The Popinjay Hotel and Spa

Very good

Liked: Staff were excellent.
Disliked: Damp smell on entrance and crawling on wedding cakes. Windows dirty, garden covered with litter.

Exceptional

Really disappointed, especially for the...

Liked: Checkout was quick.
Disliked: 1. Arrived to no one at reception. Waiting 2-3 minutes for someone to turn up.2. Receptionist gave us the room key and gave directions to the room. No mention of breakfast or dinner times/location.3. Walking to the room could see the the carpet had not been laid correctly, especially on the stairs.4. Noticed a huge cobweb hanging from a light in the hallway.5. Got to the room to be greeted by a filthy carpet, stained walls, dirty windows (inside and out), a layer of dust on the headboard and no fridge in the room.6. The view from the room was of a half burnt down building and an overgrown garden.7. Went down to the bar for a pint, took 10 minutes to get said pint as there was a problem with the gas or something. It wasn't worth the wait.8. Walked out to the garden and grabbed a couple of wicker chairs next to a glass table. The table was full of bird poo and looked like it hadn't been washed in months. It was hard to find a clean spot to place my drink.9. The garden needs attention with overgrown bushes everywhere, oh and fencing and scaffolding next to the half burnt down building.10. Dinner. No one to greet you at the "restaurant". After standing around for a couple of minutes I had to ask if we could get a table, even though there was only 1 table of 2 in the restaurant.Ordered drinks and water for the table. Water came in a large bottle and was lukewarm.Ordered Buttered Chicken and Peshwari naan. I swear it was Sharwoods butter chicken sauce, definitely not made in-house. The Naan, this again was store bought and heated in the oven for far too long or microwaved as it was solid and crispy!Steak pie with potatoes. This was microwaved to within an inch of it's life. The dish was still untouchable 15 minutes after arriving at the table,Chocolate cake with ice cream. Standard cake heating in the microwave with 1 scoop of poor quality ice cream.11. Breakfast. No tables ready. Had to wait in the bar area for 10 minutes.

Pleasant

Ok for 1 night

Liked: Location good plus nice bar, had menu specials and biscuits provided in room . Tv has various channels
Disliked: Rooms too hot and a bit tired and no lift or fridge and spa and pool under Reno

Needs some TLC, but comfortable

Liked: Staff were friendly and accommodating. Lots of parking. Great decor in main spaces. Comfortable bed. Easy to find
Disliked: Room was run down. Stained carpet. Bathroom fan not working, mold, broken tiles, loose fixtures. Dfficult to open windows with broken glass pane.

I have stayed here twice...

Liked: Great location and lots of parking. Lovely, friendly team who look after you. Good food and a hearty Scottish breakfast. Large bedroom with picture window to key in lots of light.
Disliked: My window was fabulous, however as it is an old property it had been painted over numerous times and I couldn’t open it… lucky I had a fan in my room with this hot spell. I reported the shower in room 1 as it had very low pressure, just a trickle of water.

Very good

Liked: The location is beautiful, and the hotel itself is very quaint with new decor that suits the overall feel of the place. The rooms are a good size and very clean and the shower pressure is amazing! They also have a very good, diverse food menu. Onsite parking is also a bonus.
Disliked: The corridor leading to one of our rooms smelt like a bad case of halitosis such that I had to hold my breath. The staff were... unenthusiastic. This wasn't an issue on our first day as the hotel was quiet, but on the second day, I sat at an empty breakfast table as a server walked past me repeatedly, clearing other tables. I eventually asked her if she could set places for 3. She came back with 3 small plates and 3 saucers. No cups. No cutlery. Even after taking and delivering my breakfast order, I had to ask her for cutlery and ended up taking a coffee cup from another table.

Very good