Marc and I stayed at the Arrandale in Douglas. The first thing we did upon our arrival at the ferry terminal was to go to the tourist information office and ask for directions to get to our accommodations. The elderly lady employee at the office knew where the place was and she gave us directions right away.

All in all, the walk took around 20 minutes. It wasn't difficult. The walk along the promenade was easy. It was walking up some hills which proved to be challenging especially with our heavy suitcase.

Upon our arrival, we were checked in by a middle aged lady who spoke with what sounded like a Russian or Eastern European accent. We found her to be kind, soft spoken, and pleasant to deal with. There was likewise a young man, also with the same accent, who was around and taking all the soiled towels away for laundry that afternoon. He in fact helped us carry our heavy suitcase to our room when we found out that there were no elevators in the place. They were the two people we dealt with throughout our two day stay in Arrandale.

Before Marc and I book any room in any hotel, I normally check out the reviews on Tripadvisor. All Isle of Man accomodations were pricey and The Arrandale got very good to exceptional reviews. We originally thought it was a hotel until Bonita, the Irish staff at our Belfast hotel told us it was a B & B. She had lived in the Isle of Man for a number of years and she was quite familiar with the hotels there.

Much to our surprise, the Arrandale didn't meet our expectations.

To be fair, these were the positives we found about the place: First, the breakfast was good. I had kipper's (a kind of fish) during our first morning there. I was advised by someone I knew to try the local fare and I did. However, I found the fish rather bony and I was a bit scared of having a bone stuck in my throat. The next day, I tried the traditional English breakfast instead and it was plentiful. I did like the eggs with the bacon, beans, and mushrooms. We even had toast which was a mix of white and brown bread. I like them so much I had the same type of breakfast throughout the remainder of our stay in the UK in all the hotels we stayed in. Second, when Marc needed a blow dryer after he showered one morning, he was lent one and was told to keep it for the remainder of our stay. Now that was really kind of them.

While the whole place looked very neat and tidy especially the common areas, the carpet in our room, especially next to Marc's side appeared very dusty. It didn't seem to have been vacuumed in a long time.

The room was small, but its size didn't bother us. Our next gripe about this place was the toilet. It simply didn't seem to work. I once used it and tried flushing it. Much to my chagrin, it wouldn't despite four attempts. This happened not just once but several times to both of us throughout our stay.

On our second day there, we placed most of the towels on the bathroom floor so that they could be replaced with new ones. This is standard procedure in all hotels anywhere. To our surprise, who ever cleaned our room placed them back on the hooks behind the bathroom door for us to reuse.

I had to go down to the front desk and ask for two new ones. What happened next annoyed me the most. The young man first came out and asked me in a truly abrasive manner what I wanted. Just the day before, he was soft spoken and helpful towards my partner and me. I was totally taken aback by the change of attitude. Anyway, I informed him what I needed. A few minutes later, the middle aged lady likewise came out and told me that she was going to deliver them to our room. She agreed when I asked to get them right away. She pulled them out from some duffel bags in the storage area right under the stairs.

In the afternoon prior to our departure for Liverpool, we saw some police vans a block away from Arrandale. There were a number of policemen combing the area and we saw them take at least one man into their van. Other police officers continued to search the houses in the entire block. This sight was so, so eerie. It gave us the impression that the area we were in, despite, the seemingly calm and peaceful atmosphere, must have been sketchy and even dangerous. At this time, the streets were totally, totally deserted and there were a number of people looking out the windows from their own homes. Some were even laughing.

Would we return to Arrandale if given the chance? Probably not.

I have written a review about this B & B on Tripadvisor and the owner has since expressed her side. I review the places we stay in as honestly and as truthfully as we experience them.

Just as I am thankful to all the genuine reviews by real people who have informed us of good hotels and who warned us of the bad ones, so will I return the favor by writing about our experiences so that future guests will be informed and perhaps even forewarned. I have no reason to make stories that are untrue.