Norbreck Castle Hotel

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 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 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 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 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 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?