Sailors Rest

We stayed at the Sailor’s Rest for 2 nights at the end of August and found it to be good value considering the time of year. We managed to park for free just outside on the road without any trouble. Check in was straightforward – the instructions were clear and we got into the building and collected our key easily from the secure key box. Our room (no. 6) was up in the loft space. It was cosy, clean and nice and quiet. No view from the bedroom itself as it only had skylights, but the bathroom had a lovely sea view. The Nespresso machine and fridge were nice additions. We paid a bit more to have breakfast included, which meant walking down the road to the Royal George. Some previous reviewers seemed to see this as a downside but we actually enjoyed the short stroll each morning, even in the rain one day. Breakfast was absolutely delicious and definitely worth it. Overall, a really comfortable stay and somewhere we’d happily book again if ever in the area.

The rooms, location are fantastic. The only minis I’ve s the luck of double glazing which makes the stay noisy. Everything else is perfect.

We booked a 'Superior King En-Suite Room' (Room 5) what we got was not superior in any way, not spacious and poorly furnished. There was a built in wardrobe that you couldn't fully open the door of or it hit a bedside table; there was only one bedside table and reading light because there wasn't room for one the other side of the bed, no meaningful storage or drawers for clothes - there was one shallow drawer I would describe as a sock drawer. We ended up leaving our clothes in our suitcase and holdall. In a superior king' room I would expect a couple of chairs to sit down - wrong. On the website there were two photographs, one of a spacious room we expected with chairs, another of a bed in a really tight space but cleverly it did not show you the rest of the room - or lack of. Even the bit of space where all the plug sockets are on the wall didn't exist as that's where the table with the coffee machine was. The bathroom was small but adequate and we could live with that; however a sliding bathroom door due to the lack of space doesn't allow you much privacy. We were also both concerned at the fact there was no fire exit anywhere in the building and it has rooms on 3 upper floors. One way in, one way out! All fire protection equipment and procedures were in place and would be fully compliant, but we felt uneasy. You don't interact with anybody, you get a code to get in and there is no reception or staff on site which we knew, but didn't particularly like. It maybe helpful if, when you walk to the hotel for breakfast the staff there showed any interest and asked if everything was OK. That's the worst over. On the plus side location is great, the refurbished building is generally to a good standard. I enjoyed the walk to the hotel for breakfast although my wife wasn't so keen and we got wet one day. I always leave positive reviews where warranted but I'm afraid this is how we felt, which was very disappointing.