Background

The hotel is part of the Lions hotels group in Eastbourne.

We chose the hotel as it had a nice suite of rooms to host a party (ballroom, lounge and private bar).


Booking / Reservations

Some of my guests had problems with making their reservations for rooms as they were told that either the hotel was full or the ‘party’ not heard off. I reserved my room a year before the party was due to take place but was annoyed (to put it mildly) when I turned up on the day of the party to be told there wasn’t a room booked in my name.

Check in

Check –in was marred by not having my promised room. I was offered an alternative double room (inferior sea view room to the one promised – see under rooms). The receptionist took details of my complaint but the hotel was not proactive afterwards in writing to me to apologise – I had to write to them to complain and solicit a response from management. Some guests complained that reception staff seemed more keen on talking internally on the phone rather than dealing with them.


Bedroom

There is a difference in quality of double rooms charged at the same price. Room 308 was the inferior room we were offered – the bathroom was quite small as was the room relative to something like the room I was anticipating Room 311. This was a larger room and larger bathroom with fridge, Jacuzzi and superior toiletries. We ended up in this room as we swapped with a relation.

The room was quite clean but in need of some minor maintenance eg no chains attached to plugs in basin/bath.

Whilst the hotwater in the morning was sufficient for my purposes provided no cold was run my partner found that the water was not hot enough

Function rooms

These were quite spacious for our requirements but the suite of rooms was meant to include a private bar for the function which was not available on the day.

Staff/Service

This was somewhat poor. Some guests overheard the bar staff in the hotel’s main bar complaining that the party guests weren’t buying much which we didn’t think was particularly good. There was a problem with space over the quantity of food being laid out because of some flower arrangements – the staff member concerned was not proactive in dealing with the matter. At breakfast orders for coffee/tea were taken without telling anyone that all the food including the cooked breakfast had to be self service. We weren’t impressed either by the receptionist at check stating in that my experience of not having a room was not an isolated incident and that omissions and lack of communication from your function department to the hotel is common place.


Food

We were very pleasantly surprised by the quality and variety of the food that was provided for our buffet function. The buffet was hot and cold on a pick your own basis.

Breakfast consists of a choice of the usual fayre - help yourself cereals/ fruit/fruit juice followed by a cooked breakfast which you had to help yourself and toast also help yourself.

Business services

Didn’t notice any internet connection in the bedrooms.

Location

The hotel is situated on Eastbourne seafront.

In common with most hotels in the town the hotel does not have guest car parking (there is a small service car park at the rear where function entertainers can offload/park with the agreement of the hotel). The hotel does however provide you with a parking permit which is valid in the side roads (not the seafront). Finding a parking space may be problematic in the summer if people flock to the coast though at the time of our function most people were able to park quite close by.

Value for Money

If you get a decent sized room then the price per room is probably similar to other establishments in the area.

Nice place to stay and good value if, like me, you get a room for around £40 per night including breakfast. There are of course many hotels in Eastbourne and competition drives down the prices if you shop around. This hotel is very popular with elderly guests so don't expect a lively time but it is both comfortable and clean. No wifi which is odd but maybe that's because of the age profile of guests, although a wifi router is hardly a big investment nowadays even if few guests use or have a computer. Good location but no car park although there are concessionary rates for hotel guests in the side streets nearby

We had a 6-day holiday and found this a most comfortable Hotel. All the Staff are so cheerful and willing - nothing was too much trouble. The food was of the very highest standard and the menu was different every night. Most nights there was entertainment. We had a 4th floor room which was quiet and comfortable. We were very impressed with the furnishings, especially in the lounge and bar areas. 0verall, a most pleasant stay.

Our family booked this hotel for a family get-together. We were delighted with the service we received. The staff were excellent and went out of their way to help us. The food was excellent and restaurant staff were most efficient. Altogether we had a great value weekend and would recomend to others for such an event.