Osborne Hotel

stayed here for one night after a wedding reception. Paid £150 for a very ordinary double room - it was much smaller than anything I have ever experienced in a travel lodge and not as good. The room was small and tatty. It was nice to have an early morning swim. My husband said the cooked breakfast was good. The view is fantastic but for that price I would expect the whole package to be good. There was not event a discount because we were at a party there. Not good value for money and an uncomfortable bed

Some years ago, my husband and I stayed at the Osborne and were very impressed with the standards of accommodation and service. We returned in May 2006 to celebrate our wedding anniversary, but this was a less enjoyable visit. We were disappointed that the room we were given had a number of problems that we did not expect from “one of the leading four-star hotels” in Torbay. We had made the booking only a week or so before our vacation, but we felt that the room, although reasonably spacious, was very much “second-best” and not worthy of a four-star rating. The bracket for the shower attachment in the bathroom was lacking one of the fixings to enable adjustment of the angle of the shower head. The shower head was held in a completely vertical position so that it either sprayed directly into your face (if you lowered the height of the attachment) or else onto the wall at the opposite end of the bath, splashing everywhere. As it was quite a powerful jet of water, the first option was distinctly unpleasant; the second resulted in a bathroom floor covered in water. However, my request for extra towels to replace those soaked in the "flood" was promptly actioned by a very helpful young woman on reception. There were also a number of minor maintenance issues which should have been fixed as a matter of routine housekeeping: The hot water tap on the basin, and the tap on the bath, both dripped continuously. The hook behind the bathroom door was broken so there was nowhere to hang up a dressing gown or other garments whilst bathing or showering. The fitted dressing table unit in the corner of the room had been painted brown to match the wardrobe door, but much of the paint had been scraped off leaving white patches all over the surface. There was also very limited drawer space, and the room decor looked tired. On the plus side, the bedding and towels were very clean and the mattress on the bed was very comfortable. As an anniversary surprise, my husband had arranged for one of the hotel's “Champagne, Flowers and Chocolates” celebration packages, but this was very poor value for money. The "champagne" was Santero Asti Spumante, an Italian sparkling wine that retails at about £7 a bottle, but the hotel's charge is £30. The food in the restaurant was generally attractively presented and tasty, and the serving staff were friendly and helpful, although we agree with one of your other reviewers about the repetitive music.The cooked breakfast on Sunday morning was not very hot and we felt that it had been prepared earlier and left standing. The hotel needs to try much harder if it is to be a serious contender in the four star category.

Date of review: 20th May 2006 Reviewer: TripAdvisor Member – South Yorkshire The Osborne Hotel is beautifully situated with wonderful views of the bay. The hotel has gardens and a heated outdoor pool. There is also an indoor pool, but it has no natural light and is not terribly inviting, but the water is warm. Thankfully we had booked a sea view suite, with balcony. We glimpsed a non-sea view room and would have found it very oppressive. Our room was large, clean and well furnished. The wardrobe hanging space was limited. However, the room was in need of decorating. The whole hotel needs refurbishing, and, indeed, during our stay the decorators moved in and started stripping the paper from the walls of the entrance hall and reception/lounge areas. Not what one would expect in mid May and certainly not at a hotel of so called 4* status. Fawlty Towers comes to mind. The dining room staff were friendly and efficient. Breakfast was good, with a wide range of cereals, fruit, croissants etc, and the cooked breakfast was excellent. However, as an earlier reviewer points out, dinner was disappointing. The food was very tasty and well prepared, but the menu varied only slightly from day to day making choice limited unless you were prepared to pay a supplement. Even there the choice was limited. There was a distinct lack of fresh vegetables and the presentation was "arty" with the chef having a fondness for adding green, orange or yellow to the potatoes and to the vegetables which were served. I expressed my disappointment to the head waiter and the reception staff. Things did improve (for one evening) but then it was back to boring. Another annoying point was that the background music never changed. If Chariots of Fire and Jean Michel Jarre etc are your ideal – every night – then you will be happy. In my opinion this may have been a 4* hotel at some time, but not now. However, the prices are certainly 4*. For a mid-week or week-end break it would be acceptable, but for more than that I would suggest you do a bit of research. Unless the hotel management start to listen to the guests, and refurbish the place (in the off season) I would not return. Finally, I would advise visitors to check their bill carefully. Ours contained quite hefty mistakes. These were soon corrected, without any dispute, but they really should not have happened.

Nice hotel in a good location, about 10 minutes walk into town. Has good views. On a whole we had a great stay. The bedroom we had was not a sea view however it was a very good sized room with a huge bathroom. The public areas of the hotel are in need of decoration and a general tidy up but all was clean. The breakfast was great, and the service was very speedy. We did not use the leisure facilites but the swimming pool looked very inviting. If I was in Torquay again I would use this hotel as on a whole it suited us for a 2 night break, the room was good as was the brekkie!

Stayed at the hotel for two nights, over bank holiday weekend. Hotel definitely needs a refurbishment, our room was ok, small but clean enough. Walls very thin and can hear noise from rooms opposite! Service appalling, staff did not seem to want to help. Everything was 'just not possible' if you asked for simple requests. Food in restaurant was good, although as long as you like your food very quickly as in 1/2 an hour we had been served bread, an appetiser, a starter and a main course !! Would definitely stay at the Imperial Hotel next time as we've stayed there before and everything was perfect, it is worth paying extra.

I have been going there since i was born and i love it i am 15 now and i still pray that every year we can still go. i think the staff are so lovely and really do try their best to meet people wishes. The rooms and the facilities are outstanding and will always be. I hope i can always go and i hope the staff remain at the highstandard they are now. thanks you always Francesca Tapley xxx

I've stayed at this hotel probably 30 times over the past 10 years. In the early days my wife and I used the hotel for long weekend breaks and had great time there one Christmas. The seaview suites are excellent but pricey especially in peak season. Many of the rooms at the rear of the hotel are shabby and becoming shabbier as time goes by. The restaurant food used to be spectatcular now it's just average with a very limited menu. It would be impossible to dine here for a week without having the same menu choice on at least 3 occasions. The food is reasonably priced however. The beds are without doubt the most uncomfortable you'll ever sleep on and mattress changes are long overdue. We abandoned staying here as a holiday vacation spot some years ago and now I only stay here on business trips because my company gets such a good deal on rates. I wouldn't waste my own money staying here. Rooms are dirty. On two occasions in the past 12 months I had to ask that my room be cleaned (again!) on arrival. Mud on the carpets, someone's bathing costume in my wardrobe and filthy toilet. It never used to be like this. It is very difficult to get a drink. The bars are shut more often than they are open, particularly out of season. They have lost many of their good staff over the years and have replaced them with others who are not up to scratch. Service is often appalling. You will however get great service from the professional staff that do remain: Lionel, Derek and Rebecca. The indoor and outdoor pools are good, the location is spectacular but this is a hotel in sad decline. There is too much evidence of management trying to cut costs at the obvious expense of guest value. Take my advice, if you're planning a holiday in the area, pay a bit more and stay at The Imperial. Alternatively, take a chance at The Osborne but negotiate the price down to what it's worth, not what they want you to pay! It simply isn't worth it.

We stayed for 4 nights in July 2004. We had a great time, the suites are very nice but are quite pricey. Most of the staff are very nice, however, they have a lot of foreign staff that work in the restaurant & bars and they can be somewhat curt, to say the least. Just don’t expect to be served a drink after 11p.m as all three bars are closed! I went to the hotel bar just before 11p.m and it was locked up (literally with a padlock). I was begrudgingly served four drinks, and each one was met with a “tut”. The supervisor made an appearance and when I enquired as to why everything closed so early, I was then informed that this was the law. This is complete nonsense as it is entirely down to hotel management as to what time the bar closes. My only other gripe is that the beds are still uncomfortable, although we were told prior to booking that the mattresses were changed 5 months ago. They are very hard and this left us with back ache for the first two nights. The outdoor pool also closed at 4p.m when it should close at 6 pm. Apparently the lifeguard was sick. I know that a pool cannot remain open without a lifeguard but it was most annoying. Overall, we had a great time but at over £200.00 a night, improvements need to be made.

The external view of the hotel gives an image of elegance and class. Directly opposite the entrance is a seating area giving a fantastic view of the bay! The service is top class and so are the rooms as they provide everything that is needed. Cannot really comment on the food as only ate breakfast. Very good value for money! (only 30 odd rooms so book early!)