Royal Albion Hotel, Brighton > Reviews > The Royal Albion Hotel, Brighton

Author's product rating:   

Value for Money	Excellent
Quality of Rooms	Good
Standard of Service	Excellent
Quality of Facilities	Good

Advantages:	great location, cheap, nice rooms, excellent food
Disadvantages:	no parking, quite dated

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Introduction to the hotel:
The Royal Albion Hotel was built in 1826 and is situated in a fantastic location opposite Brighton pier. It is a three star hotel and has 186 guest rooms offering views of Brighton beach or the town centre.

My experience of the hotel:
I spent one night in the hotel in January of this year and for a three star hotel I was quite impressed. I and my girlfriend booked a double room for £55 and it was a spacious room with a four poster bed, couch, satellite television, fridge, tea and coffee making facilities and a lovely modern bathroom with a Jacuzzi bath. When we checked in the hotel staff asked us if we would like to upgrade to a room with a Jacuzzi batch for £10, we said no, but were a bit intrigued to find one anyways - they had obviously given our room away and were trying to get the extra £10 out of us which was a bit cheeky.

The ideal location of the hotel meant we could nip out into Brighton town centre whenever we wanted to do a spot of shopping in the famous 'Brighton lanes' or to grab a bite to eat from one of the many restaurants scattered about. We had not paid for dinner at the hotel and so ate at a restaurant called Fat Leo's in the evening which offered good Italian food for a decent price. After dinner we returned to the hotel at about half past nine and had a few drinks in the hotels Pavilion Bar which offered a wide range of drinks at a reasonable price.

The next morning we woke up early and went down for breakfast in Jenny's Restaurant, a full English breakfast was available and a number of different fruit juices including tea and coffee. The breakfast was lovely and the hotel staff bright and cheery, delivering a great service with a smile. The only downside was that the tables were a bit too close together, but this wasn't that big a problem.

I have read a number of reviews about the Royal Albion and some have been not to complentary about it, complaing the décor was very dated and their stay was quite unpleasant. I however disagree with these views and thought the hotel to be perfectly adequate for a stay in Brighton. The location was excellent, the room nice and the food on offer was splendid. I would certainly recommend it and will be staying there again on my next trip to the south coast. The only problem with the hotel was that it doesn't have its own car park which would be a problem for elderly guests as it's a ten minute walk to the nearest car park and the parking is quite expensive, however this is a minor issue really. For a three star hotel I was very impressed by the Royal Albion.

Bars and Restaurants in the hotel:
Jenny's Restaurant - serves a large selection of food for breakfast, lunch and dinner and has a nice view facing the pier and the beach.
Pavilion Bar - again looks over the beach and serves a selection of drinks at a reasonable price.
Sun Terrace - for sunnier days in the summer, has chairs and sun beds to sit on and get a nice tan.

Attractions just a few minutes away:
Hove cricket ground, home of Sussex CC
The withdean stadium, home of Brighton FC
Theatre Royal
Sea-life centre
Royal pavilion
The 'Lanes' shopping
Hove museum and art gallery
Candy castle
Brighton toy and model museum
Brighton racecourse
Brighton pier
Brighton marina