Royal York Hotel

I second everything written here. The staff are helpful, but this doesn't make up for the lack of air con, tiny rooms and totally airless atmophere. We stayed in May and our room was never below 32 degress. With a small baby this was just not on. Reading the reviews here they obviously think it's okay to conduct business while not informing the customer that the air conditioning has never worked. I hate to think how warm this hotel will be in July and August. I had to compliant at 3.30am as the heat was still unbearable then. The one good thing, was we were upgraded to one of the suites the next morning. Perhaps the hotel staff thought it dangerous. All in all potentially this could have been a beautiful hotel and is in parts but the most important details - like room size and air con are not good enough. If you book a queen double you'll be getting a room that I usually would consider a single room. I would avoid until they sort the air con - you may not think this is a problem, but there's something about this hotel that makes it essential.

We stayed in Brighton for a wedding and found it quite difficult to find a reasonably priced hotel, the Royal York is a nice hotel, in a fantastic location without all the noise from the pier. Unfortunately we just felt the hotel was trying too hard to be a boutique hotel but failed to deliver on service. Breakfast was not included in the price, and when we did have breakfast there was very little choice for the price. No tea or coffee in the room, the information booklet stated a tea tray was available on request but no one at reception seemed to understand what we wnated so a kettle was delivered to our room but nothing else. We did pay for a king rom as we needed a cot but even then the room was quite small, with the cot squeezed in at one side of the bed. We were also put in a room that required us to go down some stairs which got a littke tedious after a few days with the pram. Also the hairdryer looks antique and seemed to only have one heat setting...cold! There was an alarm call on our phone which we requested the reception staff to remove twice but were woken up every day with it!! Overall a pleasant stay, staff friendly but just feel something is missing.

I stayed in the recently refurbished Royal York hotel for one night on business. Check in was friendly and efficient. I had booked a standard double room and knew that space was going to be an issue when I opened the door to my room and it hit the bed before being fully open! There was just about enough room to walk around the bed but no more. The ensuite was equally small with a shower only, no bath. Worse, the air conditioning was completely ineffective, so too was the additional fan in the room. The tiny window only partially opened and overlooked the back of some other buildings. It wasn't a particularly hot time of year but the in-room thermometer didn't drop below 28 degrees making for a very uncomfortable night. Plus points were that the room was nicely decorated, the ensuite was modern and clean and the flat screen TV had access to lots of Sky channels. The continental breakfast was a joke. I was told to help myself to the buffet of cereals and to ask if I wanted anything else like meat, cheese or pastries. The "buffet" consisted of 4 cereals on a table and 3 jugs of fruit juice. When I asked what else was available, the waiter (who spoke very little English) repeated "meat, cheese, pastries" - no other details, menu etc available. I was glad to leave this hotel and won't be staying again.

Having read the previous reviews, I have to say I agree with many of the points raised. We actually booked 5 rooms in total so I think we had a fairly good insight as they were a mixed bag! In short, the pros 1. Location - faultless as everything is within walking distance. 2. Breakfast was delicious and well presented if a little slow to arrive. 3. In our opinion the decor was fab - luxurious and over the top, in keeping with the mood of Brighton and its totally over the top pavillion! 4. The bar in the evening was quiet and spacious, though maybe we were lucky with this! 5. Orchids and classy looking furniture give the whole place an upper class, sophisticated feel (not quite sure how well a karaoke bar sits with that image but luckily it was not used during our stay!) The Cons: 1. NO AIR CONDITIONING!!!! This was the biggest drawback and caused us to request a move for 2 rooms as the heat was unbearable - like sleeping in an oven. There are floor standing fans in the room but they are not very efficient and very noisy so cannot be left on at night. The windows only open a fraction and of course you then get the noise from outside which, being Brighton, is loud! 2. On questioning the air conditioning (or lack of), the lady on reception cheerfully informed us that it was working, but takes an hour to kick in. On asking again the next day, a different girl on reception told us that the air conditioning was not connected and therefore would not work - so the first person told us a blatant lie! 3. The lights in one of the bathrooms would go on and off randomly, so half the time the bathroom was completely dark! Handy when trying to wash your hair etc. 4. The bath outlet pipe was not attached to the bath!!! This meant that when we pulled the plug out, the water emptied all over the floor..... Another reason why we were moved from that room. 5. No bins in the rooms so we had to pile rubbish up on the floor - a small but annoying problem. 6. Strange layout of rooms 217 and 317 - lovely view of the sea but the TV is located behind the bed on the wall so you cannot watch the telly from bed, or really anywhere else for that matter! 7. As noted below, room 208 is VERY cramped and unpleasant - see previous visitors comments and photos below. 8. Mini bar non existent and no tea/coffee making facilities in the rooms. All in all this hotel has potential but, like Terminal 5 at Heathrow, has opened too soon and risks losing custom, particularly when people read through trip advisor. They need to sort out these problems, particularly the air conditioning with the summer still to come, or they will not survive - there is a lot of competition around. That said, it has a nice feel to it and the staff on reception were in the main very friendly. It is slightly quirky and has some character, unlike many large chain hotels which are all the same the world over. And the convenient location is fantastic. All in all, I would stay there again, IF the air conditioning was working, and not in room 208!

To say that the room (#208) I was given at check-in was one of the worst I have ever stayed in would not be an overstatement, and I have travelled extensively around the globe. First of all, the room was not even available at the normal check-in time, and given it's miniscule size, should have only taken minutes to get ready. The desk personnel were rude and uninterested at the delay. This room was tiny, so much so that the bathroom door could not be opened without moving my luggage and a portable fan (will address that later). In addition to the disappointing room size and lack of creature comforts, the air conditioning system did not work and the temperature remained at a constant 28C throughout my stay. The single window in the room overlooked a dirty alley and home to pigeons and their toilet on the window sill and elsewhere. The only air that might have been circulated into the room would have been filtered through the dirt of the alley. My negotiated rate was to include breakfast and dinner on the Friday night, and just breakfast on Saturday and Sunday. Service in the restaurant was good for the Friday night dinner, but horrendous for the two breakfasts. Nearly one hour waiting for poached eggs! Upon check-out, the front desk attempted to charge me a higher nightly rate in addition to all meals. To say that I was enraged at that point would be an understatement. I fought to get the rate reduced to the contracted amount and only was successful when I produced a printed confirmation from the hotel. My traveling companions were initially placed into room #308, same horrible room as #208, but were moved to a larger room when agreeing to pay a 25% premium. This sort of bait-and-switch tactic at a hotel is uncalled for. I would caution anyone who is willing to stay at this hotel to examine your room upon check-in and don't settle for anything less than paid for. I am awaiting a response from hotel management to my concerns/complaints and only then will I decide if this hotel is ever worth a return visit to stay in a different room. Buyer beware!

A very disappointing stay. Having booked a standard double room I did not expect a room so small that only one person could stand at a time. It was not possible for two people to pass each other between the bed and wall. Bathroom also extremely small. The room was extremely hot and the air conditioning was broken. It was impossible to sleep as it was far far too hot and upon opening the window the noise was immense. When speaking to the staff about our disappointment, they couldnt have cared less. I would never stay at this hotel again!

My dad booked this hotel for my sister, my son and I so can't comment on the booking. Managed to park outside when arrived 5pm then moved car to where we had got residential permits. Not a lot near by but it's Brighton central so wasn't expecting much elece. Hotel was clean and peaceful. 'rich' decor boardering on garish reception. Foreign staff on reception. One couldn't help but both very pleasant. Lovely room at back looking over pier. Very clean. Large Bathroom. Travel cot arrived soon after. Large window (which was noisey at night). No kettle and only water in mini bar. Wasn't worried about bar as wanted fridge for baby food but has nothing to make up bottles or heat food. Asked at desk for kettle. Told it would be in room when we returned. Returned and told we couldn't have one. Advised to find night porter when I needed boiled water! Not atall helpful first thing in morning. Went back out to buy pre-made formula. Bed lovely and comfortable. Given 6ft when only booked 5ft so pleased. Very hot, couldn't work airconditioning but there was a portable one in room. Just bit noisey. Bathroom light worked automatically, which meant with night time trips you had to wait for it to turn self off and fan. Second night had family next door. Thought they were walking along corridor to start as could hear everything. Turned out there isn't and sound proofing atal between rooms. Luckily didn't mind as no night screaming (and neither did mine) but wouldn't have been pleased if I was staying there for a relaxing getaway. Only ate breakfast there but very nice. Ordered at kitchen tho as waiter absent for time. Staff friendly. Quite liked being able to see the kitchen (but can't once you are sat down). No high chair so baby caused chaos at table sat on lap. Generally very pleased with the quality and cleanliness but not for children and you've got to hope you have quiet neighbours both sideways, above and outside.

We got a great deal for our Queen-size room, and was pleasently surprised by the decor and location. That's not to say the hotel is perfect, and they seem to be having a few teething problems. Pros - Had dinner in the hotel restaurant, and the food and service were excellent. The decor is tasteful and opulent. - Flat screen telly and brand new bathroom in room. - View of the pier from our room. - Comfortable bed. - Very good breakfast. - Superb location, near the upmarket shops, great pubs and the seafront. Cons - Had room service breakfast and the usual condiments did not come with the breakfast (salt, pepper, butter, ketchup, brown sauce). Had to ask for them to be brought separately. - Bottles of water in our fridge were half empty - although the water is complimentary so replaced at zero cost each day. - Outrageous charge for internet - my husband was not happy! - Could not open window in our room, so it got a bit stuffy and the air con wasn't working properly. Probably the biggest negative. - Older blond woman on reception was very abrupt and not particularly friendly. Other reception staff were fine. Overall, this is a lovely hotel - they just need to pay greater attention to the little details to be really top notch.

We stayed because all of our usual hotels were full - was surprised and pleased to get a room at short notice - but having stayed there, can see why they snapped my arm off for a booking. Far from the boutique opulence as promised on the website (schoolboy error to ever believe that I know) the hotel was oppressive and dull - the reception staff had very little knowledge of the city and looked like they had just turned up from after-school club. Room was airless and old fashioned - and the windows were filthy. Bed was quite comfortable but too small. Bathroom clean. The bar and restaurant were awful - I ordered a coffee which was undrinkable as it came in the most ugly and useless cup - modelled to look like those AWFUL plastic vending machine cups - a scalding hot latte served in a handle-less cup - genius. Restau was garish and the tables too small and crammed in. Food was not memorable and I hated seeing all the food laid out like the butchers cabinet at Tesco. The final insult was the drunken gang of women falling out of the karaoke room - yes, there's a karaoke room - hen night heaven but hell if you are after a relaxing, stylish weekend away. Won't be going again.

The hotel has obviously been recently refurbished and was very nicely done out, however it appeared that there was very little management going on during our stay and it is clearly still rough around the edges. Examples include: - Check-in was from 2pm, we were informed of a one-hour delay on arrival, but not with any form of apology. We were subsequently checked in at 4.30pm and given the keys while the maid was still in the middle of preparing the room. Again, no apology and no indication of when we could actually use the room were offered. - The air conditioning did not work; this was a problem as the night was very muggy and the windows could only be opened a crack (and opening windows through the night isn't always ideal in a city-centre hotel in a lively city such as Brighton). The air-con was apparently broken in all rooms, but we were told that someone would be coming to take a look at it two days after our visit. - The room door had a very large gap underneath it, allowing the bright light of the corridor into the room pretty much undimmed - The light in the bathroom couldn't be turned off, which wouldn't be a problem except for another gap under the bathroom door - The bar closed an hour early (11pm), seemingly on a group decision of the bar staff Also, be advised that the hotel facilities listed include WiFi and minibar in all rooms. Internet access is available but is expensive (£12 for a day) and the minibar contains nothing but two bottles of water. Parking is basically whatever you can find or afford in Brighton town centre (a potential challenge during busy periods) and the NCPs can charge up to £25 for 24 hours.