A stay at the station Hotel is not something to be undertaken lightly. In the space of one short night, I found my self contemplating Kafka and Frankl, First World Problems and refugees, and the desirability or otherwise of heeding such notions as health and safety, and aesthetics; and of course, the purpose of Trip Advisor reviews and how little I know about the difficulties of running a small pub-with-rooms in Ipswich.
So I feel that my soul has been purged and I have reached Katharsis. To start with the positives: the bed linen was clean, as was the sink, and the light, kettle and TV in my room all worked. The shower in the communal bathroom delivered hot water in decent quantities. Beyond, that, what can I say? The initial impression as one goes up the stairs is interesting. There is a sign saying Residents Only, then a door β and then everything changes.
Pub-plush carpet gives way to hostel-brown. A series of unprepossessing doors open off a depressing corridor. The room is small, which is OK, but a chair would have been nice: my idea of getting a little work done rapidly vanished. The curtain defies conventions by not using an adequate number of curtain hooks it is also sufficiently thin to allow the cheery streetlights to shine in all night β a nice touch.
The window is single-glazed, with that attractive wire-mesh in the glass, and does not fully close, so the weary traveller can count the cars and lorries passing over the road bridge by their sound, not to mentions the gulls on the picturesque mud-flats of the river outside the window. The brave landlords do not bend the knee to the tyranny of the Health and Safety obsessives, either.
Bare electric wires feed the ceiling light, as the cover has fallen off; and the self-closing fire door has expanded so it does not close. And the lack of a plug in the basin, or bath mats either in or out of the bath along with the decorative unpainted spaces on the wall which leave one wondering precisely what has been removed, all add to the charm: this is no Travel Lodge, but a truly independent establishment!
