Hilton Metropole Hotel Brighton

Stayed at the Metropole twice in summer 2004. The customer service was consistently dreadful. Waited ages to be served, staff chatting to each other and ignoring customers. Shame as the room itself was very nice.

Stayed for 2 nights (Nov 30th and Dec 1st 2004). Huge comfortable room with sea view and balcony. There was a special "deal" to include 2 nights accommodation with breakfast and dinner one of the nights which was an excellent package. Clean, comfortable with all facilities and friendly staff who were most anxious to help. Would happily stay there again

Excellent Hotel, great price and was offered a free upgrade to a sea view room! Very nice room, spacious and a great view. Would recommend to anyone, great location too.

The Metropole is the slightly less swanky of the two imposing edifices dominating Brighton seafront (the Grand being the other). It is a solid Victorian monstrosity in red brick and multicoloured marble, with miles of corridors and a wide range of rooms of varying comfort and size.

Most rooms are pretty expensive, but I got quite a good deal on a relatively small one (still a decent size) with no view. The bathroom was huge and well-appointed with three generous containers of shampoo, conditioner and 'bath gel', *and* soap.

Although much of the grand decor isn't quite what it used to be, there still are quite a few features which one can appreciate as a cut above the usual hotel. Your luggage is brought up by a porter who doesn't hang around waiting for a tip; the breakfast buffet is (although expensive if not included in the price) as much as you can eat, and has a huge variety of stuff; there is a health club in the basement with a free swimming pool. There is a bar which serves guests after 11pm.

However, not all was sweetness and light. When I asked reception where the nearest post office was, I was given an address where it turned out there used to be one till a few months ago. Not any more. The main lifts stopped working the evening I arrived and were still out when I left the next day. At breakfast, it took 15 minutes for someone to notice my presence and come round with hot water for coffee and tea.

The hotel is near the shopping district, beach, etc. although it is a bit of a trek to get to the station with luggage. I asked for a taxi in advance to get there, the staff said that it was not necessary to book in advance for such a short journey. Well, I had to take their advice, but it was Saturday lunchtime and in the end it took *half an hour* for a taxi to come. Get a clue, please!

Material comforts are well in evidence, but the staff are just average, as in many big corporate hotels - most won't go out of their way to help you.

We ended up staying here as hotels that we were originally interested in were fully booked. I must admit that we did expect to be faced with a bland beige faceless place and we were pleasantly surprised. The desk staff were courteous and efficient and the hotel lobby pretty impressive. Whilst our room-one of the cheapest-wasn't too inspiringly styled, it was very large and had everything we needed. The location was good-right on the seafront and a stroll to most places of interest. Breakfast wasn't includede and at 13.50 a little steeply priced for us, but there were some great places to eat in the nearby lanes.

I booked the Metropole for just one night prior to relocating from London to Brighton and opted for a double deluxe seaview room. The hotel is an impressive red brick Victorian building and more than holds its own located as it is next door to the De Vere Grand. However the interior is somewhat less impressive. The lobby is fine but the decor of the hallways and staircases is disappointing - painted as they are in colours more suited to local government offices! My refurbished room was only partly finished with new carpet, curtains and freshly painted walls. The bed and other furniture seemed dated and the inclusion of just one armchair in the seating area was a little mean. I asked to view alternative rooms as the room I was allocated did not appear as deluxe as I had hoped. I was shown two suites but they were both very dated with worn out furnishings. Also none of the french windows out onto the balconies closed properly - not a good idea on a wet and rainy April day. I opted to stay put. Overall I would currently rate this hotel as average but improving and I would certainly be interested in returning to the hotel once the refurbishment programme is complete.

We enjoyed our weekend break at this hotel. This was mainly due to the fact that we only paid £50 a night. The hotel is rather grand from the outside and the lobby is very impressive. Our room was quite small but clean and adequate for our needs. What do you expect for £50? We had a slight problem with the bill - we were overcharged by £200 but this was soon sorted out by the friendly, helpful staff. Another disappointment was that Steamers nightclub was closed but we passed a happy couple of hours in the hotel bar. On the whole a very pleasant weekend. I would definitely stay there again if I could get a similar deal.

Stayed there for a weekend and was disappointed in many ways. The hotel front desk staff had a pretty rotten attitude throughout our stay but luckily I only HAD to deal with them three times in the 2 days. The hotel is somewhat "shabby" in appearance. It was obviously once grand but is really showing its age. Room was "motel quality" but we did have new noiseproof balcony doors which kept the outside noise to a minimum.

I would stay there again only if the price was right.

The hotel is larger than most I frequent. I usually prefer more charming hotels. However, this hotel is truly elegant and worth the extra money. I loved the three days I spent there.

We've stayed at the Metropole on two occasions. If you want to treat yourself to a luxury weekend break, it's ideal.

Plus points.

We had a superior seaview room with balcony and french doors. The room was very spacious with seperate sitting area, with settee, chair and table & dining chairs. Bathroom was massive with acres of marble/marble effect vanity unit and both a shower and bath. The bed was huge as it comprised two single pushed together, which made for a rather uncomfortable ridge in the middle.

Breakfast was excellent with a groaning buffet to select from as well as a chef station cooking eggs, etc to order. Staff were very pleasant and helpful. Porters and reception staff were obliging and not at all 'sniffy'

Room servicing was very prompt, which is an important factor if you are using the hotel as a base to explore from - meaning you could return to the room with bags and have a breather before tackling the shops again.

Minus points

The seafront location is very noisy. Brighton itself is choked with traffic, a large percentage of which seems to pass the hotel. Traffic lights immediately outside the hotel make for as lot of engine noise as cars pull away. This is particularly noticeable in the summer when you need the french doors open. Opposite the hotel is the beach and prom, which is an area where the 'youth' congregate during the evening - they can be fairly loud.

The hotel itself has a nightclub which operates on a Fri & Sat night, although on the 3rd floor we could hear the music from this until 2 am - if you choose a seaview room I would recommned requesting the end of the hotel away from the 'Steamers Nightclub'.

A weekend break is not cheap B&B cost £218 per night - so a 3 day break is the thick end of £700 before you've bought dinner and lunch.