The Grand Brighton Reviews 

Booked afternoon tea for my brothers birthday. Lovely setting in the conservatory, a very warm afternoon outside and inside as well. Unfortunately after being shown to a table and seated, we were forgotten about for 15 mins, I then had to go and investigate where our afternoon tea was ! A grumpy older man, possibly the head waiter, abruptly tried to order me to sit back down. I politely refused and stated we had been waiting patiently but alas no one had appeared. Eventually the tea and food arrived and it was very good. My only observation was that the savoury food ( sandwiches ) were very few and there were far too many sweet treats. More than anyone could eat. This ratio of savoury to sweet needs rebalancing in my opinion. We ran out of tea after 45 minutes or so, this is when my brother went to enquire about some top up tea and experienced the same grumpy older man, who blatantly turned his back and refused to acknowledge my brother. This then prompted my brother to go and complain about the individual to the reception staff. They were naturally apologetic and did state that the individual staff member was problematic and we were given an email of someone to “feed back to”. Upon returning to the table, he ( my brother ) was very upset about the whole incident and to be honest did really ruin the whole event. I couldn’t get anyone’s attention to bring me the bill, so again had to go and find someone to pay. Again, I think this was disapproved of, but otherwise think we could still be sitting in the corner being ignored. So positives of the experience were the great setting, glorious food but negatives were the service side and lack of respect from a particular individual. Price was £40 per person which was reasonable. An additional £20 was added for service. The total I paid was £180. Top tip for anyone thinking of going along : they don’t tell you but the tea is unlimited and you can have as much as you like, just need to ask. I hope my review is helpful to anyone thinking of going along.

I made a reservation as a wedding gift to my husband for 17th April. Devastatingly my husband tragically went into a coma before the date, and he passed away. I tried to cancel the reservation and after some wrangling they said they would hold it until December. I asked for a refund but this was refused.
How on earth can they expect me to stay there now, I just couldn't do it. Surely they could make exceptions under certain circumstances.
Also, worst of all, when I explained the circumstances the lady who took the call ended the call with 'have a nice day'!
I feel totally let down and expected more of The Grand. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Shame on them.

Booked a while ago then received an email asking for a further £10 a night for what I had already paid for. Tried to contact them. Firstly through Velma their virtual assistant who asks the same question over and over. Then via email only to be told somebody will call back (maybe within a day). Then tried to phone the number as advertised on the web site and on my booking form. This phone number is unattainable (It just keeps cutting off). Presumably no staff available. Having stayed here before and was happy to rebook. It is always concerning when an organisation cannot even respond to bad reviews on Trust Pilot.

Booked here for afternoon tea for my wife’s birthday. First class throughout all staff extremely friendly and couldn’t help enough.. Even when my wife knocked over her Moët and smashed the glass🥴. They moved us to a new table replaced our cakes and Moët and our tea.. without hesitation… we’ll be back as as she had a smashing time.. Fantastic day to remember thanks you all

Was looking to book for dinner and drinks however upon reviewing the menu there is nothing for Vegans for the main courses. Shamefully there is a full list of meat and fish options which is appalling when animal agriculture is the leading cause of climate change. The Grand seriously needs to up their game on vegan friendly food!

Where to start.... For the price we spent..£315.00 The room was very basic and very tired, The toilet roll holder was lose and the toilet roll ended on the floor. The shower screen was glued to the bath meaning you had to climb in the bath to turn the taps on... ! not ideal. There was peeling paint on the baths wooden base, Rust on the shower pipe and chrome worn off one of the handles on the bath, The plug had no seal on it, The Hanger on the back of the door was loose, The lighting was terrible both in the bathroom and bedroom.. you couldn't do your make up. In the bedroom there was dirt and dust on the carpet where the hoovering was not done properly and had a musky smell, The table top was blistering and peeling, The heavy curtains were full of dust. The double bed was 2 singles pushed together (We ordered a Double room). Disappointed that they use UHT semi-skimmed milk...! for the price they could put fresh milk in the fridge they provided. Walking on the floor was rattling the wardrobe doors. There was a very large full length mirror that was just leant up against the wall behind the front door.. very unsafe. This room had all the markings of being a staff sleeping quarters. As for the breakfast.... It was VERY disappointing, The quality of the cooked breakfast was bland, and we expected more than just a buffet... To be honest we have had better rooms and breakfast at the Premier inns. I think we only paid for the Name, The Grand..!!! VERY DISAPPIONTING. Its a shame as we only stayed the one night there to see if we liked it enough to book a week in Spring 2025, Sadly this will not be happening now. We will be making a formal complaint on Monday 29th and will be asking for a refund as the room was worth no more than a maximum of £120 a night. The cooked breakfast was tasteless and the fried Eggs were like rubber. Yes the building looks 5* but the room and food we had was average and more like a regular guest house with no stars.

We have stayed at the grand hotel a few times over the past year and stayed in a variety of rooms including inland rooms and sea view suites, they have been gorgeous every time. Every staff member we have spoken to has been helpful and kind. The breakfast is a highlight with a huge selection on offer. We love it here and looking forward to staying again in the future

According to their website the Grand Brighton is a 5 star hotel! I am genuinely amazed as I would rate it as a 2 maybe a shoddy 3 if I was being generous. This hotel is tired, it has broken lifts (luckily we are capable of lugging our bags up and down stairs), worn out and ripped carpets, windows that don’t seal properly and it’s cold.
Our room was clean but very basic and the bathroom was freezing having no heat source in there and a window that didn’t shut properly.
The pillows were rock hard and uncomfortable and we were kept awake by a very loud generator. Just before 1am I rang reception to ask whether the generator would be going all night. I was told they switch it off at 12 … which obviously they don’t. It did go off at 1 but then came back on at about 6.30am, waking me back up.
The breakfast was standard hotel fair, nice enough and the staff were courteous but not particularly friendly.
I would not stay again, it’s definitely not worth the room cost and it’s laughable to think it’s a 5 star hotel.

Very disappointing. We had booked an afternoon tea at 14.30 but weren't shown to our table until 15.30, then we were kept waiting for another 40 minutes until the food arrived. The food was unexciting as the bread was stale and curling at the edges, the scones were not fresh. The cakes were mediocre and we had to ask for more tea as it had gone cold before the food had arrived. The staff were inattentive. We sat a two large mismatched tables which didn't make for a pleasant sociable gathering. Bizarrely, we were told we could take with us a huge chunk of cake as part of the deal - we found this very odd! Afterwards, we tried to pay but no-one was around and it took another 15 minutes to find someone. We could easily have walked out without paying. Funnily enough, we accidentally dropped a plate causing everyone in the room turned round, and suddenly someone turned up to investigate! At £40 a head, the price was definitely not reflected in the quality of the food that we received. No alcohol was included. All members of our party (5 people) agreed how disappointing the experience was and that it hadn't lived up to our expectations of the Grand Hotel.

So I am going an event I have paid for this weekend, I phoned to find out about the dress code as my foot is in a boot, and trousers don’t go over it, I wanted to know what was acceptable as a dress code

Hung up on me
Phoned back rang for ages and then went to voicemail, so deliberately done. Raging

Hubby paid for us to stay at The Grand Brighton for 3 nights and don’t we wish we didn’t bothered!!! Hotel itself is lovely in certain places , but the room we had was absolutely terrible . We had 4 air conditioning units going 24/7 right outside our bedroom window, so we didn’t sleep! Then we had water coming through an electric light above the shower from the room above ! Couldn’t use the bath as all the enamel had come off ! The paint was peeling off from the bathroom door , stained ceiling above the bath/shower abviously from water coming through the ceiling . All the sealant around the floor bath/shower was so poorly applied! Just generally for what you paid to stay at a place like this you expect it to be a lot better around the edges! We did eventually complain to reception as we had not slept for 2 nights and we were moved to 4 floors above where we were in the beginning. The room we were moved too was newly decorated and modern . I did here while we were there they are renovating the hotel , but starting from the top down .
I think if we were to stay there again I would insist on staying in rooms on the 2 top floors and nothing else

I held my 50th Party at the Grand on Saturday 9th November, I would like to extend my gratitude to the staff who handled the arrangements together with those who worked at the Party. The evening was amazing, nothing was too much trouble and the attention to detail was fantastic. I would like to thank Ben, Ash and Michalis myself and my guests were so impressed with you all, you had a smile on your face the whole evening and you were just so lovely.

Having a nice stay, a bit pricey but rooms and staff are good

A disaster from start to finish. Room not ready on arrival so staff offered to call me when room available; no call received. When finally got into room, kettle short-circuited electrics and most things switched off in my room & Mum’s next door. Needed new kettle. Fancied relaxing drink in bar to finish day; baby propping up the bar, and surrounded by children wandering round and playing in bar area. Asked staff what the rules are and was told there are no restrictions on children in bar area. Most well run restaurants / bars I know have designated areas where families with children can relax and enjoy themselves and also separate areas where adults who don’t want children running around them can be by themselves.

After twenty years staying at the Grand Brighton I can honestly say really it’s gone downhill.
It’s looking very dilapidated. The room was appalling, lift needed a good clean and breakfast, not great.
On a positive note the staff were lovey, restaurant and bar very good,
Not returning!

Sadly the concierge was rude towards my 9 year old, who was stood by the door/foyer, out of everyone's way while I stood outside in the rain, waiting for our taxi.
Hollering across the foyer to his coworker, and well within her earshot and other guests (we were guests who had signed out).

She wasn't in anyone's way, she was cold and wet from the rain and stood as I say, out of the way at the front, behind a closed, unused entrance door so what the issue was I have no idea. If they can't treat a child with kindness and respect it says it all. She felt embarrassed, and tearful which is not on. Sadly, our last visit.

We having been staying here at The Grand for years and love this hotel. It has recently changed ownership but much of the staff team remain the same. The friendly team (especially concierge) are what make this hotel so very special. We have stayed in various rooms including the more luxurious Seafront suites, but sometimes standard rooms too, and in my opinion all offer very good value. We stay throughout the year and have a wonderful time whether it is the height of summer or a rainy December day. Breakfast is consistently good and it is an unbeatable location. This is an iconic hotel.

A tired hotel with great helpful staff, but nearly everything else was poor value for money.
For a Christmas stay in a Junior Front Suite, there was no entertainment, even the piano stayed shut and with only one lift working which didn't go to our secomd floor, a very slow service in the CYAN restaurant with a poor selection of Gluten Free food and lots of large sometimes noisy dogs in the lounge, we nearly left after 2 days.
The electronic key to our suite often failed to work and inside our suite the floor creaked badly, the bathroom had a cracked wash basin, the bath was quite deep with no grab rails, making it quite dangerous to use and the toilet stopped its flushing with a loud bang, the taps dripped and there were no drawers or shelves.
Our room had a dressing table, which was basically a plank of wood on 2 trestles, with no drawers and lots of cables visible. Even the bedside cabinets were just tables, can you imagine a bedroom with no drawers?.
Sorry but the new owners of the hotel have almost taken on a rebuild, until then we really could not recommend this hotel to anyone.

Awful saw a waitress pull wine glasses from people as they were drinking from them! Was accusing people bringing their own bottle but rather then ask she just decided to yank glasses of wine from a ladies hand, but the other two ladies as they were sipping from the glass! Thats 3 people at my table without a word of warning & I complained to the waitress that was unnecessary & aggressive behaviour so she called security who non festively told Me ‘I can go the easy way or not! They did not want to hear why I complained nor did the manager at the front desk! Looked totally interested! Then other security were told by their own staff I had punched a hole in the wall & once I had left & was outside, I asked for cctv footage as was a complete lie! & the bouncer openly admitted they know that wasn’t true ! Never ever again! I have supported many charities over the decades at the Grand hotel Brighton ! Never will I set foot in there again! Disgusting behaviour. So complaint sent & a refund requested. Was there only 3 hours before the abuse commenced! Thanks Vivienne ! You need re training rude, aggressive & must told a whopper to get security to get me to leave! as she didn’t want to explain why she was assaulting other guests ! Guess her only solution was to keep me quiet for what I witnessed & to have me thrown out by security! What an upsetting & truly disturbing time! Shameful! Only gave a 1 star otherwise couldn’t send review !

AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING
The service and the hotel - special. I work in customer care and this hotel and the team are just incredible.
We had a sea view superior king.
Massive.
Truly had a special stay.

I’m amazed at the reviews.
It was a treat for my mums 70 birthday and the team at The Grand couldn’t do enough.

And the breakfast……. Delicious