We stayed in this hotel beginning of february for a saturday night. I have read the reviews and was aware that some people had problems with the noise so was a little apprehensive.

We had the King William IV room, which was gorgeous. It was huge, really well decorated and had a massive bed. Also was a view of the rear of the hotel with huge windows. If you wanted to have privacy, then you would have to close the windows. Also, as it was the night that the whole of the UK suffered with snow, I was pleased that the heating worked.

We went off to Jamies Italian for the evening (thoroughly recommended and don't worry if it's full. If you don't mind waiting, they give you a pager, so you can go off and have a drink) and came back around 11.30pm. No issues. I didn't have a drink in the bar because we were tired and cold, but had a really good nights sleep.

I like the fact that breakfast was until 11am, which although they only had two people doing it, were more than happy to do me some poached eggs etc.

You don't need to check out till 12, which I think is good for Brighton and means that you don't have to rush around with a hangover.

Overall, for the price paid, this was excellant value, near the lanes and a very confortable stay. I would recommend it.

Booked this hotel on a Lastminute.com deal a few days before heading down to Brighton for a friend's party at short notice. A thorough prior search of B and B options had come up against a seemingly ubiquitous 2-night minimum proviso with many of them, until the Royal York popped up anonymously as a 'secret luxury hotel' offer. The price was more than reasonable (albeit discounted), the room (on the 3rd floor, for what it's worth) had lovely views north over the gardens and was peaceful and, beyond a couple of pedantic things, very nice indeed. All in all, no complaints and we felt lucky to be there. That said, I wouldn't propose a wedding here - the foyer's deep blue wallpaper and the large deserted dining room on a Saturday night lent a vaguely funereal air - a couple of cobwebbed suits of armour and a gargoyle and it'd be a setting for Mary Shelley...

Upgraded to deluxe business class room with sea view for just £20 on arrival.great location with the pier, the lanes shopping, odeon cinema and plenty of places to eat and drink. Looks shabby from the outside but modern rooms. Only downfall is we had to park the car 10 minutes walk away and pay £25 for the night. Excellent service! Very helpful.

We were at a family wedding in Brighton in mid January 2012 and, based on its location we booked 2 nights, Friday and Saturday, in the Royal York, Brighton. We booked a business class room hoping for a leisurely break – we asked at check in if it was a quiet room and were assured that it was as quiet as we could expect given the hotels location.
First impressions were that the hotel looked a little tired and was perhaps undergoing modernisation.
The bedroom was a good size but lacking in furniture – a small wardrobe so my wife could not hang her dress - no chest of drawers so small items of clothing remained in the suitcase on the floor because there was no stand for the luggage.
The bathroom was modern but cold with only a towel rail for heat. It was impossible to have a shower as the shower-head spun around uncontrollably spraying the entire room. If you chose to have a bath, the plug did not fit which meant that both taps had to be left running throughout. Only one of the two lights worked and there were two screws missing from the door handle.
There appeared to be only one member of staff on duty – when I asked about the lack of bedroom furniture he was unsure about the normal room layout but he would check it out – we never heard further.
We joined friends away from the hotel on Friday evening and returned about 10.15pm. There was only a security guard and the receptionist on duty. The bar was closed despite our check-in card saying it would be open until 3.00am – he could possibly get us an orange juice but was unable to offer anything else. I asked to see the manager but was told that he and the security guard were the only staff on site. I asked that the manager phone me the next morning – the call never came. The following night we returned to the hotel just after midnight – the bar was again closed
We discovered that our room overlooked a 24 hour bus depot and the entrance to a casino so there was constant coming and going throughout both nights including the warning “beep beep beep” whenever buses reversed
There was a limited breakfast served on the Saturday morning by just one waiter helped by the receptionist. A full breakfast service properly staffed was offered on the Sunday morning.
On both days they managed to deliver the wrong morning newspaper.

On the plus side, staff were pleasant, bedrooms, bedding and bathrooms were all clean and the cooked breakfast was good.