Hastings North A21 hotel

The first room we were given had such a bad smell, like dirty mops and cleaning cloths had been used. They obviously knew how bad it was as the window was open and the air conditioning unit was blasting cold air in on max. We went straight back down to reception and asked for another room. He went to check it before saying we could have that one, he returned and said it was good for us. We walked all through the hotel to find the room, this definitely did not smell, but I don't think the cleaners had been in, there were hairs over the toilet, sink and in the shower. There was an unchewed piece of chewing gum on the floor right next to the bed too. The TV didn't work very well and the shower was useless, more water running down the pipe than out of the shower head. We didn't read the reviews before we went as normally don't have any issues with Premier Inn hotels, but wish we had with this one. We would not stay at this one again

Restaurant was almost shut down. Nobody in there, no atmosphere, no music, staff who did not know the system or how to tend a bar, there was no tap beer available as no one in the place could change a barrel apparently. Although extremely empty of guests in restaurant the food took ages and was overcooked.

It was an amazing stay. The staff were welcoming and the breakfast was very delicious. The breakfast there was a lot of choices to choose from for the complimentary and cooked.

Overall, I feel this stay could very easily have been an excellent one, but unfortunately a number of relatively simple issues let the experience down. During the evening, there appeared to be only around four members of staff on duty, and the team seemed stretched. Our dining table did not appear particularly clean and felt sticky to the touch. During dinner, I went to the bar to order an additional drink. There was a group of four ladies ahead of me and it took approximately 20 minutes before I was served. The member of staff behind the bar went away, apparently to check a wine option, and did not return for some time. Meanwhile, a queue began to form. The other staff members, who were serving food, did not appear to react to the fact that nobody was attending the bar. In fairness to the team, the staff appeared very young and relatively inexperienced in hospitality. My impression was therefore less that they were unwilling to help and more that they lacked sufficient experience, supervision and perhaps staffing levels to deal effectively with a busy service. I ordered the mixed grill and requested peppercorn sauce. Unfortunately, by the time the sauce arrived I had almost finished my entire meal, and when it did arrive it was cold and lumpy. Breakfast the following morning was also disappointing. We were allocated a rather cramped table for four despite having a toddler with us. We asked whether we could use the larger table where we had eaten dinner the previous evening, which was already set up, but were told that we could not. Rather frustratingly, a couple arrived shortly afterwards and were then seated at that very table. We were also told that the hot breakfast buffet was not available because this depended on the number of guests expected at that particular time. This seemed strange because, when collecting our room keys, we had specifically been asked what time we intended to have breakfast. We had advised 7:30am, so presumably the hotel should have had some indication of the expected numbers. I ordered poached eggs with breakfast, but unfortunately they were so overcooked that they were closer to hard-boiled eggs than poached eggs. There was also a cobweb immediately above the head of the bed in Room 105, which I photographed and can provide if required. I have worked in the hotel industry since 1982, across establishments ranging from two-star hotels through to luxury properties, so I fully appreciate the pressures involved in running a hotel and would not criticise staff unfairly. However, many of the issues we experienced were relatively basic hospitality standards that could have been avoided with stronger supervision, attention to detail and appropriate staffing. That is perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the stay: these were mostly small and easily rectifiable issues. With those addressed, our experience could have been completely different. Premier Inn is, in my opinion, a very good product and I would certainly book with Premier Inn again when travelling. I hope these comments are therefore taken in the constructive manner intended, as there was nothing fundamentally wrong with the hotel — just a number of service and housekeeping details that unfortunately combined to detract from what could otherwise have been a very enjoyable stay.

Stayed here several times previously-which is quite unusual for us. Very good reception experience, resolving my booking issue promptly, and with no fuss. Fairly quiet location, comfortable bed, excellent night's sleep. Great breakfast. Wifi (free) was a little patchy, but perfectly ok for browsing and emails. (There was also an option to upgrade wifi.)