This hotel is one to miss. We paid £92.50. for one night in January. It was cold in the rooms, the carpets were stained, we rejected our first room, it was small filthy, smelly and cold. They moved us to another room, which was bigger, but, was filthy, cold and smelly, with dirty carpets, I threw my socks away. The staff did not care when we complained, their attitude was unbelievable. The hotel itself is tired, wallpaper peeling off throughout. The corridors stink of smoke. Does not lool like it has been decorated for decades.....Breakfast was awful, they served it on extemely hot plates, without warning, I ended up burning myself trying to move it. We left breakfast and could not wait to leave the hotel.. I travel quite a lot, and stay with on average 10 hotels a year, I can honestly say this was the very worst hotel I have ever had the misfortune to visit.....In short...STAY AWAY .

The Marine Hotel seems to rely on functions, big portion sizes in its restaurant and guests attending functions who stay in their rooms. I stayed for one night, having requested a 'stay for one night, get the second for 50%' deal, which wasn't available - because they had a function on the second night and all rooms were occupied. I'm glad I did only stay one night because the hotel is incredibly shabby and the cooked breakfast was poor quality. I arrived late-ish on Friday night and ate in the restaurant, which served me a school dinner-ish pork, mash and veg - but BIG PORTIONS! The guests in the dining room seemed to be people who saw VFM as big portion sizes (I heard them talking about this during their meal). The staff are very friendly and helpful and my room was okay as well. I was glad I was on my own in the double room ,because although the room was a good size and was clean and tidy, the bed was the smallest double possible and would have not made for a good night's sleep for one person. Heaven knows where the refurbished rooms were - but I wasn't in one! Please will someone help the poor chef out as well, there is a menu which tries to be all things to all people and ends up being nothing to anyone. Such a nice setting, with great potential, but not for couples or guests, just functions and big portions.

We have stayed here before with one of my daughter's having her wedding reception here.
Whitstable is a lovely little town but not a typical seaside resort and the hotel like the town has probably seen better days but don't be distracted the hotel is full of character with corridors weaving up and down to the bedrooms.
We have stayed in a room overlooking the sea which has lovely views even with the windturbines offshore and as we stay here when visiting family the rooms at the back suit us.
The rooms are clean have hair dryers (important to the ladies I know) with tea and coffee and toiletries in the bathroom.
The bar area is full of characters and reasonably priced, the restaurant staff were particuarly pleasant and the food was quite good value. Nothing seemed too much trouble.
As we have family in the area we will always consider staying here as it is quite good value with deals sometimes available.

The seaside has a mixed reputation these days, especially out of season. On the one hand there's the sea; and donuts; and the penny-pushers in the arcades. These things make us happy.

On the other hand there's the near desolation of a resort after the tourists have left. The buildings are empty, shuttered, worn by another season of tourist abuse. So are the locals it seems, judging by those observed frequenting the few shops, pubs and restaurants who remain open in the off season. Most of these folks end up at the one or two amusement arcades that brave the winter.

Whitstable has managed to buck this somewhat. We visited today (2 January 2012) and found it busy, a hive of activity in fact. Offering some fantastic oysters, too. Check out Wheelers.

Not so Tankerton Sands and Herne Bay. These are looking worse for wear this winter, in need of TLC (funded by the tourist pounds that seem to stop flowing at Whitstable). This is a pity, because we had a great time there.

We stayed at the Marine in Tankerton. It fronts the sea and has some of the best view around. It's a shabby place. In need of refurbishment and a general tidy. oh, and a style make-over. But then that's part of its charm. The staff were friendly and welcoming, genuinely so. We were given a room with a view and some useful information about the local amenities.

The room wouldn't be to most tastes, but was clean, comfortable, and with a fantastic shower.

The food was pub standard, but properly cooked, good and honest.

We were told that there's a refurbishment starting next week. This will no-doubt be welcome. But I hope this place doesn't lose any of its charm in the process. We will definitely visit again to find out.