Mercure Brighton Seafront Hotel 4 stars

I booked with Secret Escapes. I called the Mercure Brighton hotel and spoke to a helpful gentleman. I am unwell and had to cancel the room (I am now in hospital). The Man explained that I could not cancel with them because I had booked with with Secret Escapes. I could not contact Secret Escapes as there was not a telephone number for Customer Services. Unfortunately I am in hospital after being admitted to hospital on Saturday 19 December with no idea when I will be discharged. It was a great upset to not go as my friend and I had specially planned it (her daughter is a student at Suxxess Uni) and we both love Brighton feom our Uni days. £79 is a lot of money to lose - Like ‘throwing it away’.

I am close to being an Accor Diamond member and have spent over 80 nights in Accor hotels around the world this year from Pullman in Thailand, to Sofitel in Luxembourg to Fairmont in Mexico and Monte-Carlo and even several stays in Ibis budget hotels in France. In Brighton, there is no “hello” or “welcome”, Totally unfriendly, I was lucky to get a room upgrade but they would not give me a late checkout to 13:00 despite the hotel being almost completely empty. I complained about the Wi-Fi not working (also almost no phone signal) and they had an “I don’t care attitude” with the popular excuse that any problem is due to Covid, which was the explanation given for the Wi-Fi not working. I have had much friendlier and better service at Ibis Budget hotels.

Good:- 1. Location 2. Parking 3. Cost of the deal we booked 4. Jessica on Reception 5. Size of the room Not so good:- 1. Cleanliness of room - hairs in bathroom; previous occupant's lipstick on the floor by the sofa 2. General condition of the room - hole in the bottom of the bath panel; bathroom door very worn at the bottom; curtains hanging off some of the hooks; net curtains were grey; one bulb was out over the mirror 3. Breakfast - AWFUL. Served in the ballroom which is a dreadfully tired room with no natural daylight. I had the Full English. The poached eggs were very hard, the sausage was raw on one side and burnt on the other, the bacon was tough as old boots. I appreciate that we live in challenging times and the hotel is no doubt running with far fewer staff than is usual, but there were only 4-5 other tables of 2-3 people in the room

A beautiful building with a stylish reception and welcoming, helpful staff. The bar area looked inviting, though was closed due to COVID restrictions. Our room had a balcony with an amazing sea view, close to the i360 and overlooking the Victorian bandstand and the framework of the West Pier. The bed was very comfortable, bathroom smart with a good shower and we felt safe that the room was clean and Covid secure. A delicious freshly cooked full English breakfast was delivered to our room at precisely the time we had booked. There was a coffee machine and kettle. Parking was available. The powerful spotlights on the balcony could have disturbed our sleep, but this was effectively mitigated by heavy curtains. The paintwork on the balcony doors needed attention, however, we totally appreciate the effect of the wild weather and salt spray on buildings close to the sea. Overall, we had an excellent stay.

Loved the decor as you walk in and our room was amazing. The cooked English Breakfast was perfect and the serving staff very attentive .

Door lock didn’t work. We had to go back to night porter 3x to get door to open (card key had not been kept near mobile phone) Shower needed refurb Cup ‘ring’ marks on bedside table

We visited Mercure for a short break. The location is great and the view was lovely when we had our morning coffee. We will definitely be visiting again

Overnight stay, lovely room, nicely decorated and very clean. Lovely bathroom. Reception staff were nice on arrival. I would give my stay a 10 out of 10 but the gentleman on the door at breakfast was very curt and unfriendly. I know we are in difficult times but a friendly manner and smile would not have gone amiss.

Such a lovely hotel, staff are really nice and helpful! Breakfast could come out quicker, but was nice.

Lovely seafront location, had room with a sea view. Rooms nicely decorated with everything you would need. Adjustments made due to COVID well thought out.

We stayed for a few days in early December after a long, slow year at home. The staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming, the COVID-secure policies in place made us feel safe and the upkeep of the hotel was also great. Recommended.

Overall OK buyt the reception on initiually entering to hotel was brusk and the staples in the room caropet was an interesting experience

This hotel is in a good location and has a beautiful lobby. The staff are pleasant and polite. Unfortunately my first impressions did not last. The wait to check in was unacceptable, especially as we had been to drop our luggage off only 40 mins before and could almost certainly have checked in then. The room was disappointing - we had booked a certain type of room with a sea view and had been contacted in advance to say that we could not have the sea view, as there were works going on, and that we would get some of room cost back at the end of the stay as a result. No issue there. That said, the room itself was still comparatively expensive (£143 inc. breakfast), and I would have expected more. It was not large and the decor, fixtures and fittings were rather tired. possible COVID regulations may have led to some of the normal amenities being removed, but overall I hope it was not the class of room we had originally booked, as that would be even more disappointing. In terms of robes/slippers, it was also set up for one person - knowing how many people are arriving is an easy thing for a hotel to get right! I realise this is a subjective point, but it was also very cold when we arrived, and took a while to warm up. The biggest issue, however, was the way the sound carried through the walls of the rooms. Music and TV from nearby rooms, possibly not next door but several rooms down the corridor, as well as people shouting in the night disturbed our sleep and made for a less than restful stay. We mentioned this on check out.

The hotel is right on the seafront which was lovely to wake up to in the morning. The staff were friendly and helpful and some of my All Accor status benefits were provided so I was upgraded to a privilege room as an example. The hotel admittedly is quiet tired and seems more like a 3 star than a 4 star hotel.

We booked a privilege room with a sea view but were advised that there was renovation work at the front of the hotel. There was no sign of that. I don’t believe we were given a privilege room in the courtyard. The only time available for breakfast was 8.30 which was ridiculous. I would not recommend or stay there again.