Philipburn Hotel, BW Signature Collection

Place was nice and clean and staff was lovely. Was a shame that evening dinner wasn’t on this day.

I recently stayed at the Philipburn Hotel in Selkirk, hoping for a relaxing stay that matched its 4-star rating. While there were some positives, I left with the sense that something was fundamentally "off" when assessed against what one expects from a hotel of this grade. To start with the positives: my room in the garden block at the rear of the main hotel was exceptionally spacious and comfortable with parkingright outside. It featured a mini-fridge, two armchairs, desk and a large bathroom on an upper mezzanine level. Wi-Fi was fast and reliable in room and throughout the property. The sliding doors opened onto a terrace, which at first seemed ideal, but the view turned out to be of the roof and wall of the function suite. That contrast between initial promise and disappointing reality became something of a pattern throughout the stay. On my first day, I requested a sheet instead of a duvet due to warm weather. This was quickly arranged and appreciated. However, the following day, housekeeping replaced the sheet with a duvet again without asking. This suggested a lack of communication or attention to guest preferences. The large garden is generally well kept, although this impression was undermined by the presence of a discarded chest freezer at the entrance. This contributed to the hotel having an overall neglected feel that was difficult to ignore. A great deal is made of pre-ordering meals. In principle, this should allow the kitchen to prepare food fresh and reduce waste. In practice, it did not deliver. The steak pie I was served had thin, hard pastry that I was certain had been pre-plated well in advance and reheated in a microwave. The scampi, chips and peas served another evening were clearly from a frozen catering pack. Acceptable perhaps in a pub, but underwhelming for a hotel with a £27 prix fixe menu. Breakfast followed the same rigid structure. Guests are required to pre-order every item individually, including the exact number of rashers of bacon, eggs, or hash browns. This made it feel more like filling out a form for a school packed lunch than sitting down to a hotel breakfast. The croissant was clearly from a catering pack or supermarket; I was thankful I had thought to ask for two rashers of bacon! Staffing was very limited. I had to wait several minutes to be seated at breakfast, which only added to the sense that the hotel is operating below the standard expected. A 4-star hotel should have enough staff on duty to provide basic attentiveness. There was an almost comical number of 'do not' notices and signs placed around the grounds; even the umbrella in the wardrobe had a label reminding guests it was for hotel use only, as if guests were likely to walk off with it. The welcome pack included a peculiar letter from "The Management" advising guests to check their bills carefully and implying any errors would be their own responsibility. It was a very odd tone to strike! Altogether, these may seem like small issues

Another wonderful stay! The best breakfast - a foodies delight, fresh orange juice, fresh honey, regenerative eggs and amazing mushrooms. Adrian, Graham and all their staff go above and beyond - we will be back - AGAIN !! :) ( Adrian - we think you should write a book, your experience stories are so interesting )