Parkview Hotel

My gran and grandad travelled from Glasgow to Eastbourne for a week away with my 11-year-old cousin. They'd paid for the whole week, which wasn't cheap, but the manager of the park view Hotel treated them terribly and shut the door in their faces. They were left stranded at 9 at night, trying to find somewhere else to stay, because my gran wasn't sure she'd found the right hotel. My grandad called the woman ten times and got no answer. He has a heart condition and needs to take his tablets at a certain time each night. She swore at them and was aggressive, and my cousin was very upset. She also said she didn't like Scottish people, so why run a hotel? Then she phoned me and asked whether they'd found somewhere. When I said no, she shouted abuse at me too. She told my gran she wouldn't get any money back. All they wanted was a nice week away, and this is what happened. Please read reviews before booking with this nasty woman.

Beware. I booked nine people into Park View Hotel Eastbourne by phone with the owner for Saturday 29th August and paid a £50 deposit. We arrived at 3.45pm, but the door was locked. We rang the bell and nobody came. At 15.53 I phoned and left a message saying we were trying to get in. While we waited, two other groups arrived, said they'd booked, and left. One guest who let himself in with a key went looking for staff, but came back saying there was nobody anywhere. After waiting and calling for two hours, I phoned again at 17.48 to say we couldn't wait any longer and would find somewhere else. I said I expected the deposit back straight away. When I'd booked, I told the owner my mum was disabled and discussed at length what she could and couldn't manage. She knew we were arriving with an elderly disabled person. Mum had already spent three hours in the car, then waited two hours while we hoped someone would show up, followed by another two hours as we tried to find accommodation on a full bank holiday weekend. Three of us got into a B and B with a fantastic woman who took pity on us and squeezed a mattress onto the floor of her single room so at least one child had a bed. The rest of our group slept on the floor at a relative's place near Eastbourne. We were lucky to know someone nearby, or they'd have had to sleep in the car. The deposit still hadn't been returned, so I reported the incident to Trading Standards and the Borough Council. I was still waiting for the owner to answer my messages when, a few hours after I posted the first part of this review, she called me. She pretended there'd been staff in the hotel. When I asked why nobody answered the bell, she said they get very busy. She also claimed she'd thought we were arriving at 8pm, though I never told her that. The other people who arrived while we were waiting said they'd been told they could check in between 3pm and 8pm. I'd like to know whether every room was full that night, even though we couldn't get in. On 1.9.15, the deposit still hadn't been returned, and I'd heard from the Council about what steps they'd take. A week later there was still no repayment, so as I said, beware. I'd taken advice and was taking steps to recover it. On 27.10.15, Barclaycard refunded the deposit, but the hotel owner never did.

Our kids treated my husband and me to a night here, and we had a lovely time. The lady owner was so helpful: she suggested a restaurant and even called to book us a table. The place was lovely, and the customer service was wonderful.

The room was huge and comfortable, and the staff were brilliant. They made our thoroughly enjoyable stay feel like a family affair.