The Gordon House Hotel

The location of the hotel is really good. It's right on the high street and you can access the shops, restaurants, cathedral and castle within a few minutes walk. It has its own car park, and although this costs £10 a day, the convenience of having a space to come back to is a big bonus for anyone driving to this hotel. The room was large and the beds reasonably comfortable despite not being top notch. At this point it's worth saying that the new owners only took this hotel on around the beginning of September and have made some improvements such as the use of key cards to get into the room and the hotel itself at less social hours and some changes to bathroom facilities. They provided us with brand new towels (so new they'd forgotten to wash them first and so we got some fluffiness on us but this was a minor issue) and when one of our bedside lamps had a broken bulb they replaced it immediately. Reception were very friendly and helpful generally. The windows had secondary glazing and the tv in the room was good quality with access to freeview channels. Tea, coffee, milk and sugar and little biscuits are provided with the kettle which was a very welcome addition. Whilst the decor is currently quite wacky I am sure there will be lot of redecoration to come. I just hope they don't make it all grey as it wouldn't suit the character of the building. There was quite a lot of grey in our room. Bathroom was en suite and of a reasonable standard. The shower was new, as was the shower curtain and basic toiletries are provided. The wardrobe is generous and the drawers to put clothes in but there weren't many hangers.

The restaurant is being refurbished (although there was no sign of any work while we were there) so they don't serve breakfast or any other snacks, nor do they serve drinks from their bar. They do offer 20% discount at Quills restaurant up the road, but it is one of the furthest restaurants on the high street up from the hotel and they don't open till 9am. There are at least two other cafes which open at 8am and we chose those instead. The reception is only manned from 3pm to 9pm and there is a slight feeling of being left alone in the hotel when there's no one there. I'm not sure why they aren't manning the desk in the morning, though clearly someone unlocks the front door (you have to come round the back at unsocial hours). Perhaps someone is on the premises, I don't know, but an emergency number is provided. We had an issue with both our keycards suddenly failing to work but reception was open at the time luckily and the issue was quickly resolved. Being in the high street weekends (Friday, Saturday nights) can get a bit lary on the high street with revellers being quite noisy into the later hours and small hours, but not all night. I am a sensitive and light sleeper, and with some reduction with ear plugs in I found I was able to sleep so I don't think the noise went on that late. Many cars are electric now so traffic noise isn't a huge issue. You can hear a little noise from other rooms as the floors are quite creaky, but remember this is a very old characterful building and floors slope as well. There aren't many places to put things down in the bathroom.

The location is fantastic and hard to beat!

Appreciate updating has to be done so was a little disappointed the bar and restaurant wasn’t in operation but am sure it will be great once it’s done

Good room, nice size and clean. No lift to top floor and hotel is undergoing works. However this is reflected in the price and makes it excellent value

Good room Friendly staff

Hotel was right in the centre of Rochester, ideal for visiting the cathedral & castle. When I did see them the staff were friendly and approachable and I was able to arrange leaving my car in the hotel car park until the evening after I had 'checked out' from my room in the morning.

I entered and exited the hotel at various times during the day and the staff were not always there. I found myself letting fellow guests into the hotel.