Shorehead Guest House

Went to checkin but didn't stay. Pictures say it all really, although the owner refunded us she thought we were talking a complete load of nonsense and referred to a dead fly in the fire light in the hall. Dead fly stuck to the wall in the bedroom, cobwebs in corners and thick dust everywhere.

I was somewhat bemused by the description on Tripadvisor, I quote, ‘a beautiful boutique guest house~~~~ with stunning views over the harbour “ We arrived to check into our “ deluxe double room “, Donnottar, so dark and dingy we had to have a light on at all times - even on a sunny day. There was no view. We had one small window covered by an opaque curtain as it was directly on to a side passage at street level. I was so upset. The fact that we had a light on all the time did not obscure the layers of dust underneath the desk and in the bathroom. Breakfast was not served . If you chose, you could help yourself to sliced bread and instant coffee and root around to find crockery and cutlery. We opted to get our own breakfasts in town. The photos of our room were frankly misleading, as were the pictures of sausages and eggs - you are not going to be given a cooked breakfast ! All in all a very disappointing stay.

This is not a traditional B&B because: (1) The Host is not onsite overnight. This caused a problem with extremely noisy quests that were yelling and running the stairs until 2:30 a.m. and smoking on the back porch with the door into the building open; (2) There is not a prepared breakfast but instead a less than continental breakfast set up with cold cereals, a single type of unripe fruit, toast that you make, and store bought (not even from the bakery section) snacks; (3) Nothing is marked in the kitchen for this self serve breakfast set up so we had to hunt the drawers and cupboards for flatware, cups, mugs, plates, etc. plus the kitchen itself was rather messy with so many people serving themselves and leaving detritus behind. It was also odd that the heat was only turned on for 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening.

Sadly this B&B is living on its past glory. The owner does not live on site . Our bedroom was very cramped with one window that only opened a few inches and overcrowded with furniture. We did try to open a window in the guests lounge but that did not open at all. Again a safety concern. It is now very dated and in places dirty and unkept. Cleaning issues were very noticeable in all places. Breakfast we were told was continental which you helped yourself too . It’s classed as a B&B but the kitchen was open and guests were cooking their own food. Which again did give us some safety concerns. The only good thing about this place were the beds which were very comfortable and clean. £130.00 for one night for two which in retrospect we should have left and demanded our money back . I do have photographs that I’m happy to share privately.

The location was great right facing the pier. Parking was easy along the road. The Marina Hotel a few door away served great food. The owner was very helpful. Decor was modern. Room was clean. The bed was very comfortable. When I saw the pictures of this accommodation on *********** I was thinking they had a really bad interior photographer to take the pictures with a fisheye lens. When I arrived then I saw why. The room was very small and cramp. There was hardly any space left with the bed taking up most of the room. When you open the bathroom door, it almost touch the bed and hid the bedside table. We had a larger suitcase opened on the floor at the base of the bed and there were just enough space for one person to walk. I had to be careful in the middle of the night not to trip over shoes and stuff. The heater worked well but for such a small room it was too much. We couldn't sleep even though we turned it off before going to bed and slept without the covers. We had to crack the window open and it was some time before we fell asleep. There was a beautiful lounge and breakfast room on the first floor. We were supposed to be on the ground floor but the host "upgraded" us to the first floor so as to be able to use the lounge. I would have liked to be spared the stairs instead as we have bad knees. The bath water was adequately hot but the spray was not adjustable. If you are standing inside you will get either very hot water or very cold water until you find a balance point. There is no way of making the spray smaller until then. The spray is also directed a bit outwards. Not something I dislike but it will be a problem for the owner with water outside the shower cubicle and on the bathroom floor. Some parts are already buckling I think because of that. In the shower there were nowhere I could place the soap or shampoo. Not ideal. Finally the door was a single glass pane so when you are done and open the door, the water dripped onto the floor. Again not something I dislike unless it was my home. The flooring will not last in this situation. The breakfast was DIY style. We were hoping for a cooked breakfast. There was milk, bread, juice, cereals, yogurt but I wished they had eggs, even if we had to fry them ourselves. After all the cooked breakfasts in many other accommodations this was quite a let down.

Our host was friendly and very helpful with local directions and recommendations. The room was clean and the bed was comfortable. Our room was large, although the bathroom was small but adequate. We had a room overlooking the harbor and the breeze coming in off the North Sea was wonderful. This B&B does not serve a prepared breakfast, but there were plenty of choices in baked goods, cereals and fruit.