We had a very good weekend at the Penny Farthing for our Anniversary,very frendly staff,nothing to much trouble,great freshly cooked breakfast,very clean comfortable room,card and bottle of wine waiting for us in our room,we will be back,thank you P. Farthing

Stayed a night on route to Lymington and for convenience and cleanliness it was great. They offer B&B only as it is just before the High Street and there are places to eat all around. We ate at Pergolas Italian that was as efficient as any good Italian and great value. (If your on a diet forget it!). Rooms are very well maintained and spotless. Staff were very helpful suggesting where to eat and what to see. Freshly cooked full english breakfast recommended.

I booked a 2 day stay in this establishment on Saturday 21st September 2007. Please read on and SAVE YOUR money by not going to this establishment....there are other hotels and B&B's within Lyndhurst that give your TRUE VALUE FOR MONEY.

In synopsis:

I called the hotel on the morning of Saturday 22nd September 2007 and spoke to a French lady (Maehui?) who told me that she had a ‘cottage’ called Mad Hatter 1 that was vacant for the days requested. I asked if the hotel was in a quiet position and was told that despite being in a town, Lyndhurst, yes it was at the quiet end. I booked the room.

Thirty minutes later Maehui called me back to say that she had made a mistake and that we could only have Mad Hatter 1 for one night and would have to move into another double room for the Sunday. This was acceptable and we agreed the deal. (£209.00 inc breakfast for one morning).

When we arrived we found the following problems (and as we had driven from London we were not about to turn around and go back home):

The hotel is on a VERY BUSY (24/7) main road (I contested this with the young lady, not the French lady, who was working as reception who was rather rude and defensive making excuses for the fact that the French lady had not told me the truth)

Mad Hatter 1 smelled of damp and stale air/smoke despite our efforts to apply air freshener we could not move this smell
The heating did not work
No tea/coffee facilities in the room
At night and early in the morning we were constantly awoken by workman parking three large vans in the car park on which this cottage backs onto
Pubic hair in the bath (we were reluctant to eat in your establishment due to the hygiene issues we faced therefore did not indulge in breakfast as paid for)


The move into the double room, 'Triumph', on the second day subjected us to even more issues, namely the constant noise of traffic and lorries…I thought that I was standing in the pit-stop at Brands Hatch!

I found the hotel via a link on the [--] website and was rather surprised that we would be misled at the point of booking.

I am seeking some form of compensation from the manager and will update this reveiw with his response.

D Power


I have also informed The New Forest Directory/Website [--] who include this hotel as one of their reccomended hotels.

I have stayed at the Penny Farthing on two occaisions whilst in the south on business. Both times I found the hotel to be immaculately clean and the staff very pleasant and helpful. I have absolutely nothing negative to say about the hotel whatsoever. I intend staying at the hotel with my family later on in the year, and using it's location in the "Capital of the New Forest" as a base to explore the surrounding areas.