Well, 3.5 stars. There is no doubt that Dan is a welcoming and informative host. He cooks a good breakfast too. The hotel is close to and convenient to the town centre, which is good - though I can’t agree with other reviews saying the street is quiet: it wasn’t when I was there thanks to building work and very early morning refuse collection but perhaps on other days it is fine. Noise disturbance from the adjoining property was more of an issue, walls are thin. For me, though, the Franklin has some other downsides. I stayed in the ‘deluxe’ room and wouldn’t again. For sure, the room is quite large and faces the street. But perhaps this is why the room was so very cold; the radiator wasn’t up to the job. A hot water bottle is available, but I don’t want to be relying on that to be warm. There is a seating area promoted on the room description but the seats are two hard and really uncomfortable dining chairs. Ten minutes on one of them was more than enough. Room furnishing is an eclectic mix, including a massive oriental decorative fan and a massive wardrobe adorned with plastic shrubbery which all seemed a bit odd. What really drags down my opinion was the shower: it drains very, very slowly which is fine if only for the fact that the water is such a woeful dribble from the shower head the drain can just about cope. Stay here by all means but I would opt for one of the side rooms, which at least have an armchair and maybe better water pressure.
