would arrive as the person on the other end needed to go home.

They were then told that as they were leaving so early, they could just walk into the kitchen and help themselves to breakfast on the day of check out. My video from the kitchen is attached and after feeling free to walk in due to the instruction above, I didn’t eat there on the last day due to the hygiene levels.

The place was covered in dust. I made the mistake of flicking the lamp shades in our attic room and the public areas and what came off was disgusting.

More attention to cleanliness would be appreciated with an upward turned vacuum to suck up cobwebs perhaps and a sanitised cloth over surfaces. Basic cleanliness like wiping down the toaster to get rid of crumbs weren’t even followed.

On both mornings we had no hot water throughout the house. A man came to fix it but it was broken the next day and we saw from previous reviews it’s a common occurrence.

After 6pm and before 8am, the building isn’t occupied. I couldn’t help but wonder what happens in case of emergency? The number advertised on the front to call diverts to France.

My aunties bedsheets were crumpled, visibly dirty and previously used but not changed. When she complained, instead of fixing it, it was forgotten. On the second complaint, staff weren’t apologetic or took responsibility. Instead, offered excuses as to why it could have happened instead of just jumping on it and fixing the issue.

The location is great. Free parking can be found less than a five minute walk away.

Luckily, because of the location, getting drinks etc is easy due to the Sainsbury’s and londis round the corner. Otherwise, the shutters on the bar remain closed throughout the day.

There are signs EVERYWHERE and it makes you wonder why they don’t just compile the information and put it in menu form or a “basic info” doc that could be left in each room? Common sense evades them here.

Breakfast was lukewarm. Warmer than the shower anyway. Selection good considering it’s “free”. After the kitchen inspection however, with raw meat sitting above food items it could contaminate and on the same shelf as fruit, dirty fridge and cupboard shelves, dirty ashtrays left on the side, the bin not being removed, a filthy floor and a dirty cooker, I decided to refrain from the second mornings breakfast. See video. Food hygiene rating is misleading.

Should have left...

It’s awful.

The booking confirmation claims that the rooms have been newly renovated with “period furniture” and all beds having memory foam mattress toppers etc. “Period furniture” appears to be the owners way of saying old and wrecked. In our room the beds were stained and collapsed. One of the two mattresses had a memory foam topper (for those keeping score that’s 50% of the beds not ALL beds in the room having memory foam - but hey, why let facts get in the way of a bit of marketing). However, the memory foam that did exist, had a better memory than me, in fact I think it remembers Thomas a Beckett as both mattresses dipped so deeply in the middle you were basically sleeping on the bed base … the room was tired, dirty and the bathroom riddled with mould.

The check in email and the welcome folder both stated you HAD to pre-book if you wanted breakfast but failed to explain how to do that. I called the number provided in the room but that just went to the unmanned reception desk. I then found the “in case or emergency” number - fairly predictably I received no answer, but I left a voicemail, I then also sent two text messages - no reply, not even an acknowledgment and I am still waiting… lucky it wasn’t an emergency I guess

The check in email also stated we would find our key in key box 1 - however we couldn’t open box number 1….. box 9 however (far more logical as that was the number of our room) did contain our room key, and was easy to open as it wasn’t locked.

Despite being told twice we had to preorder breakfast - it turned out this wasn’t required at all. I felt massively sorry for the two ladies on duty this morning, they were massively out of their depth and clearly having to deal with a number of unhappy guests. It WASNT their fault but the service was incredibly slow, they ran out of eggs and in the end we just gave up and went elsewhere for breakfast despite it being included in the price we paid. The lady in charge this morning said she would contact her manager (the owner) and ask her to get back to me. Based on the fact I am still waiting for my “Emergency” messages to be replied to it is safe to say I won’t be holding my breath.

It’s a real shame as it could be a fabulous place to stay. As it is, it is appallingly bad, tired, dirty, mouldy, the check in instructions are both wrong and inadequate and the description of the rooms (certainly based on ours) factually incorrect on a...