Sterling House

The TV didn't work, and the lamps seemed to be there just for show since there were no nearby sockets. The curtains were falling off the rail and wouldn't close. Our room was opposite reception, where two guests were making a scene late at night; staff didn't come out to move them along or ask them to quiet down. The staff weren't particularly friendly or helpful either. Rooms were dirty, and the shared toilet was even more disgustingly filthy. I wouldn't give this place a star, and definitely wouldn't recommend it.

Getting back to the hotel was a 25 minute walk after we finally found out there was an NCP carpark three roads away. First, we were told to look for a space ourselves. We came back twice because there was nowhere, and were told to park on the seafront, but still couldn't find anything. We booked a family room, and they asked for payment as soon as we walked in. The room was freezing, with just a sheet and fleece blanket on the beds. A cracked window had sellotape over it, apparently to hide the damage, but the draught was awful and a family member had to sleep beside it. The TV signal was so bad we couldn't watch anything. When I tried to plug in my phone charger, the socket sparked. It was a double extension lead that had come off the wall, with wires hanging out and screws on the floor. There was dust and hair everywhere, and the door opened just by pushing it, without a key. There were different people coming in and out by our room, and I saw two people go into the same toilet together. I was bitten twice on my ankle, too. In the morning there was nobody around to check us out or ask how the stay had been. I've never felt so awful and dirty in my life. Calling this a hotel is a stretch, it felt more like a halfway house. I can't understand how it's still open.

I had to squeeze through a narrow gap to get into or out of my room because the bed was behind the door. It was on the sixth floor, up six flights of stairs, and I'm glad there wasn't a fire because the door wouldn't open properly. The window was bigger than its frame, so it couldn't be shut. There were holes in the ceiling above the communal shower, which was horrible enough that I washed at the basin in my room instead before a wedding. The basin only had cold water. The toilet seat was hanging off and there was no toilet paper or anything to dry my hands with. In the room, the bed was missing a castor, and I had just one pillow and one thin blanket. The fire doors were wedged open day and night. I took the wedges out four times, but they kept getting put back. Someone was smoking in their room when I left this morning, despite the doors being left wedged open. All safety out of the window. This place is a tragedy waiting to happen. Don't stay there.

£70 is still £70, and I would have rather slept on the beach. The room was tiny and on the top floor, after six exhausting flights of steep stairs. The woman showed me the best room they had, she said, but it wasn't worth £70. There were two other rooms on that floor and we had to share a bathroom. In the morning, other guests were fighting to get into the toilet, and I couldn't shower before checkout. The sink in our room wouldn't drain. There was no toilet paper in the tiny toilet, and the toiletries amounted to a mini soap bar. I had to phone reception on my mobile to ask them to fix the sink and bring paper. They didn't fix the sink. The lady talked on and on, then let me spend ages logging into their Wi-Fi, which was written by hand on the wall, before taking me to houses down that had another Wi-Fi system. So disappointing. Wouldn't return!