Horsted Spa
Horsted Spa
3.5
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
3.5
136 reviews
Excellent
48
Very good
36
Average
14
Poor
14
Terrible
24
Neil Loader
3 contributions
Sep 2020
Despite requesting an answer the hotel manager has not responded. We have asked for clarification to their charges as we all believed we had booked for 2 nights and not one. The charges were unacceptable and I await a reply again re your charges.
It appears you seem to forget about the service once we had left. I strongly hope that others clarify your charges and are not totallly misled and openly lied too.
It appears you seem to forget about the service once we had left. I strongly hope that others clarify your charges and are not totallly misled and openly lied too.
Written October 4, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Charlotte
1 contribution
I feel the reviews don’t give an honest opinion on the quality of the spa and food. The staff are all very young and I feel possibly lack experience in customer service. They do not great you or say hello unless prompted. Once arrived and after filling out paper work you were left to it to navigate your day. The spa is run down. It is suitable as a gym pool but I wouldn’t describe it as a ‘Spa’. Not all the facilities were working and the options of robes and slippers where not available. You are also lucky if you get a bed to place your towel. Our treatment only lasted 15 minutes instead of 25 minutes, although this was the best part of the day, if you are paying for a certain experience you would expect to get the minimum at least. The afternoon tea was hands down the worst part. It was clearly pre made, left for a while and didn’t even look refrigerated. We had to ask for our drinks after 20 minutes and both left over half the food. It wasn’t presented as it shows in the photos. The only positive I can offer is when I did make a complaint the guy behind the reception was quick to get me a manager and it was acted on quickly. Having been to a few spa days and for the cost of some of the spa packages that our offered here, I would recommend going somewhere else and paying the same and you will get much better.
Written November 1, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
OnAir522444
1 contribution
I didn't want to write this review but have been left no chocie as we have been totally ignored despite being promised a full refund.
My sister, Mother and I attended on the 8th October for a spa day and the service we recieved was truly shocking. All treatments were delayed by over an hour, casuing multiple individuals to wait together in a tiny area, all complaining. The therapists commented multiple times how stressed they were to us, not making for the relaxing day we had hoped for. All looked unhappy and shouted out the names of who was next like a register at school, then asking what treatment they wanted, the therapists simply didn't have a clue. No apologies from the head therapist who also came into work half an hour late (we were informed this by another member of staff). My sister was taken into a treatment room where someone was midway through their massage which was incredibly awkward. All of the treatment rooms were cold, the therapist stated this was because they "forgot" to turn the heater on in the morning.
The lunch was no better, the food was laughable and looked similar to a child's school dinner with unseasoned, boiled veg. All of our meals came out at different times with at least a 10-15 min wait between people. This was happening to multiple tables as all were complaining. When asking for a flat white coffee, the staff member asked us "what's that again?"
The spa supervisor Michelle was embarrassed at the level of service we had recieved and apologetic therefore had agreed to request from her manager to provide us with a full refund. We had email agreement a day or so later confirming this had been authorised and they would process our £300 refund.
We are now over a month on and NO money has been refunded. We have emailed and called multiple times and always told the "person" we need to speak to is either unavailable, off sick or left the company. We have been given countless promises to be called back within a few hours and what a suprise, never any call backs are made. We called on Wednesday and spoke to the spa manager who promised us that she would resolve this and call us back with an update that afternoon - once again no call. We are now calling daily and constantly fobbed off with fake promises. It's becoming a joke and East Sussex National are taking the mic out of us.
We are not looking for excuses to be made by East Sussex National, we simply want our refund that you have promised us.
Please note, unless the £300 is refunded within the next 2 days, we will be returning in person to speak to the necessary individual and obtain the refund.
My sister, Mother and I attended on the 8th October for a spa day and the service we recieved was truly shocking. All treatments were delayed by over an hour, casuing multiple individuals to wait together in a tiny area, all complaining. The therapists commented multiple times how stressed they were to us, not making for the relaxing day we had hoped for. All looked unhappy and shouted out the names of who was next like a register at school, then asking what treatment they wanted, the therapists simply didn't have a clue. No apologies from the head therapist who also came into work half an hour late (we were informed this by another member of staff). My sister was taken into a treatment room where someone was midway through their massage which was incredibly awkward. All of the treatment rooms were cold, the therapist stated this was because they "forgot" to turn the heater on in the morning.
The lunch was no better, the food was laughable and looked similar to a child's school dinner with unseasoned, boiled veg. All of our meals came out at different times with at least a 10-15 min wait between people. This was happening to multiple tables as all were complaining. When asking for a flat white coffee, the staff member asked us "what's that again?"
The spa supervisor Michelle was embarrassed at the level of service we had recieved and apologetic therefore had agreed to request from her manager to provide us with a full refund. We had email agreement a day or so later confirming this had been authorised and they would process our £300 refund.
We are now over a month on and NO money has been refunded. We have emailed and called multiple times and always told the "person" we need to speak to is either unavailable, off sick or left the company. We have been given countless promises to be called back within a few hours and what a suprise, never any call backs are made. We called on Wednesday and spoke to the spa manager who promised us that she would resolve this and call us back with an update that afternoon - once again no call. We are now calling daily and constantly fobbed off with fake promises. It's becoming a joke and East Sussex National are taking the mic out of us.
We are not looking for excuses to be made by East Sussex National, we simply want our refund that you have promised us.
Please note, unless the £300 is refunded within the next 2 days, we will be returning in person to speak to the necessary individual and obtain the refund.
Written November 11, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Carla W
Braunton, UK1 contribution
We were back and forth on the phone and email for over 2 weeks but we eventually simply just gave up!
1. It looks like pool access is limited to one hour
2. I am unable to book a week in advance as although I contacted your colleagues over a week ago, I still haven’t been able to book anything for 14th September, despite my best efforts.
I asked (repeatedly) about being able to book a spa day and a night at the hotel for two people. The responses have been slow and piecemeal and aside from it being frustrating for me, I just don’t understand how and why booking a spa day and night at a spa hotel has been so difficult - to the extent I’ve given up!
I’ve tried, quite hard as you can see from my e-mails (I have also called at least 4 times) to be your customer. I appreciate Covid has made everyone’s lives different. Again, I don’t know if or how this has effected your booking process, but the upshot is I can’t book either a spa day and a night at the hotel with any guarantee of what I’m actually buying. I’m sure, in those circumstances you probably wouldn’t want to pay for a non refundable hotel/spa package either!
Please can you pass this feedback on to whoever needs to deal with it, such as the hotel and/or spa manager.
1. It looks like pool access is limited to one hour
2. I am unable to book a week in advance as although I contacted your colleagues over a week ago, I still haven’t been able to book anything for 14th September, despite my best efforts.
I asked (repeatedly) about being able to book a spa day and a night at the hotel for two people. The responses have been slow and piecemeal and aside from it being frustrating for me, I just don’t understand how and why booking a spa day and night at a spa hotel has been so difficult - to the extent I’ve given up!
I’ve tried, quite hard as you can see from my e-mails (I have also called at least 4 times) to be your customer. I appreciate Covid has made everyone’s lives different. Again, I don’t know if or how this has effected your booking process, but the upshot is I can’t book either a spa day and a night at the hotel with any guarantee of what I’m actually buying. I’m sure, in those circumstances you probably wouldn’t want to pay for a non refundable hotel/spa package either!
Please can you pass this feedback on to whoever needs to deal with it, such as the hotel and/or spa manager.
Written September 10, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
EB98
Brighton106 contributions
Have been trying for the last four days to book a spa day for 5 adults at East Sussex National each time I select option 5 on the phone for the Spa it goes to voice mail which we’ve left a message we have also emailed twice. I have also spoken to two members of staff on different options who said they will pass on our details but still haven’t heard back. If this is what the service is going to be like then perhaps it’s a lucky escape of not using there service and facilities. Very very poor.
Written June 13, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ellie B
7 contributions
This is the second time we have used this hotel for a spa day and the second time we have been disappointed.
We first emailed to asked if there was availability for a spa day we had seen advertised on the website and for a morning slot for treatments, 14 emails and 3 calls later we were booked on but there was only afternoon slots available for treatments. We then got charged too much money when we paid and could only get a refund by going in and filling out a bacs form and waiting for a refund.
At no point in the emails did they inform us of what time we could arrive and what facilities would be available.
When we arrived on the day we were greeted by grumpy staff who really couldn't be bothered.
When ordering lunch, we waited 50 minutes to be served cold soup, which we returned to be reheated!
It's such a shame because the location is beautiful. However, there is no outside space for the spa. The facilities are good, although it's a bit weird when sitting in a jacuzzi to have someone meticulously cleaning the tiles around the outside. The treatments we received were wonderful.
I will not be recommending this place and we will not be coming back, so disappointing.
We first emailed to asked if there was availability for a spa day we had seen advertised on the website and for a morning slot for treatments, 14 emails and 3 calls later we were booked on but there was only afternoon slots available for treatments. We then got charged too much money when we paid and could only get a refund by going in and filling out a bacs form and waiting for a refund.
At no point in the emails did they inform us of what time we could arrive and what facilities would be available.
When we arrived on the day we were greeted by grumpy staff who really couldn't be bothered.
When ordering lunch, we waited 50 minutes to be served cold soup, which we returned to be reheated!
It's such a shame because the location is beautiful. However, there is no outside space for the spa. The facilities are good, although it's a bit weird when sitting in a jacuzzi to have someone meticulously cleaning the tiles around the outside. The treatments we received were wonderful.
I will not be recommending this place and we will not be coming back, so disappointing.
Written June 29, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Laura S
1 contribution
Treated ourselves to a spa day with afternoon tea included. Staff were very friendly and welcoming, and treatments were very professional. Everything felt just a bit unclean. We arrived at 10am and had crisp packets under our pool loungers, clumps of hair littered the changing rooms, teacups/cutlery were sticky/dirty, surfaces were dusty or not been wiped in a while. The pool was freezing and sitting on the lounger was not much warmer. People were struggling to get in the pool at all and talking to other customers they felt the same. The afternoon tea itself was lovely but it took a long time to be seated and served despite there being only 4 tables in at the time. For what we paid, we could have gotten a more luxury experience elsewhere, but still had a nice time.
Written August 10, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
tinacs2018
Seaford, UK3 contributions
Don't go there!
Ruined my birthday spa day, pool was freezing, steam room not working properly. My partner didn't get his massage, mine lasted less than 20 minutes!
Complained to manager on Friday assured us we would hear back from him vthat was on Friday and still no response. Booked a massage together with hot stones, they knew nothing about hot stones kept me waiting for 28 minutes, my partner more than 40 minutes and said no it's one at a time, paid £100 for an awful visit that totally ruined my day.
This is not the first time booked into hotel for my birthday 3 years ago food was terrible, room was filthy and waited over an hour for our starters and wine arrived halfway through our main course, waiter passed me a red hot plate that burnt my hand.
Gave them another chance with a spa day, no reply to phones at hotel or spa my partner had to drive up there to make the booking. S
My friend pre booked her wedding there and had awful experience, couldn't get an answer then were told the prices were going up much higher without explanation already spending thousands so they cancelled.
A total shambles stay well clear.
Ruined my birthday spa day, pool was freezing, steam room not working properly. My partner didn't get his massage, mine lasted less than 20 minutes!
Complained to manager on Friday assured us we would hear back from him vthat was on Friday and still no response. Booked a massage together with hot stones, they knew nothing about hot stones kept me waiting for 28 minutes, my partner more than 40 minutes and said no it's one at a time, paid £100 for an awful visit that totally ruined my day.
This is not the first time booked into hotel for my birthday 3 years ago food was terrible, room was filthy and waited over an hour for our starters and wine arrived halfway through our main course, waiter passed me a red hot plate that burnt my hand.
Gave them another chance with a spa day, no reply to phones at hotel or spa my partner had to drive up there to make the booking. S
My friend pre booked her wedding there and had awful experience, couldn't get an answer then were told the prices were going up much higher without explanation already spending thousands so they cancelled.
A total shambles stay well clear.
Written May 4, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cheryl G
Eastbourne, UK37 contributions
Jul 2023 • Friends
Spa experience from hell. Firstly booking … nightmare. They don’t answer the phones, they emailed multiple times with wrong information. Finally got the confirmation right, turn up and it’s booked in wrong treatments!
Renovations of the ladies changing rooms has moved the women to men’s …. Lovely urinals for us and just 2 loos… whos idea was this? Gave the men the use of the ladies changing rooms in the spa - so when your sitting waiting for your relaxation experience, men constantly walking past. Stag do in the swimming pool, clowning around. Wasnt told about the relaxation room (but I’ve been many times before so knew of it) was over crowded. Packages no longer included lunch - so very pricey day. Massage was mediocre - clearly staff seemed unhappy. The robe and slippers provided had seen better days and were grubby. I’ve been multiple times before but this was nothing like the relaxing spa experience I had previously enjoyed. You have lost loyal customers.
Renovations of the ladies changing rooms has moved the women to men’s …. Lovely urinals for us and just 2 loos… whos idea was this? Gave the men the use of the ladies changing rooms in the spa - so when your sitting waiting for your relaxation experience, men constantly walking past. Stag do in the swimming pool, clowning around. Wasnt told about the relaxation room (but I’ve been many times before so knew of it) was over crowded. Packages no longer included lunch - so very pricey day. Massage was mediocre - clearly staff seemed unhappy. The robe and slippers provided had seen better days and were grubby. I’ve been multiple times before but this was nothing like the relaxing spa experience I had previously enjoyed. You have lost loyal customers.
Written July 22, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Claire A
London13 contributions
Feb 2024 • Couples
We arrived at the spa at 10am for our treatments which were very average. The therapists are very young and have clearly got limited training/experience. After the treatments we moved to the relaxation area and I asked for a herbal tea, and was told they didn’t have any just instant coffee. This is shocking. We then used the spa facilities, disappointingly the steam, sauna and aromatherapy rooms were not working so we had to use the main ones at the pool - I raised this with a very disinterested receptionist who sent someone to look at them but never fixed them.
The pool alternatives were overcrowded and had people queuing for them, not very relaxing. We were packed in like sardines due to the limited space.
Then came afternoon tea…having arrived at 10am we were told the earliest we could eat was 1;30pm. We thought this might be ok but since half the facilities were unavailable, by midday we were hungry and ready to eat. We sat and waited in the spa restaurant. At 1:45pm we asked where our food was and eventually told it was being served in the restaurant on the other side of the building. I was speechless. I asked the receptionist why they didn’t tell us that and she just said ‘she thought we knew’. The so called manager there was seen asking her what happened afterwards and made no attempt to intervene and apologise for the confusion. He may as well not be there. It’s very odd to not let people eat when they choose to, but despite the terrible service and facilities the afternoon tea was in fact delicious. Perhaps just stick to that.
The pool alternatives were overcrowded and had people queuing for them, not very relaxing. We were packed in like sardines due to the limited space.
Then came afternoon tea…having arrived at 10am we were told the earliest we could eat was 1;30pm. We thought this might be ok but since half the facilities were unavailable, by midday we were hungry and ready to eat. We sat and waited in the spa restaurant. At 1:45pm we asked where our food was and eventually told it was being served in the restaurant on the other side of the building. I was speechless. I asked the receptionist why they didn’t tell us that and she just said ‘she thought we knew’. The so called manager there was seen asking her what happened afterwards and made no attempt to intervene and apologise for the confusion. He may as well not be there. It’s very odd to not let people eat when they choose to, but despite the terrible service and facilities the afternoon tea was in fact delicious. Perhaps just stick to that.
Written February 21, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
When is the pool open for children ?
Written June 15, 2018
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