Hotel De Ville

My nine-year-old had a great time, especially enjoying the singer. The manager kept giving him sweets and crisps. The rooms were clean, and the staff were top notch. Absolutely perfect.

The owners were lovely, the rooms clean, and the location good. We had a brilliant stay, thank you.

The location is convenient: a short walk to the beach, about 10 minutes to the city centre, a Co-op across the road and free street parking. The hotel and pub staff were very helpful. Recently refurbished on the outside, the place looks nice, and the pub felt cosy. The rooms were a different story. They need serious maintenance, cleaning and upgrading. The shower and toilet leaked, and the bathroom tiles were mouldy. The beds and pillows were worn out. This might suit someone looking for cheaper accommodation who has no expectations.

We stayed four nights, and the location was ideal for us. The harbour is about 20 minutes away, so it's lovely and quiet. They don't serve food, but there's a cafe and an incredible kebab shop less than five minutes away. The staff were unbelievably friendly. There are some real drawbacks. Street parking is extremely limited, even though most houses have at least one space on a drive and some have two. You're staying above or below a working pub, and the staff are multitasking. I wouldn't recommend it for disabled people: the stairs are awful, and there's no lift in this old pub. The owner lives there and must have legs like iron! The TV signal is iffy. That didn't bother us because we don't watch TV, but it connects to my biggest concern. One day we came back and stood in the pub deciding whether to have a drink or go upstairs. The barman was waiting for us to choose. We decided to put our things away and come back down, but our room door and window were both wide open, the TV was on, and keys that weren't ours were on the windowsill. We reported it and were told engineers were working on the roof. Understandable, but a little Post-it on the door saying there was a workman inside would have been a good idea. Even better, someone could have told us there was a bloke on the roof using our room for access. Closing our room door while they were in there would have been perfect. The barman assured me the owner would be told, and we went back to our room. We were shaken up, so we checked the locks several times that night. The next morning, the door was on the latch. We told a woman, who said she'd inform the owner, but we never heard anything back. Bring a beach towel, too. There's no bathroom blind, and only the bottom half of the window is obscured. If you're over 5'3 and want privacy, you'll need to block it off yourself.