Francis Phillip Motor Inn and the Lodge

Great spot,clean and tidy

I stayed here for 2 weeks for work in a family room which can cater for 2 adults and 1 child. 1 queen bed, 2 single beds. 1 shower/bath, 1 toilet separate from the shower. (Note- this is the Motor Inn, not the apartments, which are self-contained). First impression- spacious, clean and tidy, though dated and worn. Plenty of plates, bowls and cutlery. Mini bar in the fridge, filled with drinks, chocolate bar, fruit juice, which is mostly past the best before date. There is a stainless steel kettle- rusted inside. Blackout curtains and sheer curtains for privacy. Bed is comfortable. Extra pillows and blanket is provided. Open car park covered by shade cloth- not rain-proof. 5 minute drive to town center and amenities. Areas for improvement- Large flies in the rooms when I arrived. I sprayed with fly spray (provided but I've brought my own). Perhaps from the front door being left open when the rooms are being serviced, as bathroom windows have flyscreen. Wi-Fi is non-existent in my room (room 4). You'll need to use your own data. 3 coat hangers in the wardrobe. House-keeping knocked and entered at 7:30am- before I had time to react. I've since learnt to leave the "do not disturb" sign outside the night BEFORE. I've never had room service THIS early. I've requested no housekeeping until Friday (6 days after checking in). By Tuesday, a note was under my door saying that housekeeping will be Wednesday and Friday as this is their rule. When I called to enquire about this, she mentioned this is due to some men being very messy, which can make cleaning difficult if it is too infrequent. She was agreed for the cleaner to inspect, then leave, if deemed not too messy (I keep clean!). I simply didn't need someone to clean daily and I did not want any more flies being let in. Unfortunately I had more flies each of the days of my stay. Reply from the receptionist about these issues: Room service at 7:30am because most guests are gone by 5am for work. I explained I'm in a family room (assuming it's for families?). She said because space is at a premium, there are workers who also book family rooms, leaving for work early. So many assumptions are made- that I'm here working, and that I would be gone by 7:30am! (Note- at 6am, most of the car park is still full.) There is some road noise, which is expected since this is on the main road. Lack of sound-proofing means hearing conversations next door (well past 11pm), foot steps running back and forth coming from the rooms above, followed by "shhh" from the parent, loud water pipe noise each time the taps were used. As I've not had Wi-Fi all week, I finally decided to make an enquiry at the end of the week. Response was that they've never had that complaint before. I was given the phone number of "the IT guy". I called him during my work time. He checked the signals, telling me they are fine. His diagnosis for low/no signal strength is to install more access points to extend the range. He

Great and freindly staff and fantastic facilities.