Athena Guest House

We turned up and the outside looks like it hasn't been touched for years, paint off the door and generally looks like a dos house, the pictures are defiantly over ten years old. Turning up on a wet night it really did look like the Bates Motel. It looked so rough I didnt want to pay till I saw the room and having been shown the room we were satisfied that it was clean and decided to stay. As mentioned the room was nice and clean, the bed was comfy and although there was no TV remote as we were only staying the one night it was bearable. Yes it does need modernizing and it is shabby in the halls, but we got a good nights sleep and survived the shower. Its not a place to take someone who you want to impress.

We waited outside the front door for upwards of 10 minutes before someone came to let us in. This was at 4pm. They had no knowledge of our reservation, didn’t know if we had paid, and our room was not ready. The woman was very rude and not at all concerned about how bad the check in experience was. The room was fine, but we were right by the front door and could hear guests coming and going. Check out was unreasonably early (10 am).

The room was comfy, and clean. Not luxurious, but nice. The problem was that their fire alarm was malfunctioning, so it triggered a few times. And when it didn't trigger, it would make loud ticking noises. So we couldn't rest well at night. If they fixed that problem, I'd stay there again!

On first arrival the guest house looks untidy and very shabby. The welcome was indifferent although ok. The room was reasonably clean although the carpets were stained. Bed was clean but pillows were more like wafers and mattress was firm.

The place has so much potential, it’s a pity they don’t re-invest what they make. It’s falling to pieces, dirty, disorganized, cramped with stuff... the only advantage is that it’s close to the O2 academy.