"Firstly we’d like to mention that we’ve read some of the responses from the owner/manager of The Grapes to other critical reviews, and would suggest that you read them too. We also look forward to the reply to our review. We stayed at The Grapes in Oct’ 23, having booked one of the ‘cottages’ for a week. When we arrived we went to the bar to check-in, all good so far. The lady who checked us in asked us what time we would like breakfast each morning, and as we were told breakfast was served until 9:30am we arranged for 9:15am. We were then shown to our ‘cottage’ – number 2. Upon entering the ‘cottage’ we were surprised at just how tiny it was, there was barely enough room in the bedroom to get around the bed, although it did manage to fit some cobwebs into the corners of the room! The bathroom was small, but did have a shower, toilet and tiny sink in it. It felt like it could do with a good ‘deep-clean’ and had a dent in the rear shower panel. Upstairs in the living room there’s an L-shaped sofa (bed), which has definitely seen better days, and isn’t comfortable. There’s some drawers for storage and a table with a tea/coffee tray. Be aware that this won’t be replenished during your stay! Again the room just had a ‘grubby’ and worn feeling about it. Also be aware that the sink in the bathroom is too small to actually fit the bottle they give you for water under the tap and the kettle just about fits if you work out the angle. We ate in the pubs restaurant on our first evening, having booked a table for 7:00pm. When we got there it was very busy and we had to wait for a while for our table, which we understood as the place was packed so we thought we’d be in for a treat with the food. Unfortunately we were very disappointed, when it eventually came it was average at best. The chips with the meal were of poor quality and dripping in grease and we both felt quite ill after eating our meals. Breakfast is advertised as ‘continental’ and a cooked option. We came down at our agreed time of 9:15 and were welcomed and asked if we would like tea/coffee by a pleasant lady. The continental part of the breakfast consists of toast, cereals, a few pieces of sad looking fruit, yoghurt pots and fruit juice – that really isn’t a continental breakfast. We both ordered a cooked option, scrambled eggs on toast for me and a ‘Full Welsh’ for my wife. The scrambled eggs were very salty and the mushrooms were ‘watery’, the bacon and beans both looked and tasted as though they’d been under a heat lamp too long. Overall, a disappointing start to the day. For the first 3 mornings we were at least able to get something to eat at the agreed time of 9:15am and were served by the same lady. On the Wednesday when we came through for breakfast at 9:15am we were met by another woman who, after asking if we were staying at the hotel firstly told us, quite rudely that the kitchen closed at 9:00am and we couldn’t have breakfast. We explained that we were expected for breakfast at 9:15am but she just repeated that the kitchen was closed, but said ‘you can have some toast’, not even an offer of a hot drink. By Thursday morning we had decided that due to the all our experiences at the hotel we couldn’t take it anymore and checked out two days early, when we took the keys to the same lady as on the Wednesday. She wasn’t interested in why we were leaving early and just shrugged her shoulders. In conclusion, there’s nothing to recommend staying at The Grapes hotel, or eating there. The ‘cottages’ aren’t cottages, they’re tiny, cramped, badly serviced and overall feel ‘a bit grubby’. The food offering is poor and doesn’t live up to it’s advertising. And the customer service is very hit and miss. There’s a lot of good hotels in this beautiful area to choose from, but this isn’t one of them."
