Hotel Prince Regent

We’ve been booking with Daish's for about 14 years and have visited all their hotels. I think we’ve been here four or five times. We stayed at the Russell hotel, where the bedroom, sheets and towels were clean, and all the staff were friendly. We enjoyed our stay, thank you. We went to the entertainment, and the bingo was okay. This hotel was warmer than the dining and entertainment room at the Russell hotel. We’d like to book Prince Regent, but it always seems to be full. Maybe next time we’re in Weymouth we’ll get a room there.

I took my dad away for a four-night break at the regent hotel, and from arrival things went from bad to worse. Our suitcases nearly ended up in the wrong rooms. After we’d been given the keys, we waited in our room for some time, but our cases didn’t arrive, so I went looking. There were bags by the lift. The big grey case looked like mine, but had 108 on it, while my small hand luggage was there. I went downstairs to find my suitcase, but it wasn’t there. Back upstairs, I noticed my name on the other side of the grey case, so it had nearly gone to the wrong room. I returned to our room and showered, then heard a knock. Two cases outside the door weren’t ours. Five minutes later, people were outside looking for their suitcases, which had been left at our door. The room definitely needs refurbishment. Wallpaper was peeling, the bathroom wasn’t very clean, and there was blood on the bathroom door and duvet cover, as well as grime in the shower. The shower itself was great. I told reception, and was told someone would deep clean the bathroom the next day. When we came back from our day out, the marks were still there. It rained the following morning, so we stayed in. I showed a cleaner what needed doing, but the grime was still there when she left, so I cleaned it myself. The food was a letdown. The big breakfast was nice, but the cornflakes were stale and the porridge was lumpy. The eggs Benedict was lovely. The soups were red pepper and tomato on the first night, leek and potato on the second, butternut squash on the third, and vegetable on the fourth. They lacked flavour, and we couldn’t eat them. The meat at dinner was chewy for an older person, and the potatoes were hard. The chicken pot pie and fish cakes were lovely, though. The pork steak was actually two slices of bacon, which was baffling. Strawberry gateau was lovely, but the sticky toffee pudding was dry. The treacle pudding, which was like a roulade, was so dry we couldn’t get a fork, spoon or knife through it, even with custard. We’d all been looking forward to the pear and rhubarb crumble, but it wasn’t a crumble and didn’t taste good either. Sienna at reception was lovely and very good at first aid. I kicked the bed and badly hurt my big toe. It was bleeding and bruised, and the nail was cracked, but she took great care of me. The waiter Nelson was lovely too, though he didn’t really understand English. On the first night, a waiter asked if we wanted a drink from the bar. I asked my dad on the third night why that only happened once, but they did it again on our last night. The little bar was open the first night, but closed the second, with no notice telling us to go to the ballroom for drinks. I had to ask at reception. When we went to the ballroom before dinner, there were people sitting with drinks, but no bar staff and no bell to call them over. The owner should come and eat here, or at least try the kitchen’s food. Much of it really wasn’t edible, and I’d love to hear the owner’s view of it.

I spent five days here over Christmas 2025, and the holiday wasn’t worth what I paid. I wouldn’t recommend the hotel, and I wonder if all the Daish hotels are like this. If you’re vegetarian, there’s a great choice of food, but if you need gluten-free meals, you’ll be very disappointed. It’s a medical necessity, not a choice. Before booking, I contacted the hotel to ask whether they catered for gluten-free guests and could provide traditional Christmas food without gluten. I was told there’d be a separate menu, including Christmas dishes. When I arrived, I raised it again, but there was no separate menu and I had to ask which items were gluten-free. Christmas dinner was two wafer-thin slices of turkey, roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts, a few tiny pieces of carrot and one very hard parsnip that I couldn’t cut or eat. I sent it back, but the replacement wasn’t much better. I never saw or was offered Christmas cake. The Christmas night buffet was another big disappointment. At the gluten-free table, the options were turkey and cranberry or cheese and pickle finger sandwiches, carrot cake that I’d already had on arrival, chocolate cake, light fruit cake or mince pies. That doesn’t feel like a proper buffet. On Boxing Day I ordered a full English breakfast, but it came without sausage and with two slices of bacon instead. I was unhappy and spoke to the manager, who said other guests who weren’t gluten-free had been given the gluten-free sausages.

Caramel was so helpful and a great ambassador for the hotel. We had a lovely tinsel and Turkey break, with a great sea view from the lovely room. The food was fabulous, service was quick, and the evening entertainment was good. The ballroom was fabulous too.