Imperial Hotel

Having read some of the reviews on here AFTER having booked the hotel I was rather worried, but this proved unfounded after having spent a very pleasant weekend at the Imperial, in spite of the weather. At first sight the rear of the hotel doesn't look very inspiring, but once inside the hotel is spacious and elegant. Contrary to previous reviews reception, in our experience were courteous. The room we had , 208, had a balcony out to the side of the hotel which had a view acros the bay to Brixham. The room was of a good size and the bathroom excellent. Well appointed with Tea/Coffee/Biscuits, Trouser Press, Safe, Hair Dryer and various toiletries and a very powerful shower. Bed was rather short, but firm and comfortable. One minor gripe, why is water only provided for you on the first day and not the rest of your stay, common in other hotels and a bit tight. The Bar area has great views, as do the restaraunts TQ1 is the less formal of these and the food was of good quality though we thought the presentation was over-fussy and tried too hard. Keep it simple! The buffet breakfasts had a wide choice of hot or cold items and of a good standard. As with most hotels there is the 'toast' issue and lack of, however we were asked if we wanted more and asking for it isn't frowned upon. As for Torquay itself it's not as bad as I had heard, there are the usual stag/hen parties and dodgy nightclubs advertising 80p drinks all night, but there is a more sedate Wetherspoons and Pizza Express about 7-8 mins walk away. We tried the Elephant Restaraunt on the hill leading down from the hotel about a 3min walk, It's expensive, but the food and ambience is worth it. The Fish Bistro place just up from it is cheaper, very busy' always a good sign and also fully booked when we tried to book in advance, twice! Any more gripes, well a bit suprised to be served flat champagne at the bar though that was quickly resolved and robes would be nice in the bathrooms, but other than that I would recommmend the Imperial, but perhaps just a touch short of 5 Stars.

I've just returned from a weekend at the Imperial Hotel in Torquay, and what a weekend it was. The weather was glorious, which we could enjoy poolside whilst recieving drinks service. The Cocktail waiter Peter was simply the best, there was nothing he couldn't make or serve. Our room was good, admitedly it could probably do with modernising (in my opinon) but it is what it is, and it's clean, well furnished and extremely well serviced. We had dinner in both the restaurants, TQ1 and the Regatta. TQ1 was great, the Manager (Alex I think) was a true professional. It's nice to see people that are still passionate about their trade! The food was so original, and absolutely delicious. The presentation was questionable, and the portion size was too large, but a great meal nevertheless. The regatta is more your Dinner suit type of place, if you know what I mean. We got dressed up and went for Dinner, and again it was fantastic. The service was incredible, and the food very tasty. The wine service was attentive and the Somellier knew his stuff. The Bar service was really good (nice to get attentive table service) again the guys and girls that work in that bar are real treasures. To sum it up, it was an awesome visit, noboby in that hotel could do too much for you, and seemed to know exactly what you wanted and when. There is a down side to going to this hotel though. Our stay was only marred by people who seemed to think that they had a god given right to be rude to everyone, simply because they had paid to be in a 5 star hotel. They would kick up a fuss about anything it seemed, to ruin a lovely atmosphere! Go to this hotel and enjoy yourself, you won't be disappointed.

We loved this hotel, probably mostly because of the fantastic view. We booked the superior room for £30 extra and wow! It was SO worth it. Room 225, floor to ceiling windows and a glass balcony so you can lie in bed and watch the ocean. High enough to see over the trees and hear the waves on the rocks below. We stayed in our room for dinner and breakfast, the view was just so fantastic. Room service was expensive, but very fast and efficient. Everything was excellent quality, loved the burgers, and hot. The full breakfast was spectacular, not huge portions, but enough of everything. We did peek into one of the other rooms on a lower floor and it looked poky and small, with tiny windows, wouldn't have been happy staying there, so I suspect the room you get is crucial. On the basis of my experience, I would come back here - definitely.

Thanks to this hotel for giving my family a wonderful break. The views were amazing, the facilities good for families, and staff could not have been more helpful. It gave us all the chance to have fun and relax. Looking forward to coming back with just my partner to pamper ourselves after school holidays are over. We will be back!

I have stayed at the Imperial on many occasions including this past month. I frequently travel on both business on my own and have stayed with my wife and children during term breaks. From the moment we arrive at the Hotel to the time we leave we have been made feel welcome. This is the reason we keep returning. The rooms retain their Victorian Grandeur and the cleaning has always been first class. Both TQ1 and the Regatta Restaurant have fantastic views, decor, food and service.We particularly enjoy the buffet breakfast as we have children. I would certainly agree with both the AA and RAC guide in recommeding 5 stars to the Imperial in Torquay.

I agree with the previous reviewer completely. How does the Imperial Hotel Torquay retain it's 5 star status? In fact, does it actually retain that status because I couldn't see it promoted anywhere - not on the hotel signs or within the hotel - and surely that would be something to promote if they did in fact actually HAVE that status?? Perhaps in fact, they don't, and are just living off "days gone by"...well, all evidence from our weekend (16th-18th July) there would indicate that they certainly do not deserve to be a 5 star establishment. Positives - staff were on the whole very helpful, friendly and pleasant (with the exception of a dark-haired female receptionist who was an unhelpful officious disdainful ignoramus). The view from our room (premium seaview 323) was fabulous as were the views from the Regatta restaurant. Negatives - everything else really - the level of refurbishment throughout the hotel was disappointing to say the least - tired and in many places dirty - especially paintwork and doors which were often extremely chipped and marked, the lift (main lift just by Reception) was a total joke - lined (not just the floor but the WALLS as well) with FILTHY old pink carpet, it lurched and juddered and deeply unpleasant to ride in; the bedroom was a Premium Seaview room with balcony - the balcony was filthy - walls, floor, loungers, table and glass partition. Great view but did we really want to have to clean before we felt comfortable going out there? The room itself was very tired and disappointing - the wardrobes had not been updated or seen a lick of paint since the seventies (or so it looked); again the paintwork was chipped and dirty, carpet was faded and dated and the wallpaper was patched and torn in a number of places and even coming off the wall on one side of the bed....and the bedding - a horrible dirty brown blanket above the sheet which was something I haven't seen in a 4 star never mind 5 star hotel for at least 5 years... Did we complain I hear you ask? Of course we did. Politely we suggested that we were disappointed with the level of refurbishment to the room. Snooty officious receptionist butted into our comments to state that all rooms had the same level of refurbishment and they didn't have another room to offer anyway (not true since they weren't actually full..) We were only pleased that we had phoned before we had arrived and on discovering that we had originally been allocated a Garden room (below ground floor with distustingly filthy, broken wooden terrace more suitable for 2/3* than 5, we discovered on exploring the hotel after checking in) we had asked to be given a higher level room which they had done. Our room was on the top floor of the hotel which was good as the floorboard were creaky it meant we weren't disturbed by people above us. Food was adequate (breakfast pretty good with the inclusion of veggie sausages) but dinner pretty bland and overcooked - and not cheap either. We did fill in a customer feedback form but no doubt on reading it it was binned without any points being taken on board. My final point is - Torquay is just HORRIBLE, full of ------------------ who were busy trying to hit each other with broken bottles/be intimidating when we ventured into town on the friday night and other visitors seem to be hen and stag parties - there are no nice restaurants really - and by this I don't mean posh/snooty/expensive - just nice pasta/pizza bars (we found ONE - Sirium) or similar things - everything was either takeaways, full of hen and stag nights and very dated and grotty - or smarter but with heavily increased prices and dated heavy food. The only thing worth visiting in Torquay as far as we could tell was the homemade fudge shop on the right hand side of the harbour/marina (I think it's called Roly's and its fab)....other than that - there is nothing to see or do other than bars full of hens and stags and takeaways. I really do have to recommend avoiding Torquay and the Imperial Hotel.

Why do the AA/RAC rate this as a 5 star hotel? Meals in Regatta Restaurant are moderate to say the least, often on the nights we stayed meals were cold. Coffee & the mint (!) provided in lounge after dinner attracts £2.50 surcharge! Suite not available on arrival until 4.20pm. Reception inefficient to the point of rudeness. Comfortable but tired furnishings. Housekeeping sub standard. No flowers, chocolates or any welcoming touches. Young, ill trained staff.

I attended the centenary dinner for the Torquay Old Grammarians Society held on the 1st July 2004. The service was painfully slow, the lamb 50% fat, the vegatables dry, and the pudding unremarkable. The waiter spilt the coffee remains over my suit when clearing the table and the gents ran out of paper towels half way through the evening. A 50pence glass of house white was £4.10 !! The only thing five star about this effort was the prices. I dined with my parents on my 18th birthday, 22 years ago in this hotel and left dissapointed, nothing has changed.

I can honstly say The Imperial was one of the best hotels i have ever stayed in before in my life, this coming from a person whos staying in many international 5 star hotels. The service could not be faulted at all, as staff were only to willing to help with your every request quickly with the upmost politeness. I will deffinatly be returning in the near future. Oh, and the views are equally fantastic.

We rarely get away on holiday and therefore a long weekend in a 5 Star hotel sounded perfect. We knew not to expect too much from Torquay itself but as it was the only 5 Star hotel in the area, we thought we'd base ourselves there. We were allocated two small, dirty, old fashioned rooms on the 4th floor. We immediately returned to reception to complain. Eventually upgraded to larger rooms but the rooms were still not clean. The balcony was filthy. Bed bases were stained, bath was chipped, picture frames dusty,tea tray filthy. Breakfast service was dire. Had to ask for more milk, coffee/tea, toast - if you could find your waiter/tress. Sat in lounge one night and nobody came near us to ask if we'd like a drink. This is 3 Star at the very most. It has such potential but should never ever ever be advertised as luxurious/5 star/21st century standard. I'll take this up with trading standards. You'd be better off at a decent B & B!