Trading standards are investigating after a couple who stayed at a hotel claimed to have been “fined” £100 by a hotel which they described as a “rotten stinking hovel” on TripAdvisor.

Tony and Jan Jenkinson, from Whitehaven in Cumbria, posted a review on the website after staying at the Broadway Hotel in Blackpool.

However, the couple later found that £100 charged to their credit card, which the BBC reported was the result of a hotel policy in the case of “bad” reviews.

The manager of the hotel was not available for comment last night. The Jenkinsons, who were on the way to Oxford and had decided to stay overnight in Blackpool, were said to have been shown terms and conditions on their booking form, which stated: “Despite the fact that repeat customers and couples love our hotel, your friends and family may not. For every bad review left on any website, the group organiser will be charged a maximum £100 per review.”

The review, posted on 30 August by Tony Jenkinson, said that the couple could not believe the state of their room, claiming that the hot tap and kettle wasn’t working and that the front part of a chest of drawers fell off then they opened it.

It added: “There were instructions on how to make a phone call, we would have had a job as there was no phone!! The wallpaper was peeling off the walls, the carpet was thin, dirty and stained. The bed was something else, it must have come out of the ark, the base was all scuffed and dirty and the springs in the mattress attacked you in the night.”

After describing the breakfast as a “joke”, he concluded: “This place should be shut down, I don’t know if they are ever inspected, but if so, I don’t know how this place has passed!!

If you are offered this place to stay for a fortnight for 10p, you are being robbed!! STAY AWAY!!!”

A description of the hotel on Booking.com described it as having “cosy bedrooms” which were traditionally decorated. On the LateRooms website, the hotel was said to be “famous for live entertainment and excellent cuisine.” It added: “We are located on the edge of Blackpool’s newly developed South beach Promenade. Perfectly situated for the Pleasure Beach, Sandcastle Water Park, the Grosvenor Casino and just a short walk away from the center of Blackpool. Whether you want a fun filled holiday or just a relaxing break, our Blackpool Hotel can cater for both.”