Northumberland Boutique Guest House #1

Clean, comfortable room! Nice kitchen where everything was labeled by room number. Very friendly host!!

No notes!

It’s a nice room with private bathroom. Clean and quiet

The lack of storage in the shower like a caddy or shelf for example to put toiletries.

Keypad access for keys Upgraded to room 4 upstairs front room. A very large room, modern decor. Spotlessly clean Plenty of storage, plug sockets on USB points. Wifi fast and reliable Plenty of on-street Parking 10 minutes walk to shops/city centre Aldi and the retail park are a two-minute drive. The tenants seemed to be mainly longer-term, perhaps young professional/postgraduate Students? They were quiet but friendly. Kettle in the room a bonus. Kitchen is clean, two sinks, two ovens, and my double cupboard. Lots of other utensils in the area by the breakfast bar, not sure if I could use those or not (I wasn't cooking anyway)? Bins are outside the back door, recycling is getting mixed up, perhaps better labelling needed? I’d stay again, but ask for room three off the kitchen at the back as I think that would be cooler and quieter.

Only provided access details late on the morning of arrival, which makes you a little anxious. Paintwork in the ensuite could do with touching up in places. Perhaps a slightly bigger bathroom cupboard? Only two small bay windows opened, so on a hot week at the end of June, it never got below 25° in the room. It was breezy so sitting at the desk was OK, but a struggle to sleep. Would benefit from air-conditioning or at least a fan (the host did offer me a fan). Like a lot of UK, we don't have the best provision for hotter weather. Duvet too thick for summer? Mattress and pillow protectors needed a wash when I stripped the bedding as I left. Some minor adjustments would make this a 10/10.

The location was good for us to walk to/from the city centre. Room was reasonably well appointed with the essentials. Same for the kitchen also. Communication with Justin was very good and clarified our questions promptly, which we greatly appreciated. A friendly person who is ready and willing to help in any way possible. Clear indication of whom to call for maintenance issues.

I now realise we got what we paid for. The location is an HMO, which we weren't expecting. The property itself is very tired and while the online photos showed a nice room and kitchen, in reality it is in desperate need of a refresh. The mattress is completely gone! Absolutely no support for being so old, although on the plus side, Justin has pledged to replace the mattress(es). The bathroom is incredibly small but cleverly appointed to suit what can be only be a closet space. If you are not careful you could bash your head on the cabinet protruding above the tiny sink. Further annoyance is the automatic bathcloset lighting/fan operated by a proximity sensor, yet there is no manual switch to turn it off. It persists 12 minutes after the last detected movement. For me this feature is not a guest convenience. It is really annoying if you need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. Couple the above niggle with the sliding bathroom door that refuses to stay closed and you have the 'perfect storm'! !! Incident - The power to the domestic outlets was cut off throughout the whole property when we tried to use one of the ovens. It turned out the longer term tenants were aware that turning on one or both ovens trips the mains circuit breaker to the plug outlets! For me this is a safety issue that needs to be rectified ASAP. I am sure he is aware high power appliances should be on a dedicated power circuit that is isolated from the domestic outlets with a suitably rated circuit breaker. The domestic wiring cannot take such a high power draw, and potentially the high heat generated through the wiring could result in a fire hazard. Please make Justin aware of this fire hazard. The solution is simple albeit requiring a qualified electrician to resolve. I hope my comments are taken in a manner intended to improve, because Justin on the whole was a good host who offered a free night in future for the inconvenience. Not for us, but we wish him well.