Steeped in history and the grandeur of the past still lingers. Staff at reception were welcoming and always had time to answer any questions. The hotel has character and is full of characters and the charming and witty Matthew is a delight and a great early morning conversationalist. We had a massive room and views to enjoy. Breakfast is plentiful and something for everyone and staff were attentive and also very welcoming and the chef is lovely. When I return to Hastings the Royal Victoria is where I'll stay. A big thank you to all staff at the Royal Victoria.
Absolutely appalled on check out this morning and for this reason we shall never return!!! After a pleasant stay as a little get away, we are local and came at Xmas for lunch, we were greeted on check out by a red haired DRUNK receptionist!!! SLURRED speech!!! SMELT of alcohol!!!!! LOUD!!!! MUDDLED!!!! PISSED AS A FART BASICALLY. Got chatting out front to another couple who we had met over breakfast who said “she’s pissed”. ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING!!!!
As organiser of a weekend event for 90 people based at the Royal Victoria Hotel, St Leonards, I could not be happier. The hotel, rooms, service, food and value for money were all truly excellent and I have heard nothing but praise from the attendees. The staff went out of their way to make us welcome and went the extra mile in every department and I would fully recommend a stay at this really splendid hotel
A traditional Victorian hotel with a sea view. Very grand. Greeted at reception by wonderful staff. Genuinely couldn’t do enough for you. The sea air gave us a wonderful deep sleep. A really lovely breakfast with one of the best views. Very good for the soul. Thanks to everyone.
This hotel could be lovely if it received some tlc. Our room was dirty. The carpets were marked in places. Mould was evident on the bathroom ceiling and tiled areas. The wash hand basin dirty around the tapes. The window didn’t close properly. The road noise was unbearable at times. If the window closed properly it could have masked it. The communal areas could do with a good clean. The stairs and landing going through from the corridor outside room 204 were bad. Dead plants and leaves were all over the carpet. The other stairs leading down to reception were dusty between the treads. Dirty windows in the room. Food that we ordered was overpriced and lukewarm. The steaks were fat and grizzle the chips were drenched in oil and not drained properly. The breakfast was a joke. The breakfast food on the hot plate was unappetising dried up. Nothing was replenished during the time we were waiting to be seated or ate there. The buffet was poor. Parking for the hotel is a joke. The reception staff need to be made aware that their conversations can be heard from communal areas. I sat a couple of times waiting for my partner, to come down and heard conversations about guests from where I was sat. I feel that for what we paid for our stay it wasn’t worth it. The food really lets the hotel down. A good clean and some tlc would really benefit here I feel.…
This hotel is the worst hotel I have ever stayed in. On the first day we arrived, paid, given our key, not given any information about breakfast only that our room might not be ready an hour after check in. We went to our room, we had a family sea view room first noticed that to appreciate the sea view you have to look out the open part of the window, the windows are disgusting you can’t see through them. The rooms are very dated, the ceiling was peeling off, the carpets are thread bare, the bathroom was clean give credit where is due but mouldy round the bath, the single beds were so wobbly I told my children to be very careful getting on and off for fear of falling apart. The lamp also sparked when turned on! The website for this hotel is done well, again credit where credit is due but unfortunately is not reflective of what you get. There is no doubt this hotel had character once but it hasn’t changed at all since that time and then many many years have passed and unfortunately there is so obviously a lack of care and attention now. Admittedly you can overlook dated but cleanliness and hospitality need to be much better then they are for this to happen. It feels like your a real inconvenience to all the people who work here. We attempted to go to breakfast, the lady approached us waiting to be seated she sat down with her head in her hands obviously exhausted, but most of the tables were filled with dirty plates and used cutlery, so we went to the only table that was made up and it had used cutlery set up on the table, the next table which needed to be set the table cloth had smeared food on still, I saw where breakfast was available and it was covered in grease where it shouldn’t be looking quite grim, by this point Iv lost trust in what we would be getting and we left and ate elsewhere. The lift is small and slow, not enough for a hotel this size. That clearly can’t be helped! But the rude cleaners and maintenance can because they hog it to go up to other floors or try to push their way intimidatingly in the the lift when there are signs around to say only 1 family at a time. I might add that when you did use the lift it did not get cleaned once in our stay and had multiple finger prints covering the buttons which was unsightly and quite frankly unhygienic given a rule of 1 family in place. So use the stairs fine, but… the staircase past the first floor has not been cleaned in a long time, cobwebs in the bannisters, windows are filthy, carpets were so dirty it really is disgusting. As using the stairs another person commented that the cleaners doesn’t make it this far up!!! On the first day, I spoke to the receptionist and asked if we cut our stay short could we get some money back, the response was “no I wish you had said this earlier” (meaning before we had even been to our room). They also cannot refund here, I was told that the manager has to go to the bank physically and he would not be willing to do this. I explained that the rooms were not what we had expected, she laughed I was told this is an old building and you can’t get 5* out of a 3* hotel…..THIS IS NOT A 3* HOTEL. Sadly it was not an option for us to go elsewhere but we did cut our stay short it was not enjoyable to stay at this hotel and while reception acknowledged that we were leaving early. They did not ask any questions about our stay, perhaps worried to know the response. A lesson learned always check trip advisor first! I have seen the defensive responses from the reception/sales it doesn’t look good at all and it would have been sure tell tale sign about what to expect here. When issues are raised they do nothing, just laugh at what your saying, there is no apology just tell you it’s not 5*. I am not expecting 5* but this was very disappointing and I have never experienced this at any 3* hotels. I highly recommend you don’t stay here!…
A lovely early Victorian hotel that probably was once a grand hotel in its heyday. It is classed as a 3* hotel, so I am comparing it with other hotels of similar class. That said, this is still a lovey hotel with charm and character. Greeted by friendly receptionist and checked in. Booked 2 nights in a seafront suite. Large bedroom and lounge area. Clean and décor in good order. Room facilities good with comfortable bed. Ensuite clean and fully functional, including an efficient shower. Breakfast served in the Sea Terrace Restaurant was excellent – good choice and good quality [eggs were still soft!]. Took dinner one evening, also served in the Sea Terrace Restaurant. Choice of menu was good as was the quality and presentation of food. Service was friendly and efficient, while enjoying views of the English Channel. Unrestricted street parking if fortunate, but public car park very close across the road at £6 for 24 hours or pop into reception for a parking rate of £5 [4pm to 11am] In summary, a great hotel with Victorian charm and would certainly return.…
Had a great time catching up with friends x weather was kind to us too! Hotel would give 3 star rating x room was clean which is very important x staff were communicative and professional x parking could be a problem x I imagine this building when originally built was magnificent as some of the features still stand.
Not very impressed walked in and first impressions not good we were trying to charge us for the room and no confirmation email had ever been sent as they got it wrong we walked out and found accommodation elsewhere which we were more than happy with
The three windows in the room had big gaps where the cold wind from the seafront was coming in. There was only one heater attached to the wall but it was very old, like from the 60's, as it was the rest of the room furniture and decoration. I went down to reception to make a complain about the freezing cold wind in the room, but there was no one there. After half an hour shouting "hello" around the ground floor, I discovered a mobile phone number in the wall outside the main doors - which by the way, were locked. Yes, we were locked inside the building -. The night doorman finally arrived to tell me the hotel was fully booked and he cannot do anything else, so he recommended to go under the bed blankets. We spent a while with this issue and could not sleep in that cold, so I asked for a late check-out next day. He told me it was at 12:30pm and I had to pay extra for it. However next day a man walked into our room at 11am, while me and my partner were in bed sleeping. I complain in reception that morning but had the same response as the previous night. I asked for the hotel general manager but they told me he was not present and also refused to give me his full name or contact details. Just to add to the situation, the electricity went off for a couple of hours that morning. No heater, no hot water, no telephone, no wifi... They can blame the storm, but I have been in 4 different hotels and several shops, restaurants and pubs that weekend during the storm and no one had any problem with electricity at all. Also, the pressure of the shower was ridiculous, like a super flaccid stream and you had only two temperature options: north pole cold or downtown hell hot - but only until the electricity went off. Please do not book this hotel, is the worst place you can ever be. Even the decoration resembles a horror movie, very in the line with the treatment received.…
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