Southseaa Inn

We were freezing all night because there was no heating or hot water, and the room was filthy, as if it hadn't been cleaned in years. We could hear the road and everything happening in the other rooms. I've never had a colder night in a hotel. Avoid this place. The Florence Suite Hotel was miles better, with a spectacular breakfast for only 15 more per night including breakfast.

The location was good, and the bathroom was immaculate. Beyond that, the place was a general mess: uneven carpet, loose floorboards, unfinished paintwork, and nowhere to store clothes. The walls and floors are so thin you hear everything. A room nearby had party music blaring at 5:00 am. For what it costs, the quality just isn't worth it.

The staff were nice, despite what someone else had said, but I couldn't get a good night's sleep. I heard the receptionist talking to a manager about guests who might be late, nearly 11 at night when I was trying to rest before an important conference. Then, once it went quiet, the shower curtain fell down and woke me. The walls are far too thin. There were torn bits of wallpaper, and the sink had paper, a cable, and sticky tape in it. The loo seat was remarkably low, even for me at five feet tall. Soap came from a shared container instead of little bottles, which made me unsure about using it after previous guests. The price was okay, but didn't feel right for the place. And it was hard to tell this was a hotel at all. I had to compare the Google Maps picture with the building just to check I was ringing the right door and not someone's house.

After more than an hour and a half of arguing with a very rude man, we gave up and looked for somewhere else to stay. He had said he'd book us another hotel ten miles away, after we went there to find out why our booking had been cancelled. We'd travelled over three hours from Wales with my family, and got the call while Christmas shopping to say errors meant we couldn't stay at the hotel. Thankfully, we found an amazing place nearby on the seafront, the Ryde View Hotel. I'd recommend it to anyone reading this. The service at the horrible South Sea Inn was very poor.