The Windmill Hotel

I booked a 4 night stay at the hotel for my colleagues who are working in the area. On check in they realised the hotel had no heating or hot water and were told by reception that the heating is on a timer that hadn't come on yet and were given electric heaters for their rooms (the temperature was just above freezing). This still meant after a day working in the cold and rain they didnt have access to basic facilities and were unable to get warm or have a shower. It later transpired that there was in fact a fault with the boiler meaning they spent the full night like this. With no apology or explanation I was left with no choice but to book them alternate accommodation so as not to risk them another night like this. I was told that I couldn't cancel the booking and was offered nothing in a way of compensation for the 4 rooms I had for the remaining 3 nights. If you cant offer people a warm room with warm running water then don't expect people to want to return!!!!! The whole situation could have been handled so much better and to then not even consider a reimbursement for rooms that weren't slept in is disgusting!!!!

We took two rooms for a short stay at this hotel, which is part of and adjoined to a large pub. The rooms were fine for size, relatively clean and with nice enough furnishings, tea/coffee facilities, and a small TV. Here ends what good I have to say. The bathrooms were internal with no windows or working extractors, so they smelled damp and mouldy (and also were visible mouldy). In one of them, the toilet roll dispensor was jammed, and no one was able to fix it because no one had the key to open it. We were provided with a loose, half-used roll to balance on top. I also noticed that several things were in a state of poor repair, for instance the actual handles/locks on the doors seemed ready to tear off. Rooms are not serviced in any way if you stay for multiple nights. And despite being part of a pub that serves food, there is no breakfast service. It would have been helpful if we had been told about this in advance, because you are in the middle of nowhere, so breakfast is not easy to come by. The service was extremely poor. The pub staff are utterly clueless about anything to do with the hotel. The only member of staff that can help whatsoever in regards to the hotel is a single individual. If he is not at his desk, you're stuck. (However, when he was around, he was friendly and helped if he could.) Heaven preserve you if you attempt to call the hotel with any questions in advance of arriving. You can only get through to the pub staff, who, as mentioned, have no clue. You cannot book or amend your booking by calling. Their system is entirely automated and online; no one can help you. I did eventually manage to get some minor information from someone on the pub staff, but they were clearly extremely busy and rushed me off the phone. The hotel is situated halfway up a stretch of the A1. This means it is only accessible if you are coming from the north. There is no overpass if you're travelling from the other direction. You have to go all the way up to the next roundabout, then all the way back down. This will definitely inconvenience you. We requested rooms that were as far away from the motorway as possible. To the hotel's credit, they accommodated this request, and we found that the sound of traffic was much quieter and did not disturb sleep. Car parking was provided. I found puddles of vomit on the paths leading through the carpark, these were not cleaned away during our stay. Overall, it was the cheapest semi-inhabitable place within a few miles of Hartlepool, so if that's where you need to be, your options are limited. For a better experience, pay the premium to go stay at the Travelodge.

When I fist got there, no one on reception, so I waited, a young lady came, reached o er the reception to grab a pen saying someone would be there, so I waited, patiently, after a while I went into the restraunt and was told someone would be with me shortly, so I waited, in all around fifteen minutes by now, then a lovely lady came and checked me in, great, I went to my room. The room, the bed looked like someone had just got out of it, the bedding was dirty, the bathroom, the shower screen was dirty. I went back to reception, no one there, I went I to rhe restraunt and got the lady that checked me in, nicely she changed the room for me, I'm now in the disabled room., no big deal, shower time, no screen this time but the curtain was tiny, and not fitted properly, there was water all over the bathroom, yes I put the towels down to dry it, the pillows where the best thing about this place, the view was a skip full of dirty old mattresses.

An excellent venue and restaurant, excellent service, polite, friendly staff and excellent food. Good menu and variation and very well priced. Good place to go and relax. Plenty of staff so not kept waiting for anytbing.