We stayed at a hotel just down the road from this one last year and it was great but, although cheaper, the Richmond was absolutely fantastic. Free parking space - a bit tight to move around with our Zafira but at least it was off the road. VERY friendly staff, always with a smile and (importantly for us) welsh-speaking. We asked for a sea view as we had enjoyed this at the other hotel.....we weren't disappointed. I had sent an email asking how to ensure this, I was contacted the next day and assured that we would have a sea view. The bay window in our room had an excellent view of the promenade from where we watched the murmuration of starlings doing their evening synchronised flying and settling down underneath the pier - don't miss this show if you ever go to Aberystwyth. We will definitely be using this hotel again whenever we go to Aber from now on (which I hope will be often as our son is at the University). I would recommend this hotel to everyone who wants a relaxing and trouble-free stay at Aber. There may be cheaper guest houses etc around Aberystwyth but personally I find that it is definitely worth it to pay the extra not only to stay on the sea front but to have a bay window where you can watch the world go round.
If I had to mention a minus then it would have to be that I found the bed extremely comfortable but too warm for me (my wife loved it!), having just a cotton blanket under the duvet would have been nice for me so that I could throw off the duvet! If you are considering staying here...don't think twice, just book it. As it clearly states on their website though...don't forget that there is no lift (I must point out though that this was no problem for me even though I had a triple heart by-pass just over a year ago!).
We didn't try the evening meal so can't comment on that - I plan to try that next time.
Richmond hotel...we look forward to coming back.