The Pier Hotel

DO NOT BOOK: BED BUGS I’ve genuinely never written a bad review about anywhere before, but this was one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve had. Check-in was fine and the receptionist seemed polite. Then we found bed bugs, couldn’t stay, and had to find another hotel at 11pm. There were three of us, all women on our own. I messaged the hotel through booking.com, and he apologised and said he’d refund me. I heard nothing the next day, so I called. He then said I’d probably only get 70% back, which I told him was unacceptable. On the phone, the manager was incredibly rude, saying, “record me, I don’t care.” I’d never mentioned recording the call. I can only assume he was defensive because of other complaints. He accused me of lying and making up a claim that all three rooms had bed bugs. I never told anyone that all three rooms did. The argument wasted everyone’s time because he seemed to think we should still want to stay in the other rooms just because the bugs were in 1/3 rooms. My husband eventually spoke to him because of how rude he was. I was then offered 100 pound compensation, not the full 134 pound refund. When I called again to ask for the full refund, he’d blocked my number. I called from my husband’s phone to ask why. He didn’t answer, said he was on holiday, then ended the call and blocked my husband’s number too. I spent half an hour on the phone with booking.com. They said they would “negotiate” with the hotel but couldn’t promise I’d get a refund. I then spent another 20 minutes getting through to a booking.com manager, who finally agreed to a full refund. This honestly feels like a money-making scheme, with no interest in customer service. If something goes wrong, getting it sorted can cause a huge amount of stress. I’ve since complained to trading standards and plan to take it further because I don’t want this happening to anyone else.

The staff were pleasant and helpful, and the room and beds were comfortable. The room was nice but a little cramped, and the location was excellent. The bathroom needed cleaning, with hair in the bath plughole and soap scum on the soap dish. The shower head and hose need replacing. Carpets could use a clean, and the place needs smartening up. There’s no breakfast served during the week, so we had to contact the booking provider to get a refund, which was tedious. To be honest, I probably wouldn’t call it 4 star.

We checked in tonight, but left again a few moments later. The room smelled bad and didn’t seem clean. When I sat on the bed, I noticed dirt. Under the covers there was hair and more dirt, and what looked like someone’s food and makeup. The curtains and walls were filthy. It just kept getting worse wherever I looked. This was my first visit, and I definitely wouldn’t recommend the hotel. We would like a refund, please.

The room was freezing, especially at night, and the breakfast was poor. I paid £75 for a Deluxe room, but it was the worst I’ve seen. The toilet door was broken and wouldn’t close. The floor seemed to slide from one side to the other, along with the bed and mattress. The drawer was completely empty, and the kettle was filthy. There wasn’t even bottled water. No toiletries either, not toothpaste, toothbrush or shampoo, let alone dressing gowns and the other things you’d normally expect. The experience was awful from the staff to the condition of the room. We found the hotel staff’s number on a card on the table and called to ask for a spare blanket. He asked my husband, “Where did you get my number?” What? We were shocked. Is that how you speak to guests? Was he at home and we’d called him there? I don’t want to go on. I just want to warn people: DO NOT VISIT THIS PLACE. It’s much worse than it looks in the pictures.