The Chatsworth Hotel Restaurant

The hotel is in a nice seafront location, the receptionists are lovely, and the Christmas decorations in reception were beautiful. The lift, which is over 100 years old, was lovely to see. Our bed was comfortable and we had tea and coffee, including Illy espresso pods. There was lots of parking space, although the late night receptionist wasn’t clear about whether we needed a Sunday permit. I think we paid £2.35 for one we didn’t need, but it wasn’t much. We’d booked a full sea view room, but being on the first floor meant the view wasn’t great. With the seafront roadworks, it probably wasn’t worth the extra cost over a regular view. Overall it felt a little pricey for what you get. The hotel is also looking run down, as if the rooms haven’t had much attention for a while. Stained carpets, thin stained towels, marks on the wall and shabby curtains all took away from any sense of luxury. The bins hadn’t been emptied before we checked in either. The room was very hot when we arrived because the radiator had been left on full blast. We had to keep the windows open for hours, which was annoying with traffic just outside. The water pressure was awful. The bathroom was huge and had a lovely big tub, but it would have taken hours to fill at that pressure.

We had a lovely time here, with a sea view room and a wonderful bathroom, close to all the amenities. The bar prices were great and the food was good. There was a piano player at the weekend, too. We highly recommend this wonderful hotel. Thank you, Adrian & Annabelle Straatman, Wyberton Boston Lincolnshire UK.

We paid £170 for a room we were told was an upgrade, with a jacuzzi that didn’t work. After it was supposedly repaired, thick black debris blasted out of the jets. It was disgusting and completely unusable. When we made a formal complaint, they offered only 20% off a future stay and a “possible” upgrade. We said that wasn’t acceptable and were ignored. Terrible experience, poor hygiene and poor service. Absolutely not worth the money.

The room was pretty good by English seaside hotel standards: spacious, bright and classy. Our partial sea view room had a huge marble-lined bathroom with an effective rain shower, and the oversized bed was impossibly comfortable. The Illy Espresso machine was a nice touch, though it didn’t seem to work very well. The lobby-to-room journey is in a charming old-fashioned lift, which would only be improved by a lift attendant. A lovely touch. Dining needs a rethink. The food offering is limited and nowhere near five-star. During our stay there was a live music event with a solo rock-blues singer and guitar over backing tracks. It was too loud and out of place, playing mostly to an audience of none. The beautiful lounge was the quietest place to eat, while the well-appointed breakfast room would have been ideal. There were some nice details: a complimentary glass of wine, and an okay-ish bottle at the bar for £20, which is a pretty good price these days. Our waiter and Maître D was superbly perceptive and engaging, clearly destined for higher things. We settled for the club sandwich and were eventually served an impossible meal. A club sandwich shouldn’t be taller than a human jaw can manage. The avalanche of savoury fries was delicious, but far too much. This kind of oversized serving just creates food waste, which I hate. Refine the portions and leave diners wanting dessert. Breakfast was confusing. They offer a buffet at £20 per person, or room service with a full English for just over half that. There was no dining table in our room, and we reasonably assumed room service meant eating there rather than in the restaurant, so we went to a local café instead.