In September of last year, Lisa and I slept in 9 different beds in 2 weeks - in 8 different hotels and other accommodations (we visited one twice, and had different rooms). Prices, facilities and quality varied greatly - four were highly enough regarded by their owners to be put up for the "Four in a Bed" TV series which we were taking part in; the others were "staging hotels" where we stayed between visits, and a hotel that we had stayed at the night before the recording started to meet up with Lisa's brother, who was briefly visiting the UK.

Now - I stay at a lot of places each year - some chains, and many independents, and what's shocking at times is the lack of customer service, facilities, and cleaning that many hotels feel they can get away with. I can understand what many travellers find a chain that they find acceptable and stick with it, even if it's typically higher in price and just mediocre in quality.

Here are six older blogs that show you what I think and what I look out for ...

Twenty questions for our team to ask themselves [link]
A contrast in room rates and facilities [link]
Review of a cheap guest house [link]
Feeding the Grockles - paring the budget too fine? [link]
Lindors Hotel, St Briavels [link]
Having staff sit on the toilet [link]

... and here are 8 pictures I took - eight different hotels - to give you an idea (and leave with with a memory) of each. I'm not going to label them here, for my point is the wide range of qualities from superb to dreadful that the independent sector provides.

























If you particularly want to know which is which, email me!
(written 2013-01-14, updated 2013-01-19)

 M444 - Well House Manor - Four in a Bed
  [3864] Guest Guide for Well House Manor and Melksham - (2012-09-18)
  [3924] The bedrooms at Well House Manor - (2012-11-16)
  [3933] Behind Melksham Spa - Mood Mist over wet fields. - (2012-11-23)
  [3948] Quiet little town? Advanced Technology Centre? - (2012-12-08)
  [3962] Melksham welcomes visitors - new blue plaque trail and more - (2012-12-27)
  [3965] Well House Manor, Melksham - on national TV next week - (2012-12-30)
  [3968] Expecting nothing, but prepared for anything - (2013-01-05)
  [3970] Comparing four VERY different places to stay - (2013-01-11)
  [3971] The Experience - (2013-01-11)
  [3972] Four in a Bed - comment on results - (2013-01-11)
  [3973] Well House Manor on Four in a Bed - the ongoing story - (2013-01-12)
  [3977] A variety of continental breakfasts - (2013-01-16)
  [3984] 20 minutes in to our 15 minutes of fame - (2013-01-20)
  [4112] Really good friends - four in a bed! - (2013-06-09)
  [4138] Should a hotel accept guests who book for just one night? - (2013-07-11)
  [4147] A hidden hotel gem in Melksham - (2013-07-31)
  [4156] A further chance to see Melksham on TV - (2013-08-22)
  [4204] With the Shpigs and Donkeys - (2013-11-10)
  [4232] Not wanted here - hotel guests who will not be happy - (2013-12-30)
  [4241] Four in a Bed - the story continues - (2014-01-27)
  [4468] Four in a Bed - most popular answers - (2015-03-31)
  [4474] Effect on external factors on traffic to our web sites - an update - (2015-04-26)

M401 - Well House Manor - Seeing how others do it
  [17] Differing tastes - (2004-08-17)
  [514] Crazy Day-sies - (2005-12-02)
  [619] If its Sunday, it must be the Norland - (2006-02-23)
  [693] The on line booking experience - (2006-04-21)
  [699] Extremes costs of getting on line - (2006-04-25)
  [714] Room for Octopuses - (2006-05-08)
  [736] New Tape Librarian - (2006-05-28)
  [966] CSL, KISS and RTFM - (2006-12-05)
  [1011] Well House Manor and Beechfield House, Hotels, Melksham - (2006-12-29)
  [1026] The Wheatsheaf 2, The Bell 0 - (2007-01-09)
  [1091] The Psyche is all wrong. - (2007-02-24)
  [1205] Arrival and Departure experiences - another hotel - (2007-05-26)
  [1287] Work and play at Well House Manor - Football and Shell Shortcuts - (2007-08-02)
  [1301] Plastic or China - (2007-08-12)
  [1333] Kasteel Elsloo - Michelin rated hotel. - (2007-09-05)
  [1347] Wireless Internet Access at hotels - an update and some pitfalls - (2007-09-12)
  [1354] Match the Bedroom to the Hotel - (2007-09-17)
  [1356] Crystal Ball - How long do I need to be online? - (2007-09-18)
  [1374] Maidenhead Coffee Challenge - (2007-10-02)
  [1406] Away or home - which do I prefer? - (2007-10-25)
  [1413] The little gestures that can really count - (2007-10-27)
  [1454] From Sunday to Monday, from Melksham to the Balkans - (2007-12-03)
  [1458] The wrong way to put up prices - (2007-12-05)
  [1525] Just one thing let the service down - but that is my memory - (2008-01-31)
  [1547] New bathing idea for hotels from Hotelympia - (2008-02-20)
  [1597] Comparing hotels - as a guest and from the proprietors view - (2008-04-01)
  [1672] The Composting Cone Challenge - (2008-06-10)
  [1758] Lindors Hotel, near St. Briavels, Wye Valley - (2008-08-18)
  [1915] Quietly putting prices up - (2008-12-02)
  [2007] Launch of Melksham Food and Drink Festival - (2009-01-24)
  [2105] Hire Car, from Atlanta Airport - (2009-03-27)
  [2127] Call in the professionals! - (2009-04-12)
  [2308] A new place in pictures - (2009-07-28)
  [2311] Floor to ceiling - (2009-07-30)
  [2413] Sanity checking the price, and selling up to increase income - (2009-09-21)
  [2441] Not your cup of tea? - (2009-10-08)
  [2502] Monday night, Tuesday night - (2009-11-13)
  [2885] Twenty Questions - (2010-07-24)
  [2911] Feeding the Grockles - (2010-08-09)
  [3054] Longhope Hotel - (2010-11-16)
  [3333] Honesty and a friendly welcome goes a long way - (2011-06-25)
  [3368] Well House Manor hotel, Melksham - recommended to you by our customers - (2011-07-23)
  [3754] Eyes Wide Open - (2012-06-06)
  [3776] Some traps it's so easy to fall into in designing your web site - (2012-06-23)
  [3794] Should hotel staff sit on the toilet in the customer bedrooms? - (2012-07-02)
  [3900] The Xxxxx Guest House in Xxxxxxxxxxx - my stay reviewed - (2012-10-20)
  [3963] National TV - Melksham - 9th January 2013, Pre-alert. - (2012-12-27)
  [4058] The highs and lows of customer service - Cheltenham - (2013-04-03)
  [4081] Pushing down the advertised price, pushing up the total price charged. - (2013-05-08)
  [4091] A reminder of why we opened Well House Manor for our customers - (2013-05-17)
  [4093] More things to make sure that we do NOT do ... - (2013-05-18)
  [4109] What might you find at a tiny bed and breakfast? - (2013-06-03)
  [4177] Setting and publishing your hours to suit your customer base - (2013-09-18)
  [4245] It always happens to me when I'm in Borehamwood! - (2014-03-06)
  [4255] Making a personal gain from a more expensive business hotel stay - (2014-04-02)
  [4321] Are administration / review charges on hotel guests acceptable? - (2014-11-20)
  [4348] Taking my life in my hands in Swansea - (2014-12-11)
  [4373] A long and disappointing evening - (2014-12-30)
  [4443] Seventh stay away this year - and it's still only February! - (2015-02-25)

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Teaching OO - how to avoid lots of window switching early on
Easy pricing, quick and easy checkout
Being an amateur hotel inspector helps me run a professional hotel
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