The Langstone

Swimming was great and facilities clean. Restaurant left much to be desired. Small things, like the tartare sauce, served in a scallop shell, must have been left out for ages as a skin had formed. Unforgivable for both chef and waiting staff. Unwhelming.

I will start with a short introduction: we have stayed in this hotel at least 4 times throughout the years and the first impressions were positive - I am talking 5–7-10 years. It has always had a special meaning to us as we like Portsmouth, Hayling Island and the surroundings. This time I booked this hotel for a special occasion - my husbands birthday. Not for a party or event, just was hoping for a nice stay as we remember it. I mentioned about the special occasion in an email to the reception not hoping for any upgrades or special treatment, but just to let them know how important this stay will be. In return I received a reply how much and upgrade, cake etc. costs although it was not my point or question at all. It was not a very friendly reply and I simply tried to forget about it. On our arrival at the hotel there was one cupcake in a plate with a nice chocolate writing message and it made my husband smile, however I was thinking: why leave one cupcake for 2 people? A cupcake for a couple?? Ok, I had a laugh…. We were not here for a cake:) I will get to the main point now: to my big disappointment the hotel hasn’t changed in probably a decade. I am aware that there a different types of rooms - “renovated” and “old”, however this is not very clear when booking via different booking websites. And to my another big disappointment exactly the same type of room was about £100 difference/ more expensive when booked directly via hotel reception. The room and bathroom were very dated, the bathroom doors hardly closing unless giving them a hard push, reading light by the bed broken and the walls could do with a bit of fresh paint. A soft-close toilet seat, some silicon and paint would not break the bank of the owners. I reported the broken light and it was never repaired during our 3-night stay. The quality of the services and food has definitely gone downhill. The WiFi is very weak and if one person in the room is using it, another cannot. Mobile phone service is non-existent, when I politely approached the reception I got and answer: “This is and island!” Really? :) I would like to say that we are normal people travelling a few times a year, and we do not have extravagant demands or expectations, but we would rate this hotel as 3* if at all. We did not use the swimming pool, so cannot comment what the spa area is like these days. The bottom line and my advice would be: avoid this hotel if you can, there are others on the island and this side of Portsmouth.

Service very good , food a bit pricey , but room was ok , had a early wake up call , with the fire alarm going off , because it was early not a lot of staff in yet , seemed a bit mad , but was best to be safe than sorry . , booked to come back next year