Peterborough Dream
Don't go to Peterborough. There is nothing to do there. And if you must go, don't stay in the anchor lodge hotel.

As mentioned here i am no longer allowed to book accomodation for family trips. This means that my mother booked this hotel for a family event.

We arrived at the 'hotel'with a deep sense of foreboding, as the taxi driver said 'ooh, I wouldn't stay here!', chuckled, then sped off. Oh well. We picked our way through the exceptionally sinister garden gnomes that littered to front of the property, and knocked on the front door. No response. We knocked again. Waited. Nothing. On the third knock, the door was flung open by a very odd little man. He had a chinstrap beard and brillo pad hair, all of which were dyed bright orange, and he was wearing a floorlength anorak. And he smelled overwhelmingly of peanuts.

He grudgingly let us in, and showed us our rooms. Room 1 had a sagging double bed, mould on the curtains, and a suspicious stain on the bed. room 2 had a broken mirror, broken shower, and no lightbulbs, room 3 had a broken window and no curtains, plus suspect stains, and room 4 had no lightbulbs and a broken lock on the door. Before we could complain, he disappeared, and we didn't see him again that day.

Following the excitement of my aunt's birthday party, we slept badly in the anchor lodge, before arising at 8 am to have the included cooked breakfast, and then my parents and siblings would drive back to glasgow, and my boyfriend and i would get the train back south.

I braved the kitchen. Not a soul about. Knocked on the door and all the walls. nothing. then the same bloke arrived through a hidden panel in the wall, dressed the same way as the day before.

I asked him about breakfast and he said 'I am not the owner, the owner is not here, and i do not cook.' We were invited to cook our own breakfast (and wonder where the owners were?!), whereupon my father (an eminant professor) lost his temper in a big way.

He and scary bloke proceeded to have a fist fight, with dad aided by my sisters fiance (yes, 2 against 1, but academics are feeble folk, so it was not a big probelm for scary bloke!). my boyfriend and brother just looked on aghast. Once we'd pulled the men apart, the strange peanut man disappeared again, we all packed, and left, slamming doors behind us. One door fell of its hinges. We never paid for our stay, and never heard from the owners.

mum is now not allowed to book accomodation for family trips either.
( ascorbate, Fri 18 Jan 2008, 12:11, Reply)