I review a lot of hotels. Normally just based on a single stay however The Charlotte House Hotel and its sister, The Bail House Hotel are two have that I have stayed in several times and never really got around to reviewing, so here it goes…

Service:

Initially the service was fantastic. Both the reception staff and the bar staff were very very helpful. They, however seem less than helpful if you seem to book and stay during a weekends and/or wedding. This hotel obviously make a lot of money from weddings and its obvious – when the wedding party is around you are always last priority. Its rather an odd balance as in my opinion, the way you get these weddings is by treating your customers right! So just a warning, if you are thinking of booking please call in advance to ensure there is no wedding booked as well. Our last stay we arrived to a ruckus and checked out 10 minutes later – with some very bad attitude from the on-call manager I might add. After some reluctance we were transferred to ‘The Bailgate Hotel’ – its sister and that was no better either – shared bathrooms I don’t think so. We soon checked out and went to the new DoubleTree Hilton (Separate Review).

Location:

This is something I cannot fault. Charlotte House Hotel is set in a wonderful area of Lincoln City, on a place called ‘The Green’. You are within meters of Lincoln Caste and a only a few minutes walk to Lincoln Cathedral. My only warning is that if you find hills problematic I’d advise staying somewhere else as to get into the main town you must traverse ‘Steep Hill’ and its name is no lie – its REALLY steep! But 9 out of 10 for location.

Rooms:

A difficult one. We stayed in their ‘Premium Double’ every time. Its nice, but not worth the price tag stated on their website. The room isn’t soundproof so you can hear everyone talking in the corridor and next door. Last time we stayed there was also a wedding party and you could hear everything from downstairs – its an old building and it appears they have taken minimal measures to reduce this noise. Furnishing of the room was nice, good quality. Bed not so much – rather lumpy. The bathroom is fantastic. I couldn’t have asked for more! This is probably the only thing that stands out. The normal freebies, chocolates, shower gels etc apply. They do not offer a room service facility after 10pm – odd for a hotel.

Value for Money:

I have trouble with this one. We love boutique hotels they always seem to have a charm about them – as does this one. There ‘Premium Double Room’ is really a ‘Basic’ room enhanced with furniture and a fantastic shower suite. As I said nice, but not worth the list price. If you call up generally you can get a better price, that or check Superbreaks or Hotels.com. But you can get it WAY cheaper. There are also charges for WiFi (30 mins a day free) and Car Parking £5 a night. Not something you expect from a hotel like this. Finally if you don’t manage to find a space in there own car park you must use the council one next door – very unsecure and you have to get up at 8am to renew your ticket.

Restaurant:

We have stayed here three times and every time the restaurant has been closed. It looks gorgeous but we have never had the chance to eat there. NB: They won’t tell you this is closed when booked so again enquire. We did have breakfast no complaints. Average really…

Overall?

There sheer focus on weddings and bad attitude towards complaints seems to have put me off. But if you are going to stay we proactive ask questions ‘Is there a wedding on?’, ‘Will the restaurant be open?’ etc. This will ensure you have a much nicer stay. We might stay here again, it used to have a fond place in our hearts sadly not so much after our last stay it was an epic failure. My final piece of advise would be to pay for your room on checkout. We made the mistake of paying on arrival and them holding our room fee hostage when complaining. I would love to give this hotel another chance.