Victoria Lodge Guest House

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The has been a hotel under various owners for a long time, and it's a great place to bed down for a few days in one of the UK's prettiest and most historic cities.


On arrival I was told that although I'd booked a single room they were giving me a double, which was wonderful news. My room was perfectly pleasant. Some slightly strange narrow folding doors led to the wardrobe and bathroom, but they didn't make things too awkward. It would have helped to have had a proper chair/desk, but if you're not there for work, this is less essential.


The bed was one of the most comfortable beds I have ever slept in. A good double size, with an incredible mattress and a good weight of pillow and duvet/throw combination. If you wanted extra pillows you might need to ask for them.

The en suite shower room was simple but spacious, with plain white towels left out. The only toiletries are soaps, but more are available for purchase if you need them. The shower is hot and powerful, not the depressing link you can find in institutional bathrooms.


The room could get quite cold. During the evening it was well-heated, but if you're in during the day or early evening then it's not on and you might feel the chill.

[ADVERT]There were overhead lights, a lamp and wall-lights, but the room still seemed quite dim. There was only one bedside table and lamp, which might be a problem if you were sharing the room. The chest of drawers was a good size though.

The television was a reasonable size and worked well with a good range of channels. I was glad to be able to browse easily. The simple technology extended to the free WiFi, which was easy to connect to (a code is in the room info) and reliable.

The walls are very thin. This meant that the traffic noise could become quite intrusive, and when people in other rooms snored, kept the television on loud at 2am or got up to use bathrooms in the middle of the night, the noise came straight through to my room. If you're sensitive, you may want to travel with earplugs.

Breakfast was good. There's a range of cereals, fruit and fruit juice available for self-service, along with filter coffee (slightly too weak). You can then order hot food and teas. The hot breakfast included a sausage, bacon, mushrooms, fried eggs (you could ask for other kinds) and tomatoes, with two slices of brown or white toast. Service was speedy. The food was good, but very greasy.


Basic tea and coffee were left out, and replenished daily (much appreciated). There were no extras, such as biscuits, but there's a Co-op just up the road if you need to pop out for a late-night snack. My kettle clearly hadn't been cleaned in a very long time, as the amount of limescale in it (and flaking off) was grim, and I cleaned it out myself. The mugs were from Salisbury cathedral, a nice touch allowing you to learn more about the area whilst sipping from delicate china.


If you want a drink in the evenings, you can buy one here. There's a bar in the breakfast room, and they'll serve drinks to the sitting room, giving you a space to sit and socialise with friends and family.


On Castle Road, this will take you straight to the Cathedral in one direction, or up to Old Sarum Castle and the old cathedral in the other. It only takes 15 minutes to walk to either. Salisbury's not a big city and this B&B is perfectly placed just outside the ring road. Stonehenge isn't far away, and there are plenty of other tourist attractions within a few miles. There's plenty of parking, with room for about ten cars.


The proprietors are extremely friendly and there's definitely a positive feel about the place. Rooms start at £45 for a single, which represents good value for a tourist-heavy area. The recommendations touted outside are right.

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