I had just emerged from our kitchen when, lo and behold, Hubby called me to introduce Martin, an AA inspector. I hadn’t even heard the door ring as I was busy at the back but there he was in our entrance hall, looking most pleased to meet us and to make an unscheduled inspection of our guest house in the Lake District National Park. Of course the AA never calls ahead to warn anyone in the places they are going to inspect before they arrive. What would be the point of that? They want to catch us unawares so that they can rate our product – that is, what we offer – without giving us time to prepare ourselves. That way, they will see us the way our guests see us. That way, they will be able to grade our establishment au naturale, so to speak!
Well, Martin caught Hubby on his knees painting the front hall. We have been redecorating of late to refresh our Bed and Breakfast. In fact, I had intended to telephone the AA for advice about what we could do to make the most of the features in our rooms whilst in the process of freshening them up. Having Martin show up unexpectedly on our doorstep was therefore rather a godsend.
Although both Hubby and I knew that Martin was here to assess our Bed and Breakfast, we were also eager to hear any suggestions he might have to give us regarding our refurbishment plans. I must say that he made some excellent suggestions, and it was good simply to have a veteran of hotel inspections giving us a fresh viewpoint. One of the more radical suggestions – a great idea – was for us to knock down part of a wall in order to extend a room. We will have to investigate whether doing this will require planning permission and/or affect fire regulations as our B&B, Blenheim Lodge, is also inspected regularly and complies fully with the latter.
So, it is all hands on deck at present. There is much to do but once it is done we will be able to breathe again. Of course, we are still open for bookings at our guest house as we have closed off specific sections at a time for redecoration. And no, the house does not smell strongly of paint!
Our website address is www.blenheim-lodge.com, where you will see lots of current photos of our rooms. If anyone has any ideas about how we might redecorate our rooms, do feel free to let us know. We would welcome effective and sensible suggestions for making our Bed and breakfast fresher in feel, and more homely and welcoming to our guests.
Come and visit with us and see our work in progress. Tell us you read this post on our BLOG and we will give each staying guest £5 off our already reduced promotional rates provided you have booked DIRECTLY with us online or by telephone or email. This offer is only good, of course, until we have finished our current project, which is likely to be sometime this month of March 2015.
Blenheim Lodge . . . panoramic Lake views, peace and tranquillity, nestled against acres of beautiful fields and woodlands, in the heart of the English Lake District National Park.’
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