The Olive Branch Marsden Review by Boubelina, 2018-11-14T00:00:00
My husband and I stayed here 9th Nov ‘18 whilst visiting relatives in the area. We had been looking forward to staying in the Colne Valley as I have many happy memories of this area as a child. We picked up the key at 2.30pm planning to return in the evening for a drink at the bar before bed. We thought it was odd that no -one other than two chefs by the back door was there. Never mind, the chef was very pleasant and helpful and he booked us in. At 9:45pm we arrived at the car park - it was deserted. We were looking forward to the ‘country pub atmosphere’ and having a glass of wine at the bar. It was also deserted and in complete darkness.... We let ourselves in to the accommodation, which was upstairs - it was silent, other than the lashing rain and wind! We realised we were the only people there - not a member of staff, no other guests... No-one! It was a weird atmosphere and not one we liked. If we had realised we would be the only guests/people on site we would never have stayed there. The room (Serengetti) was warm and quite spacious, as was the bathroom. The free Wi-fi was good as was the TV. There are good tea/coffee facilities on the landing outside the room. Sleep quality was v poor. The mattress was uncomfortable and the duvet could do with being replaced. The pillows were extremely thin and valance was hanging off the bed. The traffic noise from the road outside didn’t help. The shower worked well - good supply of hot water but there was no shower gel. The towels have definitely seen better days. Things were better the next morning when we went to breakfast. We met a lovely, friendly member of staff who made us a delicious ‘full English’. It was nice to see another person - especially as the restaurant was empty, bar us. The views around the Colne Valley from the Olive Branch are lovely - but we would not stop here again because of the above comments. It’s such a shame as we were so looking forward to being here again after 55 years. I initially wanted to rate this 2* but decided on 3* because of the lovely member of staff and breakfast.