Carena House Bed & Breakfast Canterbury — Hotel in Canterbury

Definitely not a 4 star b and b. Proprietor was cheerful but property itself very shabby and not fit for purpose. Insufficient sensor lighting over hallway and stairs which cuts out too quickly leaving you watching every step and stair. Small mats everywhere make it look scruffy as well as being unecessary trip hazards. ||The proprietor showed me the bathroom which was shabby, dirty and cold. She pointed to the shower and explained that in order to turn it on, I would need to wrap a towel around the shower lever and push hard with both hands until the hot water burst forth. When it did, she said I would have to be careful because it would burn me and that in order not to get burnt I would have to quickly switch it off again and let it cool down(??!). I decided there and then not to risk being scalded. I was pretty disappointed by now that a nice shower, after my all day journeying, was not now going to happen. To cap it all, the fan was clicking wearily and obviously needed attention too. ||This was just the start. My room was Room 1 which consisted of random shoddy furniture and old scruffy bedding that quite frankly you wouldn’t buy from a charity shop. The room was freezing cold; no insulation from a single glazed poorly fitted and unmaintained old sash window, and had no central heating. There was a radiator in both my bedroom and the bathroom but nothing happened when I turned them on. Heating was instead provided in the form of a tiny mini-oil filled radiator which couldn’t do the job if heating the bedroom at all. I was shivering for hours overnight and ended up wearing my day clothes and duvet coat overnight to try and keep myself warm. A genuinely awful and uncomfortable sleepless night. I contacted the Cathedral Gate hotel in the wee small hours and booked in there the following day. ||On the upside the welcome tray at the Carena had been ok. When I informed the owner that would be leaving, she said she wasn’t going to charge me. ||I’m wary of all the positive reviews on here and can’t equate them with what I encountered. Unless you want to trip over mats, be plunged into darkness, scalded by the shower or catch a cold, then I recommend you find somewhere else. The place needs the windows sorting, the central heating on, a plumber to fix the shower and someone to rethink the safety aspect of guests having to go downstairs in the dark before the sensor light then kicks in to light up over the staircase and the hallway. By then you could have already taken a...

Upon arrival, after a long day travelling and visiting another Kent town, instead of a warm and friendly welcome, I was instantly interrogated by the owner about the price I was to pay, ie £45, without breakfast, as £15 extra for breakfast was excessive. I was not allowed my room key until both owners fully understood their 'with and without breakfast' room rates on their website, despite me originally making my booking by telephone, as I incurred problems using their website. Most chaotic and disappointing start to my stay.||I was still not allowed my room key until I had taken off my shoes and left them on the shoe rack, as they have a 'no shoes allowed' policy - never have I experienced this in all the numerous places I have ever stayed, in all the years of travelling nationally and internationally!||Within 5 minutes of finally being allowed in my room, the owner knocked for payment. Unfortunately, she could not calculate what I owed, ie £45 x 3 nights, despite emailing me my invoice at the time of booking, so I had to tell her what I needed to pay her. ||I was then offered breakfast for £10, which was still too expensive, especially when there is a lovely, popular cafe 5 minutes walk away, which serves all day breakfasts for £4.99!||This is not a 4 star guest house. Despite my room being clean and comfortable, it contained a mish-mash of very cheap furniture (some completely unnecessary). Two large rugs in the room and outside the room entrance (trip hazzards). Headboard was broken. TV had bare minimal channels available and tv remote not fully functional. The unironed bed linen contained very random, multi-coloured, irregular stitching (possibly repairs). ||I prefer a well aired room. However, despite opening the sash window each morning, when I returned in the evening it was always closed.||Breakfast room consisted of one long row of tables and chairs (no seperation between tables), which I thought was a very strange set up. I was allowed to eat a takeaway in there, which I did on my first night only.||Based on my overall experience and price paid, I will not be returning to this guest house, nor will I be recommending it. I joked with friends about it being a Fawlty...

Advertised as a 4 star property ! The owner said it was awarded in 2019 - it’s DEFINITELY not 4 star now! |Not even pillow protectors on any of pillows. Unironed bed linen. Shabby , old and cheaply run accommodation - though very clean. ||We hoped that breakfast would make up for our poor experience but alas this made things worse - burnt bacon + mushrooms & hard fried eggs (even though we asked for poached - she forgot 😩). Cheap ingredients all round.||Cheaply furnished and old fittings- even a 50p piece as a sink plug! See photos.||Dangerously wide opening window in a second floor room - has this passed a health & safety inspection 🧐.||Poorly designed room, with unnecessary item of furniture which impacts exit to room and in the event of fire could be detrimental to one’s safety …||We left after one night, after a long drive, although we were meant to stay longer , we just couldn’t face it 😟.||This did not compare to any other 4 star accommodation we have stayed in (which is many) - and many being Victorian buildings and I suggest this rating is out of date and needs reviewing - along with the insurance certificate displayed in entrance which is also dated 2019! ||I did speak to Susan about leaving early and some of the issues, however she told me that all of what I had mentioned was due to them wanting to keep the property in the manner of a Victorian house.||Truly can’t understand how this accommodation has good reviews …||I’m our opinion it is a budget...