Rigsby’s Guesthouse Doncaster — Hotel in Doncaster

Fortunately we only stayed one night in May 2017 at this grubby B&B which really needs a refurbishment to professional standards – not the sort of ‘make do and mend’ that landlady Tracy is attempting by herself. On arrival piles of construction waste were evident both outside and inside the building which overall had a seedy appearance. We had agreed in advance that we would arrive around 1600hrs and did so bang on time. Despite this there was no answer when we rang the locked front door several times. We were obliged to phone Tracy when we discovered that she was on the first floor in the front, doing decorating. She then presented covered in a grubby overall in which she gave us an introduction to our room. Although our room was spacious and looked quite nice initially we soon noticed dust everywhere and what looked like an old sock behind the sink pedestal (didn’t like to explore it further!) The wall paper, although apparently newly done appeared to have been applied over old stuff that should have been removed first – the whole had air bubbles/blisters. Electrics were also distinctly dodgy with the main light switch not fixed to the wall with screws but hanging loose on live wires. There was an electric kettle placed directly on top of the ventilation slits of the refrigerator but its lead was so short and its plug concealed that it could not be moved to prevent any overspill of boiling water from going straight into the refrigerator electrics! Dangerous. Around 1700hrs my husband had a shower after our long drive but found the water in the non-en-suite bathroom to be unheated. When we remarked about this Tracy advised in a ‘matter of fact’ way that the water heating did not switch on until about 1800hrs – as there was no point in heating it earlier!! In the early evening we noted that workmen guests were permitted to eat their takeaway food in the breakfast room. The following morning we found our table surface to be grubby with evidence of food soiling. There were no table cloths, just bare wood which obviously does not present an easily cleaned, hygienic surface, the crockery was chipped and at least one of the cereal containers had a layer of dirty grease on top. When Tracy served our breakfast, which was average, she was again wearing a very grubby looking apron – completely off-putting. The last straw was when we discovered that not only had the full £80 been charged to our credit card at the time of booking (a month earlier) but that Tracy had taken it on herself to add £4 to cover the vendor charge by the card company. This we objected to as this was not mentioned anywhere either on the website or verbally prior to our arrival. When we mentioned this to Tracy she refused to consider a refund of the unmentioned charge and it was only when we raised a dispute with our credit card company that they upheld our objection and the £4 was refunded. Overall this place fell well short of the standards we would expect of a B&B costing £80+ for a single night in a double room with no en-suite. Following research we choose this place because of the generally glowing reviews but all we can conclude the is that these are from friends or associates as what we experienced could not be more different – in a negative way. Rigsbys, Doncaster, has all the hallmarks of a business that is struggling...

Booked online via booking.com. Check in is advertised from 12:00-23:00. Told host prior to booking that we were unable to provide an ETA of arrival due to travelling over 100 miles. We did not receive a response from the host in the 9 days since informing them of this - and there was no small print on the booking form to state ‘check in not available between x and x time’. Arrived at property and were unable to gain access, ring electronic doorbell with camera was no use - no response from host. Rang host directly to be told that she was 40 minutes away walking the dog! We were unable to wait 40 minutes as had been travelling for over 3 hours due to traffic, and had a meal booked within the hour. We had to attend the meal not best suited or fresh due to not being able to access our room. We messaged the host to inform them that we would return to check in around 21:00 due to the above. By 20:30 we had still not received a reply from the host confirming if they would be there or not - not wanting to risk being disregarded outside the property again, we consequently drove 100 miles back after our meal. ||When contacting booking.com for a refund the host tried to gaslight us and make it our problem that we couldn’t access our room! ‘You didn’t provide a check in time’ - (we did, we said we couldn’t confirm one) as a ‘guesthouse’ your guests should not have to accommodate their arrival around your personal lifestyle, guests pay to have that luxury. ||Booking.com were incredible and fully understood our frustration - and issued a full refund immediately. ||We probably should have looked at the reviews, and the episode of ‘Four In A Bed’ before booking! (Hint, it’s not a good look for the host!) In hindsight - always...

Beautiful place although needs a good clean throughout. Stains on carpet and just a bit grubby. Was very happy with the room however the glasses were dirty And the bath mat and also left over rice from previous guest in microwave! I didn’t say anything at the time though as I’m not one to complain. Small things like providing a microwave and toaster and fridge but then no plates or cutlery to use I thought was a bit odd. Tea and coffee facilities but no milk either. Weird. No one on reception. EVER! Then in the morning got a blunt text saying. “Morning time to check out” then another text saying basically if I didn’t leave by a certain time then charges would incur! Me and my partner had both left the property in ample time before the check out thanks very much so I replied saying that we had left and I got a very rude text back accusing me of my car still being in the carpark!! Ermm what?? I was at home at this point and was quite shocked really. So I replied saying no it was not, although I don’t know where she got that from as she claims. She was on a dog walk!! So she replied saying “okay” did you leave key in door!! Ermm no as we didn’t know we had to and there was a bowl on the EMPTY reception desk with a sign on saying keys so we put them in there! No thank you or sorry for accusing you of being at the property still when I’m not. Clearly trying to make more money. She seems odd and arrogant.. I wouldn’t stay there again she ruined the whole...