The Bell Inn, Winslow is quite possibly one of the worst hotels that I have had to stay in. Having spent £82 for bed and breakfast for one night, I wasn't expecting much but I certainly expected more than we got. After-all, I have paid less to stay in a Mariott.

Upon arrival we made our way to reception and found check in to be efficient and courteous. We were directed to room 6 located a short walk through the meandering corridors on the first floor. The room was fairly small with a very comfortable double bed and clean linen. The room however smelt musty and generally seemed dirty.

The TV was tiny with only three working channels and the ceiling was covered in cobwebs. The bathroom was tiny with the usual facilities and clean towels however lacked a bath. The shower was small and provided a decent jet of water but at varying temperatures between scalding hot and freezing cold! The shower gel and soap dispensers were both empty. I also found that the sealant around the sink was loose and that plaster was peeling away. In essence the room was nothing like the pictures on their website.

What grieved me the most was the fact that the extractor chimneys from the kitchen were directly outside the window and blew hot dirty air against the window and into the room. This made the room incredibly hot and made my wife ill by morning. These chimneys are also very noisy at night and every hour or so they woke us up. This was coupled with noise throughout the hotel whenever someone flushed a toilet or ran a tap.

Breakfast was OK with a decent selection of cereals and juices. The English breakfast was fairly average with good bacon and sausages but only scrambled egg that I guess was the powdered egg sort. The breakfast room was also very stuffy and hot and smelt strongly of the kitchens.

The problem with the chimneys was brought to the attention of the receptionist however the response was simply, "I'll get someone to take a look as they might need re-directing." This was immediately followed by "That'll be £83.50 please". Quite frankly, I paid very reluctantly for our stay and simply couldn't wait to leave.

I understand that there are other Bed and Breakfasts in the area and I would strongly advise people to try these first. The Bell is a lovely building but seems akin to Faulty Towers, we certainly won't be re-visiting.