In theory, this can’t fail – a mill in beautiful hiking country, close to the Channel Tunnel? Trouble is, although everyone is friendly and helpful, everything has a “but”. It’s well-positioned, with a garden, chairs and loungers , offset by midges etc from the slightly stagnant mill stream. Inside, the lounge also contains a sludge-filled open pool, so the property will always be slightly musty.
Our room was spotless – but the bath, with shower fitting, had no curtain or wall mount, so the only way to shower was to squat – and very noisy plumbing for several rooms ran through the room. The laminate flooring didn’t quite fit and the tiling had been increased in increments, giving a feeling of a work in progress. On a hot day, there was the problem that the window leading onto a balcony accessed by three other rooms with doors could not be securely left open for ventilation.
Dinner was quite reasonable, if not exciting, but a single chicken course plus one ice cream and a bottle of the cheapest wine doubled the price of the stay, making this less attractive for cheap hiking accommodation. Sadly, it never quite gels, and needs a master look and feel plan (with significant investment). The overall feeling is of an older transit camp where people sleep overnight, and the staff go (at 10pm) to wherever they call home. If you only want a place to sleep for one night at Calais, this is a reasonable offering, but (at the moment) I couldn’t recommend it for longer stays.
