黑牛客房飯店

No sound proofing.. Noise all night from other guests plus doors banging early in morning. Baby crying all night which kept us awake and you could hear all conversations in surrounding rooms. TV not working and room very cramped. Clean but will not use again

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... We booked rooms to bookend our road trip around Scotland. As a family of 5 it meant splitting into a 2 and a 3, and on our first night, a Sunday, we were given 3 doubles instead of 2 family rooms. We were told this was due to some redecorating of the family accommodation. I was a little sceptical at first as it would mean our 14yr old having a room to himself, but the 3 rooms we were given were the only rooms in one wing of the building, meaning we could come and go as we needed between the rooms. Rooms 6,7&8 were all doubles, room 7 being noticeably smaller and harder to navigate. There wasn't anywhere to put a suitcase, and I'm glad we only had 1 night there. The decor was fresh and modern, and I was happy with everything else -apart from some lumpy pillows which could do with replacing. Sufficient tea, coffee, milk and some tasty biscuits were welcome. I was optimistic about our stay on the homeward journey. We arrived on a Friday night at about 8.30pm. The restaurant/bar seemed busy. We checked in fine, the rooms were similar decor (grey and white) as our previous rooms, but we had the two family rooms ( 4&5 ) this time. Each was bigger than the doubles downstairs, having an actual cupboard/wardrobe to hang clothes up rather than just hangers on the wall. The doors had a strange wooden footplate (which was broken, for room 4,) and squeeky. It was warm, and I thought a window had been left open as it was quite clear to hear people outside out for a smoke. It wasn't until I went to close the window that I realised it WAS shut, but there was a big gap at the top of each window allowing sound and a draft through. Then came the music. A talented lady singing live in the Corrie...which I'm sure was a bonus to the patrons of the bar, but not a family with children trying to get to sleep. The live music went on until 12am. Phew, I could finally get to sleep ...alas, the DJ started playing club music until 1am, at which point I was finally able to go to sleep...until 2.20am when I was woken by the staff shouting to each other as they cleared away. The pillows were lumpy here too, and a broken bathroom floor seems to have caught a few people out. I managed to kick it with my foot while wearing shoes, my son wasn't so fortunate and did it barefoot. By the look of it, it's a common problem. If we'd stayed out first night on a Friday in these rooms I would have cancelled the follow-up visit, as sleep is a Fundamental for me, and I got a terrible night. Strangely the windows in room 5 were actually broken at the top, making the room noisy and draughty, and I could get my finger into one of the gaps! I would stay again in the doubles 6&8, but not on a weekend.