Self Check in Room Accommodation Only the Castle, Coldstream

I booked a room online, more than two months before a one night stay, to break up a long journey. I received confirmation emails to say the room had been booked. My friend booked a second room, later the same evening. When we turned up, they had no record of my booking. The room I had booked had been let out to someone else, who had already checked in. I spoke to them via the electronic doorbell speaker system and never saw them in person. I forwarded on the emails I had received, confirming my booking. They were polite and apologized, and offered to book a room for me at a hotel ten miles away. I said that this wasn't practical because my friend and I were sharing a car, and his booking at the Castle Hotel had been recognized. In the end, they booked me into a hotel down the road, the Newcastle Arms, so I had somewhere to stay, and it seemed nicer there, anyway. However, it caused additional stress when I was already tired after a long day of travelling. I'm not sure I would opt to stay there in the future.

Firstly this is not a hotel, it clearly used to be. There is no pub/ bar or dining area. It appears to under new ownership. The rooms are at the back and have a shared entrance. Our room had an ensuite. The room was quiet. There is free parking outside, but it is noisy due to the people temporarily parking to collect takeaway food close by.

Booked a night here as a treat for my best friends birthday . Staff we saw were lovely and very friendly and although the room we were given was in need of redecoration and updating it seemed to be clean enough on the face of it. Sheets and towels were of good quality white cotton and seemed very clean and fresh. However, as is my custom, to be helpful, I started to strip the beds on morning of departure and got an awful shock. We were in room 8 which is a family room with a double and two single beds. My friend slept on one of the single beds and when I stripped off the bottom sheet I found a mattress protector that was absolutely covered from head to foot with yellow staining! Looked like it hadn’t been washed in months and I was nearly sick! The mattress under neath was tatty and stained too and wasn’t even the correct mattress for the base it was on. It was really terrible. So terrible in fact that I shied away from stripping the double bed I had slept on as I didn’t want to see that I might have lain on something similar! No excuses here for housekeeping staff or management. Totally unacceptable! Also bedroom door was a very tight fit and difficult to close without banging as was the door to the street directly outside the room door. Not great at night or early morning when other guests coming and going. Plus side the breakfast was good and well cooked. Room was £80 including breakfast so was not expecting a palace but such a shame that something as basic as lack of cleanliness of bed/bedding let it down badly.

Called into this estblishment a couple of times and had drinks and food. Decent prices and always friendly. Good atmosphere and had a laugh with the locals and owners. Would certainly go back when next in the area.