Umi

I stayed at the Harbour Hotel Brighton for one night and, unfortunately, I have never been so disappointed with a hotel stay, especially considering we paid around £200 for the night. Even before entering the hotel, the outside of the building looked like it was in desperate need of a revamp. That first impression unfortunately continued once we walked inside. The entrance was small, dated and did not feel particularly clean or welcoming. We were initially given a first-floor room with a slight view. On the way to the room, the hallways were covered in marked and dirty walls, and the carpets were extremely unclean. In fact, I overheard a member of staff talking to someone about how the carpets needed to be completely ripped up and replaced — and I have to agree with them. There was also only one lift, which was incredibly slow, making getting to and from the room frustrating. When I first walked into our room, I was immediately disappointed. It was one of the worst hotel rooms I have personally experienced. It was dark, dingy and felt more like a hostel than a £200-a-night hotel. There was mould around the windows, no proper air conditioning and instead a large air-conditioning unit sitting in the room which looked extremely unattractive. The fridge wasn’t even cold, meaning none of the drinks we had were chilled. There were also marks on the sheets, and the entire room looked extremely dated. Most importantly, it looked nothing like the rooms shown online, which made the experience even more disappointing. I normally never complain about hotels because I have rarely felt the need to, but on this occasion I went down to reception to raise my concerns. To their credit, the staff did upgrade us to another room. The second room was definitely better than the first, but unfortunately it still had a number of cleanliness issues. The bathroom tiles were dirty, there were marks on the walls, there was still mould and cobwebs around the windows, and the rubbish bin had not even been emptied from the previous guests. I had to report this to reception again. The drinks at the bar were also extremely disappointing and not enjoyable. The spa initially looked like it could have been a real highlight of the hotel, particularly because of its unusual underground setting. Unfortunately, the cleanliness completely ruined the experience. There was water flooded across the floor in areas, despite nobody being in the pool above. The changing rooms were full of used towels and robes left all over the floor and benches, and it did not look like the area had been properly cleaned or tidied. To make matters worse, the hydro pool wasn’t even working. Overall, this was an incredibly disappointing experience. The hotel clearly has potential, and the underground spa is a great concept, but the lack of cleanliness, dated rooms, mould, dirty carpets, poor maintenance and general condition of the hotel are simply not acceptable for the price being charged. I appreciate that the staff did try to help by upgrading our room when I complained, but the fact that the upgraded room still had cleanliness issues says a lot. For around £200 for one night, I expected a much higher standard. Based on this experience, I would not stay at the Harbour Hotel Brighton again and unfortunately cannot recommend it. What makes this experience even more disappointing is that I have actually stayed at several other Harbour Hotels, including the Harbour Hotel Guildford, Harbour Hotel Richmond and a few others, and I have always had great experiences. I have always thought highly of the Harbour Hotels brand and have never experienced anything like this at their other properties. Unfortunately, the Brighton hotel has completely changed my opinion of this particular property. I would happily stay at the other Harbour Hotels I have visited again, but after this experience, I definitely will not be returning to the Harbour Hotel Brighton.

Extremely well located hotel. Room was excellent although was not easy to reach. All the staff at the hotel were exceptionally helpful and friendly and assisted us in every way they could - especially Paul.

My experience with HarSPA Brighton was deeply upsetting. Booking required an email exchange due to voucher restrictions. On the phone, the receptionist refused to honor the 20% online discount until I sent a screenshot as proof, then promised a confirmation email that was never sent. On the day of the appointment, I disclosed my cancer history on the initial form. Instead of using that moment to inform me of treatment restrictions, they wasted my time by making me complete a second detailed form. Only after finishing both forms and being led into the room was I told my booked treatment could not take place. When I brought this management failure to the supervisor, he offered a cold refund, repeated "I see," and showed no genuine empathy. I arrived seeking relaxation and left in tears. Avoid this venue if you expect professional care.