Reviews of Norbreck Castle Hotel, Blackpool, England

We paid a more than reasonable...

Overall Rating:

1/10

Board Basis:

Bed & Breakfast

Date of Holiday:

Sep 2007

Tour Operator:

Booked Independently

Submitted By:

Mrs S Puntis

Comments:

We paid a more than reasonable rate for this hotel and were very disappointed. We paid extra for a cot for our young son and when we arrived at our room we discovered that we had paid for a dilapidated box room, with no cot, nor any room for a cot and a toilet that howled when you flushed it. We complained and were moved to a bigger room that had a sea view, no questions asked. However this room was also very shabby. The wallpaper was peeling off the wall, the curtain was broken, the bedspread was torn and the bathroom was basic and dilapidated. The general cleanliness was poor, a look behind the bedside table revealed rubbish left by the previous occupiers and the corridors were littered with dirty linen and rubbish.



The breakfast was adequate, although it is the only hotel that I have stayed in that does not have a selection of fresh fruit available for breakfast. All the fruit appeared to have come from a tin.

The general appearance and upkeep of the hotel is poor and if I were to sum it up in one word it would be 'crummy'. This was in no way value for money and I would not recommend it to anyone.

What a complete and utter...

Overall Rating:

1/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Sep 2007

Tour Operator:

Booked Independently

Submitted By:

Mrs W Sinclair

Comments:

What a complete and utter disaster.



The rooms smell, they are noisy to hot extremely uncomfortable, the windows are so dirty we could hardly see out ,(mind you, it was we were only facing the back of the hotel which looks like a war zone ).



Costs are small fortune it they are a few of you on the trams because we were a long way out.



The food was just to stay warm, waste of time complaining because the staff can hardly understand you or your them as they are foreign, and the British I found to be rather rude.



If the management of this hotel read this then I would kick a few bottoms or you will find that this place will close down.



It really was unbelievable, so we packed up checked out and came home 2 days earlier than expected, I complained to reception but nothing was ever done.



Stay away from here, there are lots more hotels in Blackpool that can offer clean and basic which is all anybody really wants. This place is at the bottom of the lowest standard.

The rooms were very noisy, dirty...

Overall Rating:

1/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2007

Tour Operator:

National Holidays

Submitted By:

Mrs C Powell

Comments:

The rooms were very noisy, dirty and the view out the back was awful, our shower didn’t work, the inside of the windows were really filthy.



That’s the good part out the way.



The food was deplorable, cold, and tasteless. Staff which were very poor speaking English, we were crammed into this dining room, making it very uncomfortable for us and the ladies on the next table, who were of the same opinion, what a complete and utter waste of money.



The entertainment on the evening was a joke; it was more like a nursery, loads of kids running amock.



The tram runs often but it is quite expensive, there was 4 of us so we found it cheaper to use the local taxies, I had to get out, or I would have screamed, we were quite a distance from the attractions.



The staff were very rude [not to me] to an elderly gentleman at the pool who was obviously hard of hearing, then when he had gone continued to make him the butt of their pathetic jokes.



Never ever again, friends of ours were going to use this dump on new year’s eve but thankfully we have managed to put them in the picture, they have booked in a hotel called the Kimberly, which they have used before and said it was lovely.



If management in the Norbreck do read this you need to shape that hotel up, you need English speaking staff and polite staff, you have no qualities, at this rate you will end up closing down, and you will deserve it.

This hotel is the worst I have...

Overall Rating:

1/10

Board Basis:

Bed & Breakfast

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2007

Tour Operator:

Booked Independently

Submitted By:

HJ Lance

Comments:

This hotel is the worst I have ever experienced. We paid £40 for an upgrade and sea view.



The windows were so dirty inside and out you could not see through them. The furniture was broken and dirty. The bathroom stunk of urine and had blood on the tiles. My daughter’s bed had faeces on and when the beds were made the next by housekeeping nothing had been done to clean it up.



If this has been refurbished the hotel has been ripped off. It took nearly an hour to check in on arrival it was worse than standing in an airport. We had to stand in a queue for 30 minutes for breakfast and there were no clean tables to sit at.



When I went to complain to the manager guess what. A queue to see him as well! I wonder why?



The staff were unfriendly and unhelpful but I suppose what can you expect having to work in that environment.



This place makes 'Faulty Towers' look like Buckingham Palace. Please don’t put yourself through the same weekend we suffered.

The rooms are noisy...

Overall Rating:

1/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2007

Tour Operator:

National Holidays

Submitted By:

Miss A Pounder

Comments:

The rooms are noisy uncomfortable and extremely basic. Almost all the staff hardly know English let alone speak it.



The food was the worst ever, cold and greasy, we spent a fortune in a sandwich shop out the back of the hotel, the view out of our hotel window was like a derelict building.



Please if you were thinking of having a holiday in Blackpool don't waste your well earned money in this dump. When we got on the coach everyone was in agreement with us, Paul my partner left his camera in the room we knew where he had left it so we contacted the hotel and they said id wasn’t there, we had only been out the hotel 30 minutes.



I would never ever go back there not even for free.

Myself, my husband and my 5 year...

Overall Rating:

7/10

Board Basis:

Full Board

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2007

Tour Operator:

Private Booking

Submitted By:

Mrs H A Wallace

Comments:

Myself, my husband and my 5 year old son stayed at the Norbreck for 4 nights in August. Having read some of the reviews I was a bit wary as to what we would find. However we were pleasantly surprised. The main lobby was very nicely decorated and as we checked in a bit later (4pm) we did not find it a long process.



The room we had was spacious and clean but a bit dated as people have said before, but compared to some of the places I have seen in Blackpool very nice. The only problem we had with the room was that the walls were paper thin and 2 nights our sleep was disturbed. Others who have stayed there have since told us that the rooms in the annexe are much better - there is no noise. Reception would have changed us but we didn't find it that much of a problem.



We had breakfast and dinner there and found the food very good. There are queues but these are not too long and if you book early enough for dinner it is piping hot. All the facilities are excellent - my son loved the pool and the entertainment is very good. All in all we had a very good stay and would recommend it to people with kids looking for a good place to stay for them.

We have just come back from a...

Overall Rating:

7/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Jul 2007

Tour Operator:

Select

Submitted By:

Mrs M Wales

Comments:

We have just come back from a really nice weekend at this hotel. Our room was clean and tidy, staff were very friendly and helpful, food was nice at both breakfast and dinner. We never used the swimming pool but it looked nice and clean.



It was a busy weekend in the hotel and there was plenty of entertainment which we enjoyed very much. The only disadvantage of the hotel is the distance to the centre but in saying that you can jump on a tram just outside.



We had a family room on the first floor which had a sea view (at no extra cost) which was quiet.

A couple of pluses for the hotel...

Overall Rating:

2/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Jun 2007

Tour Operator:

National Holidays

Submitted By:

Mr G Latimer

Comments:

A couple of pluses for the hotel to start with, the lady who does the beauty treatments, absolute star, excellent at her job and explains things clearly and also the leisure pool with the sauna and steam room, staff will charge you a pound for a towel so take your own.



Location 3 miles from Blackpool, 5 from the Pleasure Beach. Tram outside £1.50 each way.



Book in hotel is slow, reception staff pretty much unhelpful; one lift for 480 rooms over 5 floors.



Room itself was awful, bathroom sink in main room separate from bathroom!Three windows in room/bathroom with two nailed shut and third about to fall out. Windows had never seen a window cleaner so view was restricted and no air conditioning.



Food at dinner and breakfast was not too bad however flies, dirty plates and over eager staff were cause for concern, we experienced some staff taking plates before meals were complete or left you asking for service.



As for the bars and entertainment please read on... Two bars, a number of different prices depending on time of day never the same. Both advertised a standard 11pm last orders in both bars however this was never the case.... The copper jacks was refusing orders past 10.15 on occasions and the conservatory bar just shut when it deemed fit regardless of residents requests for more service.



The entertainment was a shadow of previous standards.

After reading some reviews I was...

Overall Rating:

8/10

Board Basis:

Bed & Breakfast

Date of Holiday:

Feb 2006

Tour Operator:

National Holidays

Submitted By:

Miss R Hall

Comments:

After reading some reviews I was quite sceptical about my trip to this hotel... However, we were pleasantly surprised.



Rooms were spacious (even though could do with more modern decor), friendly staff, decent facilities, good food and free bar for an hour!!! Fire alarm did go off in the middle of free bar but once back inside the bar was extended :o)



Only hotel I've been to with a fully working power shower!!! Better than those awful electric ones!

The Norbreck has supposedly had...

Overall Rating:

2/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Feb 2006

Tour Operator:

Booked Independently

Submitted By:

linedanceangel

Comments:

The Norbreck has supposedly had a costly refurbishment but this does not show in the accommodation. The bedrooms are small, old fashioned and extremely noisy.



If someone talks in the next bedroom you can hear every word they say and when a toilet is flushed or a shower or bath run anywhere it is like being at Niagara falls in your room. The pipes run across the walls and are unsightly and the rooms are extremely hot, even with the windows open in February.



The staff mainly don't speak a lot of English. On a Gala Dinner night we had no hot water to shower or get ready and the hotel staff were disinterested. We were evacuated on one night for a fire alarm and stood in the freezing cold for ages, only to find someone had opened a fire door and set the alarm off.



The restaurant is ok except that they take your plates away if you so much as pause eating. Where did all that money for the refurbishment go?

This hotel has supposedly had...

Overall Rating:

2/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Feb 2006

Tour Operator:

Booked Independently

Submitted By:

linedanceangel

Comments:

This hotel has supposedly had millions spent on a refit, it's hard to see where. The rooms are small and dated. They are incredibly hot even with the window open in freezing weather.



They are the nosiest rooms I have ever come across. You can hear every word that is said in the next room and doesn't make it easy to sleep, every toilet that is flushed in any room around you reverberates round yours, as do the showers, baths etc.



On a special dinner evening we had no hot water to shower and get ready with and the staff are not terribly sympathetic or helpful. Most don't even really speak English. In the restaurant they remove your plates almost before you have time to finish eating and sometimes try to take them if you have simply paused eating.



The beds also have some sort of plastic sheeting on them which exacerbates the heat problem leaving you sweating.



One good point is that the showers, where there is hot water, are powerful.