The Beach Hotel

The second hotel we were moved to had a bathroom with black mould, a badly stained toilet that barely flushed, a cracked shower, and hardly any water pressure. There was a dirty towel on the bed, which reception took away, and although the heating was on, we were cold all night. Neither this room nor the one at the Beach Hotel had a working door lock, so every noise made us nervous and the door visibly shook. That came after a terrible start at the beach hotel in Brighton, where my two friends and I found a filthy room. There was rubbish and dust on the carpet, including a broken bag tag, something that looked like blood on the mirror, a broken lamp without a shade, and cloudy, dirty water. When a bed bug crawled onto my friend, we stripped the beds and found torn, dirty bedding, holes, a pube, and mattresses stained deep yellow-brown. We complained at reception. The first receptionist called the manager, who said he'd check whether the nearby sister hotel, The Preston Park Hotel, had space. After a long wait, we had to explain it all again to someone else, then wait some more for the manager. By then it was nearly midnight. He offered to drive us himself, but as three young women we weren't comfortable getting into his car, especially with learner plates and no taxi licence. He'd first said only two of us could be accommodated, despite having offered a room for three, leaving one elsewhere. We refused, and he then agreed to take all three. We called our own taxi. The manager followed us to the second hotel and gave us cash for the return trip the next day, which we appreciated, but he also followed us into the room and that made us uncomfortable. This whole experience was shocking. The cleanliness, upkeep, and safety were unacceptable, and I'd strongly advise people to think again before staying here.