Best Western The Grand Hotel

The room was spacious and clean, with decent furniture, and the bathroom was spotless. But the building feels tired and could use a refurbishment. The radiator couldn’t be adjusted, so the room stayed very warm. Breakfast was a letdown. The cooked food was swimming in fat and seemed deep-fried. There was no fruit, I was refused poached eggs, and the bread was cheap, thin Aldi bread. The pastries looked like they’d been sitting there for a week. I ended up having yoghurt and toast, which wasn’t a great start to the day.

The bar service and night events were brilliant, and the beds were really comfortable. I stayed for a couple of nights a while ago. Sandra checked me in and was lovely, helping me find my room. The rooms were tidy as owt.

I’ve stayed here many times over the past four years to see family. It’s handy for the town, marina, beach and train station, and the area feels reasonably safe, even though ongoing work opposite makes it look run down. The building is also close to the job centre. Parking can be a pain because there aren’t many spaces, but I got one and never felt my car was unsafe. The rooms are large, though some feel dated. The bathroom grout had been painted grey, with paint all over the tiles, which fooled nobody but did make me laugh. The rooms were warm, and I couldn’t hear anyone in the other rooms, so I slept without being disturbed.

It’s been a couple of years since my last stay, and the place has gone downhill. My room had a faint cigarette smell. The bar and reception seemed to be unstaffed most of the time, so service was very slow. Breakfast choices were limited, and so was the parking.