In July 2021, Baron R said:
I have always wanted to stay at The Grand, I new this was going to be a different experience to the more modern feel of a London 5-star hotel and this certainly did transform me back to a Victorian era. If you were not expecting a ‘traditional’ hotel then you would be disappointed, but, for a change, it was nice to experience something different.
We didn’t book a car park space (I did not realise that you could), I believe these are priced at £25 per day, however we were able to drop off our bags and we were provided with a parking coupon for the local roads.
As we were checking in, the porter took our bags to the suite, check in was efficient, we had already booked a table for dinner on both nights but we had not booked breakfast (you do need a restaurant reservation for breakfast), again, I didn’t realise this and they only had very early or very late slots available, fortunately our suite had room to dine so we opted for a room service breakfast each day. We were staying in a Seaview Suite, this had traditional furniture, it was clean and well presented with a tv in the bedroom and lounge area. We didn’t have a balcony but did have great views of the pool and sea. Wifi in the room was very good.
After unpacking we went down to the outside pool, we were lucky to get 2 sun beds and enjoyed the afternoon by the pool, they do offer a drinks service (would have been nice if the staff were a little more pro-active, rather than having to find someone each time you needed a drink). The pool water is a great temperature and they have plenty of towels.
We had dinner in the Garden Restaurant on the first night, this offered a large menu with plenty of choice, the wine list was also impressive with some good reasonably priced bottles. The food was great and service excellent too.
Breakfast the next morning was a disaster, we filled out the menu choices the night before (the menu was collected by housekeeper during the turndown service), but unfortunately this didn’t arrive, I knew the hotel was full so waiting a while before chasing, when I called down to room service, they didn’t have any record of our order, we then had to start the order process and wait for the breakfast (we should have booked the late restaurant slot, it would have been quicker!). The breakfast was good, the bacon and sausages were good quality, poached eggs were a little over-done.
Another relaxing day by the pool and then diner in the Mirabelle Restaurant, we opted for the 7-course tasking menu (without the wine paring), again a good wine list, service was fantastic and the food was exceptional.
Unfortunately, the breakfast experience was again not great, I had booked a 10AM slot in the restaurant but felt this was going to be too late for us (as we were checking out that morning), so again we filled out the breakfast menu but this time dropped it off to reception, in the morning I called down to cancel the 10AM restaurant reservation. I ordered the breakfast for 8.30AM, and at 8.45AM, thought I had better check, when I called down I was told that I had cancelled the breakfast! – NO, I cancelled the 10AM reservation in the restaurant but not the room service breakfast! – At least they did have our menu card and didn’t have to wait too long.
I asked for the bill to be emailed over to me so that I could check this before checking out, on reviewing the bill I noticed an erroneous charge of c£65, I asked the reception to look at this as it didn’t correspond with any of the drinks/food charges that I made, they came back to me with ‘’it was for lager and cocktails’’, this was definitely not ours and advised them accordingly. Unfortunately, the charge had not been removed when I did check out at reception, this was rather annoying as I had already made them aware of the issue. I do feel that erroneous charges appear on guest bills too often (always check your bill!) and I am waiting for the hotel to explain what had happened? – They didn’t have the signed receipt available for me to look at.
So, a couple of niggles but on the whole we did enjoy ourselves, the hotel is dated but this has a certain charm, the staff are fantastic, I felt the food and drink prices were on the reasonable side for a five start hotel and we did enjoy the outside pool. I do hope to be able to return.
Some tips…..
- Book a parking space (if this is important to you).
- If you order a room service breakfast, call down and check they have the order.
- Book your restaurant reservations for dinner and breakfast (before you arrive).
- Check your bill for errors.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk