I stayed here quite recently with a friend and her child whilst on my yearly jaunt to Blackpool. Being on a fairly limited budget I didn't want to stay somewhere which would cost the earth which seemed to be the case with a lot of places I looked at before booking this one. I generally use ActiveHotels.com to make my hotel bookings as they seem to be the ones who offer the cheapest prices as well as customer reviews on each place.
The main reasons I chose the Phoenix Guest House over other possibilities were the price, location, whether ensuite rooms were available and whether children were welcome as guests. I shall talk about these points later in my review.
The booking process was very straight forward as anyone who has used activehotels.com will know. You simply enter the dates you wish to stay (in my case this was the last week of July) and rooms which are available for booking are displayed. I opted for a double room for single occupancy for which I was charged the rate of £40 per night. I felt this was very reasonable given the time of year I would be visiting and that I was not going to be charged a supplement for occupying a double room. There was a single room
(with ensuite) available but as my experience with hotel single rooms is that they tend to be quite pokey I chose to go for something with more space given the length of my stay.
It is worth noting that not all the rooms at the Phoenix are ensuite, some are only partial en suite with a shower located in the room but the toilet being a shared facility.
After my booking was made I recieved an email a few days later from the owners confirming my booking and informing me that a £40 deposit would be taken from my method of payment at the time of making the reservation. The email also provided other useful information, such as the location of the guest house, nearest car parking facilities etc. I felt that sending this email was a nice touch by the owners as it confirmed with them directly that the booking had been made and not lost in activehotels system (I am the sort of person who worries I might get there to find no trace of my booking).
When we arrived in Blackpool we made our way to the guest house. We chose to take a taxi because of the amount of luggage we had but it is possible to walk there from the train station as it is what I would estimate to be around a 10 minute walk. We were greeted by the owner who completed our check in process smoothly and quickly and in a friendly manner. You are given the option of whether you wish to book breakfast for an extra £3 per day. I chose not to do this as breakfast time was quite late (around 9am) and I planned to be out and about quite early in the mornings as I had planned some photography into my trip. I was given two keys, one for my room and another for the main door which is useful for anyone who wishes to sample the Blackpool nightlife.
There is no lift access available and also there are two steps into the building itself making it unsuitable for those with mobility issues. My room was located on the first floor, up one flight of stairs. I found my room to be of an adequate size and pleasantly decorated. I was also quite delighted to find my bed was a four poster bed. The furnishings were what you would expect from any hotel room comprising of a bed, bedside cabinets, wardrobe/drawer combination, tv, towels, kettle and complimentary drinks tray. There was also plenty of floor space which meant you didn't feel like you were sitting in a cupboard in the evenings.
The ensuite facility in my room was adequate comprising of a shower, toilet and washbasin although it is worth noting that it was very 'compact' (think of a floor space about as big as a single bed).
My only complaint with regard to the room facilities would be related to the tea and coffee on the complimentary drinks tray which I thought was terrible quality, especially the tea. I was also quite amused that by the end of the week I had 27 sachets of sugar left me. Fortunately there is a corner shop located literally next door to the guest house if you wish to buy your own drinks.
Overall staying in my room was very pleasant apart from two things. The first being that on the last evening there was a strong smell of cigarette smoke coming from the room next door which still lingered the following morning. The second was the constant bumping and running around which could be heard from rooms upstairs could be quite annoying after a while.
Whilst we were staying there other families were also staying at the guest house. My friend also had a child with her and as far as I am aware she had no complaints with how either one of them were treated during their stay. There is also a fully ensuite family room available for booking.
The location of the guest house is ideal for anyone who doesn't want to be too far out of town, but doesn't want to be right in the centre either. The guest house is located on Cocker Street, close to the promenade end. It is about 5 minutes walk away from the North Pier and the busier areas of Blackpool and maybe 10 minutes from the Tower. There is a tram stop at the end of the street if you don't feel like walking though.
One of the things I liked most about staying here is that you don't get that feeling of 'being watched'. As I chose not to have breakfast at the guest house I didn't really see anyone apart from when I checked in and checked out. Anyone who values their privacy and likes to be just left to get on with their own matters will appreciate this and this is one of the reasons that I will definitely consider staying here again on my next trip to Blackpool.
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