The Capon Tree Town House

Three of us stayed here in two rooms while doing various tourist things in the Borders. First of all may I say well done to this business for making an effort to provide attractive and modern accommodation at a fair price, which can't be that easy to pull off in the current climate. So any negative points I might make need to be taken against that backdrop. First, the positives. The location is excellent just at the foot of the High Street with easy walking to the shops and abbey. Also free parking on the street immediately outside the hotel or in the street at the rear. The welcome from Alasdair was warm and friendly and we noted a good going bar downstairs. To the rooms: We had Oak and Beech. Both were nice, spotlessly clean with fresh decor and with all the facilities you might need, including a fridge (of which more later...) The beds were large and super comfy. Oak had a balcony overlooking the roundabout and parkland which was a very nice touch indeed, especially with the table and two chairs provided which would have been ideal for a pre-dinner drink or to eat breakfast had the weather been a bit better. However it was let down a bit by two pots, one containing a long dead oak sapling and the other nothing but weeds. This, combined with the timber decking looking in need of some TLC, rather devalued the balcony experience and left an unfortunate impression of neglect. A couple of other niggly faults with Oak: the shaver light in the bathroom did not work, meaning that there wasn't enough light in there, and there was a crack in the wash hand basin. However, the shower was fine and there was plenty of hot water. I note that other reviewers have been critical of the breakfast hamper. While I would probably prefer a cooked breakfast option served in a dining room, I think the hamper was fine, containing as it did two types of cereal, milk, orange juice, ham, two types of cheese, a croissant and some bread, as well as honey and chutney. You certainly wouldn't starve and I imagine this is a way of keeping costs down. It might be an idea to have the ingredients of the cereals listed to support people with allergies. The hamper meant a fridge was needed and I welcome that as it's always handy to keep water (and perhaps the odd bottle of white wine) cool. However, the noise of it switching itself on and off wakened us at night. It might have been an idea to site the fridge in the walk in cupboard, which would help minimise the noise disturbance and also create more space in the room. I may be wrong but I got the impression there were no staff members present overnight, which may be fine but might not be ideal in an emergency. Overall, a reasonably good stay, a little let down by a few niggly issues that just need to be dealt with to elevate the stay to excellent.