The Willows

We left promptly and booked another hotel. When we raised our concerns, nobody answered our questions about a refund. This is only a surface-level review. I have more to say and will be taking it further, because I strongly believe this place should not be operating. I wouldn’t recommend it to a cockroach. We were visiting a friend in Brighton, and he booked this hotel for us. What we found was shocking. The service was poor: the receptionist said no more than 2 words to us, and we were put in room one, right beside the front door. The lock felt flimsy, the walls were thin, and the windows were blown out, covered in condensation, wouldn’t close fully, and looked straight onto the street. The room was extremely basic, with a double bed and a single bed that felt like a pop-up massage table. A pathetic TV hung on the wall by a thread of wires. The complimentary tea and coffee were dusty on the windowsill. The bathroom looked like a poor DIY job, the silicone had been ripped off, and the door looked as if someone had smashed through the lock. The whole place was filthy. The floors were sticky and the curtains had black mould. The beds were some of the most disgusting things I’ve ever seen, with horrific stains that looked like blood, bodily fluids and dirt. The single bed’s duvet was yellow and vile. The bathroom tiles were mouldy, the toilet bowl stained, and the taps covered in limescale. I think 1 star is too high, but there’s no option for 0 or below. I don’t know how the place is still in business with its abysmal reviews.

We paid £20 to park outside the hotel. The price was reasonable compared with other car parks, but it wasn’t a proper parking space, just uneven concrete where a wall used to be, very close to the car beside us. We booked at short notice based on photos that looked like the rooms would be okay, but they were VERY misleading. Our room was on the top floor, up a lot of stairs with a suitcase. It was tiny. The bed was alright, but pushed against a wall, so I had to climb over my partner to get out. With the window open, traffic and drunken revellers outside got really loud. The bathroom was also tiny, with poor finishes and paint splattered on the tiles. At 6ft3 I had to stoop in the shower, and turning around either switched it off or made the water boiling hot. We booked last minute, but I wouldn’t return.

The location was great, and I’m glad we’d planned not to spend much time in the room. It looked nicely decorated and modern from the entrance hallway, but the room didn’t match that impression. The small double really was tiny: there was room to move down only one side of the bed, your legs were against the door when on the toilet, and you had to manoeuvre around the sink to reach the shower. Its sloped roof meant you couldn’t stand fully upright. I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone over 5’10, or for more than 1 person. There’s no lift, just stairs, and you get into the room with a physical key. The window opened all the way with no safety mechanism, right by the foot of the bed, and there wasn’t room to leave anything on the sill. Check-in was through a hole in the wall, quick but neither remarkable nor welcoming. The TV was hung from a picture nail. It had Netflix but no TV channels. TIP! Make use of the space under the bed!

We were less than a minute’s walk from the beach, and our room had a lovely view over the pier and seafront. The room was comfy and cosy. I arrived early and phoned, and someone answered straightaway. The customer service was quick, friendly and adapted to all my needs. John was especially welcoming during our stay. I’d recommend staying here.