Shirley House 4, Guest House, Fully Equipped Kitchen with Fridge, Washer, Dryer, Self Catering, Self Check in, Great for Contractors, 5 min to BAT, 20 min

Nothing I didn’t end up staying because it’s felt unsafe.

Property owner insisted on me coming to the house so I could be shown how the codes to the doors worked. I drove 20 minutes out of the direction of the wedding I was attending to meet her and then she didn’t turn up. She then gave me the codes over the phone which she insisted I originally was not allowed to do, so already a wasted 40 minute excursion for me. When I opened my bedroom there was a naked man in the bed, obviously a shock to me. The owner said he was meant to have moved rooms, which meant he would still be staying and would then have had the code to my bedroom. I was then given the code to another room which when I went in was a pretty poor standard, curtains hanging off, very dingy lighting and the bedding looked old and tatty. I chose not to stay given I had already managed to get the code to someone else’s room and this man had already been staying in other rooms, I felt unsafe that anyone could get into my bedroom. As a female staying alone it just didn’t feel like a safe place for me to stay, I ended up sleeping in my car as the alternative. I would not recommend this property even with the price being cheap I still feel it wasn’t worth it. Also located in a not very nice area.

The host Monica, is most communicative which I really do appreciate very much, she responded very quickly and promptly every time I messaged her, with regards to my check-in time, I anticipated to arrive later than usual after an event & she was very accommodating & always very pleasant, human & nice & kind & amenable in all our communications, thank you Monica ! I'm sorry I'm a week late in writing this review as I've been very busy ! I chose this place to stay as everywhere was selling out fast in peak July season around the New Forest & this was at least half the price of everywhere else ! I try to avoid shared bathrooms & kitchens but on rare occasions like this I do & although I don't like having an external bathroom to go to where other guests are sharing, I never found the door locked or occupied & there are 3 to choose from in this 2 storey house anyway & everywhere couldn't be more immaculatly, spotlessly clean !! I met the cleaning lady on the Sunday morning as I was leaving, she is meticulous & hard working ! The bedroom was comfortable, clean & bright & I had no trouble working the TV as in some places, a working remote control, WiFi, a bedside lamp, ample wardrobe hanging space & clean faultless sliding drawers, lovely crisp white linens, comfy bed next to nice window with blue curtains. Downstairs kitchen scrupulously clean, very well stocked with utensils & beverages, washing machine, fridge freezer, sink, cooker, kettle, dining room, garden with seating. No complaints, thank you ! I like the residential address & feels like it's at the end of a wide cul-de-sac but it's not, it links into the main road at the end, where this house is.

There was nothing I didn't like although I felt the rules are a bit tighter than a Hotel as regards a curfew on first night which is understandable as Monica explained, it is not a hotel with a 24 hour check-in desk, she runs it on her own & self check-in access code wasn't a problem for me or most guests but apparently & understandably there are always some who find it difficult to get in & she cannot be expected to be woken up at any time of the night to help guests get in, she needs to sleep too ! As I arrived @1am with no entry issues, I hoped for a later checkout to get time to rest & wash there so I left later which is outside the house rules but we discussed this & Monica was good about it but explained that's not the way it works. The cleaning lady needs those hours to clean as well as she does

Average accommodations

No screens in the windows. Flies were a nuisance. Inexcusable not to have screens in the windows. Mattress was very poor

The rooms and toilet are very neat and organized, the location is easily accessible and it has everything to make your stay comfortable.