The Portland Guesthouse

The guesthouse is run by a charity, teaching vulnerable and disabled adults the business of hospitality. The house is beautiful with Regency Features and our bedroom was nicely decorated with an en-suite and door out to a small terrace with a garden table and chairs. The staff were helpful and very pleasant. There are so many things that could be tweaked very slightly to make this a great place to stay. Walking up to the front door of the house, there are lots of weeds and dead flowers in pots. The stunning red door has a handwritten note giving a mobile number for contact and this note is stuck to the door with sellotape or similar. It wouldn’t take a lot to make this first impression better. Inside the house, the commercial kitchen door is wedged open so you can see everything that a door is there to hide. Again, down in the basement where our room was, there were baskets of linen and linen strewn across the floor. As with the kitchen, guests do not need to see behind the scenes of the laundry. The terrace outside our room needs some love and care and a lick of paint to transform it into a very pretty little feature. When it came to breakfast, there was one poor lad doing everything. He seemed to be the only member of staff in. I am sure he was doing his best, however one lady waited for at least 45 minutes for her scrambled eggs. It turned out that this lad had to go out mid breakfast service and buy more eggs to do that. When it came to our order, he said he had run out of mushrooms and the couple that came down after us were told he had run out of bacon. Who is there teaching him to plan what he needs to buy in? I am not blaming this on the lad left here on his own to cope. There does not seem to be anyone here responsible for running the guesthouse and teaching these vulnerable adults the skills and standards they should be striving for in hospitality. This guesthouse could be so wonderful with just a little more thought.

Such an amazing friendly place to stay. The charity running this b and b should be so proud of everything they do. Learning about what their aim is via the qr code in the room was really informative. Our room was comfy and nice and quiet. We were in room 3 which had a door to the back outdoor area. The carpet could do with a deep clean and the bed a little a squeaky but it was very comfortable and the cleanliness of the room was great. Really good bathroom with a powerful shower. The key card entry made getting into the house at night really easy. The decor is so in keeping with the are of the house and reading about it’s history was lovely. Every member of staff we had dealings with were lovely, treated us with smiles and so friendly. Without a doubt we would definitely stay again. The little eggs on our table on Easter morning just made it even more special.

Really enjoyable stay we will return if we come back to Cheltenham. Lovely friendly staff who couldn’t be more helpful, nothing was too much trouble. Very comfortable and clean room all decor in keeping with the period of the building as per their renovation notes. Breakfast tasty with good option and great fresh coffee. Great location for a quick walk into town. We parked opposite in the NCP, there are street permits available for local streets, if you book these at least 24 hours before you arrive( not mentioned on booking sites)