Grand Hotel Blackpool

We had a spacious four-bed room despite there being just two of us, which felt generous. It was also handy to be within walking distance of the Winter Gardens. The room did have a slight smell of stale cigarette smoke, though. There were plenty of parking spaces right outside, which was a real plus. Check-out was fine in the end, but the two reception staff were chatting and ignored me for a while before I interrupted to thank them and leave. The lobby looked welcoming, with lots of leather seating, but there was no music or place to get a drink or coffee, so it didn’t feel useful beyond its appearance. Upstairs, the bar area was quiet, with a few odd sofas, an empty dance floor and no daytime music. We were told it would get busy after 3pm, but it didn’t really. There were big TVs, but when we asked to put football on, we were told to go to the pub down the road. The drink choices were limited too. They didn’t have the lager we wanted or Aperol Spritz. Breakfast was average. The mushrooms were boiled rather than fried and had gone cold. Nobody greeted or seated us or explained the buffet and drink options. Near the lift, we saw half a takeaway left on a table when we arrived, and it was still there when we checked out the next day. It was an okay stay, but the place felt short-staffed and a bit rough around the edges, with lots of potential if it were managed better.

The indoor pool was very clean and well looked after, and there were great views from the room and outside the hotel. For the price, it’s a great place to stay. The rooms are huge and comfortable, and breakfast was great. The corridors are showing their age and could use some touch-ups.

The food was very good, varied and nicely presented, and most of the staff were amazing. A few others probably aren’t suited to hospitality. The beds were clean, but the hotel is showing its age in the decor. There was coffee splashed on the door that hadn’t been cleaned, and I had to hunt around for a bath mat. “Grand” doesn’t quite fit anymore. “Faded” might be closer. Photos from the room.

The room was clean and more than adequate for what we paid, though there were a few broken bits and pieces if I wanted to pick at it. But the restaurant was so dirty that I wouldn’t stay again unless they hired a decent manager to get the restaurant staff into shape. Both mornings, the plates, cups, small glasses, cutlery and even the labels were extremely dirty. We asked for a sink so we could wash our own dishes. On the first morning, I told a staff member, and she said she’d sort it. Twenty minutes later, my husband was taking cups to our room to wash because they were still disgusting. She didn’t do anything about them, just pretended to. It seemed like an ongoing issue she knew about. The second morning was even worse. There were only a couple of other guests, and we were all searching through stacks of plates for clean ones. I found one from the day before with scrambled egg still all over it. I’m severely allergic to eggs, anaphylactic, so I have to be very careful. I understand there’s always some contamination risk with a buffet, but this was ridiculous. My husband again took plates, cups and small glasses to our room to wash before using them. This time, a girl saw everyone commenting on the cleanliness and took stacks of plates to the kitchen, which I’ll give her credit for. But she left the dirty cups and glasses there. A little seating area up a couple of steps had a view of the sea through the window. Two of its four tables were still covered in sugar and food from the night before. The cutlery drawers were empty but filthy, stained and full of bits, as if they hadn’t been cleaned in months. I can’t understand how the restaurant is still open in that state. Charging £50 for two days of breakfast and offering that level of hygiene isn’t acceptable. We’d come home from a little two-night break. We’d booked for Saturday and Sunday because we were in Blackpool, dropping our son back home, and thought we’d make a pit stop. Saturday was extremely busy because of a 'balloon bash' event. Some idiot chav nearly kicked in our door and someone else’s door, twice. We had to get security involved. They were genuinely great and eventually sorted it out, and I can’t fault them. The hallway to our room stank of cannabis all night and through the second day, probably because of the same idiot trying to kick the door in at midnight. There were no issues on Sunday night because the hotel was almost empty, and at least we got a good sleep. Lesson learned: check whether there are events on before booking. I’m not generally a moaner. Normally in Blackpool we’d just get on with things, but this was horrific. It’s such a shame because when Hilton owned it, it was a beautiful hotel. Whoever owns it now has let it go downhill remarkably.