We decided it was time for our annual dose of amusement arcades and candy floss so we packed our bags and headed for Blackpool.

As there are so many media stories telling us how badly the British tourist industry is doing we thought we would no problems in finding Bed and Breakfast accommodation for two nights in Blackpool.

As we walked up and down road after road we found most of the hotel and guest houses had “No Vacancies” signs displayed. We enquired at about a dozen places before we eventually found one that met our three main criteria, these being that they could accommodate us for two nights, had a family room and the room was en-suite. The search had taken us about two hours and given us some aching legs.

If you are looking for a Bed & Breakfast establishment can I just mention a few points that we always look out for:
* Car Parking. In Blackpool it is often very difficult to park anywhere near a B & B so look out for somewhere that has its own parking spaces. (Some guest houses charge extra for car parking.)
* Meters. Some B & B’s have electric meters in the rooms that you have to “feed”.
* Central Heating. If you are travelling out of season then do check to see if the B & B has heating, don’t just take it for granted.
* Supplements. Some B & B’s charge extra if you are only stopping one or two nights.
* Daytime access. Some of the more old fashioned establishments still do not allow access to the rooms during the day.
* Breakfast. If you expecting a full English breakfast then do check that this is what the B & B is serving. Some only provide a continental breakfast.
* Rates. Some of the advertised rates are for a midweek night in January. Make sure you know exactly what you are going to pay before you take the room.

In general the standard of B & B’s has risen dramatically over the past few years and most of the items above only need a cursory
check.

The Bed & Breakfast that we choose is called Rossall House and it is situated about halfway between the Central and South Piers and is about 200m from the sea front.

There is a private car park at the rear of the building, although it is like a military operation getting your car parked. The guest’s cars are all parked in front of each other and if you do want to get your car out you need to find the other guests and witness a major operation in car manoeuvring. If the other car owners have already gone out for the day then I am afraid that is just bad luck.

Mrs Young runs the B & B and is a very pleasant lady and she has a number of local people who come in to help her during the day.

Our room was just big enough for one double bed and one single bed, plus a few cupboards. We constantly seemed to be moving things around in order to find some space.

I know we are always being told that a hard mattress is better for our backs, but there must be a limit. The mattress on the double bed was so hard that I woke up with back ache on both mornings. If we had been planning a third night in Blackpool then I think we would have moved to a different B & B.

In the room there was a colour TV (wall mounted) and a kettle for making tea and coffee. Although the room was for three people there were only two mugs and two sets of drink sachets provided, which was a little annoying.

The room was en-suite with a shower. Unfortunately we never did manage to get any hot water out of the shower and there were some very quick cold showers taken. There was no electric shaver point, but luckily I had taken along a mains plug adapter.

There were ten guest rooms and breakfast was served in a large, clean dining room at the back of the hotel. Breakfast consisted of Corn Flakes to start, plus a tiny glass of orange fruit juice. The cooked breakfast was two sausages, two rashers of bacon, a fried egg and baked b
eans or tinned tomatoes. There was also toast. When you are staying in a Bed and Breakfast establishment the breakfast is obviously a major part of your stay. In the past when we have stayed at B & B’s we have always felt that the breakfast set us up for the day. Unfortunately this was not the case here and unless you ate loads of toast you went away not very full. I really did feel the penny pitching choice of beans or tomatoes was not justified, especially when you think how cheap both of these items are.

There was a licensed bar that was open in the evenings although neither of the draught beers were available. The prices of the drinks were very reasonable.

The cost of Bed and Breakfast is £17 per person per night, which seemed to be the rate being charged by the majority of the B & B’s in Blackpool. As well as our room key we had a key to the outside door and we could come and go as often as we wanted.

Overall the B & B was not unpleasant, but it just seemed to be lacking the little extras that would make you feel that you wanted to go back there again. With most of the Blackpool B & B’s charging the same amount I think we will look for somewhere different next time.