Grand Hotel Scarborough

The food had a good selection and was well cooked and presented. We also had Sunday lunch, which was lovely and very good value. The staff were friendly and efficient, and my room was clean, comfortable and well equipped. The Grand Hotel is a magnificent building inside and out, in a great location. We had a fabulous break and will definitely stay again.

We were on a tour, and everyone shared the same dining room. Meals were buffet style and acceptable, though they lacked style and imagination. The room and shower room/toilet were both small, and there was nowhere in the washroom to hang towels, so we used the room radiator. There was only a little tea, coffee and milk, but we got more from reception. The TV remote seemed to have dead batteries. Reception replaced them without question, but the TV still wouldn’t work that night, then worked normally the next morning.

The hotel has clearly seen better days, but it seems to be getting refurbished slowly. We had a beautiful sea view, and the room was warm, reasonably clean and had good facilities. The breakfast wasn’t really to my taste, though there was plenty to choose from on the buffet. Dinner was okay too: fresh bread, an okay soup starter, and the rest was fine. For a one-night stopover, it suited us. The hotel had a very Christmassy feel, and the singer in the ballroom that evening was a great surprise. I’d heard it had a bad reputation, but our stay wasn’t bad.

We were stuck here over New Year on a bus tour and couldn’t leave to go home. It was the worst hotel I’ve ever stayed in, and the stay spoiled our New Year. The rooms were awful and the food was vile, so we never ate there and had to go out for meals. There was even a sign saying takeaways had to be eaten in your room, so the hotel must have known the food wasn’t up to standard. Everywhere was filthy, and the windows were so dirty we couldn’t see out. The building must once have been beautiful, but it’s fallen into disrepair and seems too big for the owners to maintain. We didn’t enjoy any part of the stay, and I couldn’t wait to go home. I’ll never book with that tour operator again. One woman left after half an hour and moved to the premier inn because she refused to stay. Everyone we spoke to agreed the hotel was vile. Environmental health really needs to inspect it. There was a huge queue of people complaining at reception. I felt sorry for the staff, as this must happen every day. One day the fire alarms went off, so we went down five floors by the fire exit. On the third floor, rubbish was scattered everywhere and a set of ladders blocked the way. It turned out to be a test, but if it had been a real fire, it might have done this hotel a favour. Complaining to the hotel was no use. People were threatened with being put out on the street, even with a one-year-old child. Please don’t book here, you’ll regret it. I wouldn’t stay again even for free.