Ivy By The Sea

Beachfront, close to everything. Looks nice from the outside.

We didn’t get to see everything inside as we couldn’t make check in. Please note, you have to check in between 3 and 4pm, if you can’t, you can’t stay or get a refund, no leniency or anything. Literally minutes after booking, when I got the message with all the info it became clear, still couldn’t cancel with over 72 hours notice either. Just refers you to the booking.com page, where it’s not clear enough. From the reviews and the customer service we did get, I don’t think we missed much.

The location was exactly as we expected, near the harbour. There is a small car park close to the hotel but this was full. We parked for free (over winter) on the Marine drive which was a bracing shirt walk away and we thought very convenient. The Delux room was on the second floor up steep stairs and was spotless with a view of the harbour. It had a laminate floor and was newly decorated with a clean bathroom and small shower. I misunderstood the room booking and thought it was twin or double, expecting hotel beds that were adaptable, however it was two small twin beds, my mistake. We had an excellent view of the New Year’s Eve fireworks and the room was surprisingly quiet with very few people around.

I booked the hotel with small bar and bistro so we could use these during our stay. They promptly closed at 4pm, locked up and in darkness, it would have been helpful to know this prior to paying the non refundable bed and breakfast rate, and we would have booked somewhere with these facilities, it was all closed in the local area after about 7pm. We were confused by the breakfast not being served till 10.30am, but we had to vacate the room at 10am, the lady booking us in said we’d be okay checking out after breakfast which was helpful. The next morning at 9.30 she changed her mind and said we had to clear the room by 10, and we could have an earlier breakfast (walk in customers where served from 9am). We set off back up the steep stairs to clear the room, and the dog had an accident on the stairs. We cleaned this up, reported it to the staff and paid an extra £40 cleaning bill (£55 total dog charge). Needless to stay we couldn’t get out fast enough and missed the breakfasts so can’t comment further on this.

Excellent location right on sea front by harbour. Lovely suite, mattress super comfortable. Cosy room once we got to grips with heater! Staff welcoming and very helpful!

Check in is a one hour window but it was out of season!

Sea front location ,good facilities and service ,clean and cozy

Great location

Was advertised through booking.com as breakfast included. But didn’t get breakfast. Not good enough

The location was great, the rooms were spacious

We paid £125 , this included breakfast, when we arrived we were told the chef wasn’t there so no breakfast was available, we were offered breakfast at a cafe that was quite a distance to walk, having just had an operation I couldn’t walk that far, so declined the offer.We asked for a complimentary drink instead but was told no by young staff, we asked to see the manager but whoever it was couldn’t be bothered to talk to us.Really disappointed in the handling of this, quite honestly we weren’t that upset about the breakfast it’s one of those things but they blamed it on booking.com because they don’t charge extra for said breakfast ? Anyway the manager should have come to speak to us just out of courtesy and not send young staff to do the dirty work .

We were told they don’t start to serve breakfast until after 10am because staff don’t start work until 10am - we were also told we need to check out at 10am snd we could just leave our bags on the floor . Waiting until at least 10:30am to be served a breakfast is ludicrous, I have never stayed anywhere where breakfast is offered at such a late time. Beyond belief to be honest

No staff over the age of 19. It was like a badly run youth Hostel. Carpets filthy, WiFi hideous with the Router in the bedroom flashing and lighting the room up all night like Las Vegas, we had to put a towel over it. Room freezing, very lumpy cheap mattress. Felt like crying after all that it boasts on Booking.com. I fell for it !!!

The location.

We were late arriving as we were travelling 250miles by car. We contacted The Ivy before at 2.46pm to inform them we would be late but definitely there by 6pm at the latest. The Ivy said we would not be able to stay there for the first night of our 2 night stay as we had to absolutely be checked in by 4pm as nobody is on site after 4pm. The bar and minimal seating area are all closed at 4pm so are not evening facilities. Check out is between 8am and 10am yet breakfast is only served after 10am when staff start to arrive back on site! We finally got breakfast at 10.15am when staff started vacuuming in view of where we were eating. We pre-paid for our room and the Ivy has refused to reimburse us for the first night. Our understanding of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 is that if a UK hotel refuses you entry to a pre-paid room upon late arrival it is likely to be in breach of contract under the Act and as such we are entitled to a refund and potential compensation. When I booked the Ivy under Booking.com I did so under an hotel search but with no evening facilities or normal breakfast times before 10am we felt we were in a B&B where the conveience was all in favour of the operator and definitely not the customer.

Booked the suite, room was lovely and characterful , bathroom was amazing

Bed was atrocious, mattress should be thrown awayMaybe they should advertise that breakfast is only available after 10.30am....probably wouldn't have booked if we'd known this.Had a terrible night's sleep and left early, won't be returning

This was a one night stay, but we would of definitely stayed longer. The location right on the main promenade is ideal for local bars and restaurants and the beach. The room was beautiful, so big with an amazing view over the harbour. It was spotlessly clean with a good supply of coffee and tea and bathroom soaps and body wash. Good size shower and a lovely, comfortable bed. I thought it would be noisy being so close to the pubs on a Saturday night, but it was quiet. Downstairs there is a bar and restaurant with a varied good price menu, it closes early, so noise wasn't an issue. The heaters were useful so you could control the temperature yourself. Breakfast was beautiful and the staff were lovely and helpful. Would recommend and definitely come back.

The location

The room was supposed to be a deluxe but definitely wasn’t deluxe,There were no facilities at all as the hotel closed around 5pm we couldn’t have a drink or eat here as it was closed, we had to use the rear entrance to the hotel as the front was closed, I paid £160 for one night but have had nicer places for half this amount, breakfast was at 10.30am check out was at 10.00am we checked out early and went elsewhere for breakfast so we could continue our trip, the room was a decent size but the bed was terrible it had a mattress protector on it which was very noisy, the electric radiators were very smelly when we put them on too,

Location was good easy access to shops beach and harbour, nice large room with good views of harbour

On arrival we were told breakfast was 10 30 to 11 30 which we thought was quite late, we had no tea bags milk or cups in our room,after seeking the owner for these were were told we will bring them later so had to wait for a cuppa when they arrived we were left 2 tea bags and 2 small pots of milk and had to chase staff every day as they would only bring 2 tea bags and 2 small pots of milk each day, the 1st day of arrival we had a short walk went back to hotel at 6 and was all closed up so we accessed three back door went for showers to go out and had no towels in the room we rang 2 numbers for staff with no reply so left messages that we had no towels, the follow day when management arrived we told them we had no towels and had left 2 messages on the phone and we were asked are you sure there's no towels, didn't even get an apology, and the bath towel smelt clean but was very stained with dirt which we couldn't use,also felt embarrassed for the young girl which was staff and being told off by management as we say having breakfast,,

The room was very spacious, the bathroom was huge, and I loved the option of a bath or shower, which is separate. Decor was very stylish. Breakfast was tasty. It was one of the best we've had in a hotel. The general cleanliness of the good was good, some more attention to detail needed with cobwebs in the fire and around the beams. Good selection of tea, coffee. There are plenty of tea bags, i do go through them like water!.A couple of bottles of water are really nice touch! Despite the location being bang on the front, which is a fabulous location, we expected noise throughout the night, but it was extremely quiet and peaceful. Although there is no parking at the actual property, there is a car park in under a minute walk around the back. It's only small, but if you can get a space, there is just over £11 for 24 hours. There is also the option of road parking nearby.

The owner/manager was very lovely and pleasant with guests, not so much with the staff. I think giving them a dressing down in front of customers is unprofessional and not great for the staff member either. A couple of finishing touches are needed in the room. Ceiling paint coming off seems to be a damp issue, which is expected in old properties, but by the morning, most of the ceiling paint was on the floor. The shower wasn't the best, and it needed more power or water pressure. A couple of footstools for the chairs would really finish the room off, maybe a small fridge to store milk and the bottles of water. A full-length mirror would also be good with no obstacles in front and natural light.Downstairs toilets in the bar area could do with a clean, windowsill, skirting boards, and a wipe over the sink and top of the toilet. Given the above, I don't think it's quite to the £160pn night mark, but if this was taken into consideration, it could have the potential to be luxury. We would visit again and will try the rest of the menu offered. The above points are in no way negative, just opportunities to make the business even more brilliant.

Beutiful room ,great location , Great staff in the morning and spotless .Great breakfast

No iron,nowhere to leave luggage, however after doing some research ourselves we found a website called stasher which allows you to store your luggage for a small fee so you can enjoy your last day,also bar and restruant closed at 5 pm ,not ideal as weather wasnt good and given the location as a selling point and price reflecting it we were unable to enjoyit .Overall its a beutiful property with a few minor tweaks could be amazing

Everything about this b&b is amazing, room was very spacious, spotlessly clean and very comfy beds, bathroom was quite spacious, the view was amazing. The staff were very pleasant and chatty nothing was to much trouble

Absolutely nothing to dislike about this place

Location, clean. Good breakfast , Young staff very pleasant , efficient, and professional .

No parking. Only street but all full when we arrived had to park in Casino carpatk and walk . Only 4 small.milks in the room , the premises close at 9 pm, no one to ask for more . Not manned at night , thankfully, no emergency. Entry only after 9 pm via dark, lonely road at the back . The sitting room had a rope across it, making us feel we couldn't relax there and no access after 9 pm .10 am you have to be out ,BUT breakfast wasn't served until 10.30 am , we were told most people went for a walk then came back !

Location was good

Everything !! I have never ever stayed in a place like this before the staff were exceptionally rude (kids) basically running the place swearing smoking we left early with bad stomachs and posted the keys thank god we didn’t stay for breakfast then at 1500pm bear in mind checkout is at 1000am I received a threatening call saying I hadn’t left the keys !!! I informed them I posted them in the letterbox at the bottom of the stairs to which a rude young lass said “no you never your paying for them” i said I posted them she said “we are charging you “ then after the rude call they phoned back 5 mins later saying “you signed for those keys your paying” even though she filled out the paperwork she couldn’t be bothered for me to do it I said do you need photo ID she said “nah forget about it”I have never ever experienced a place like this !!! If you like stomach bugs and threatening staff this is the place for you !

Great location, friendly staff, lovely suite

Small breakfast

The location and staff at the hotel are excellent. The breakfast included was delicious too. Overall great stay and would definitely go back.

The WiFi was not working.

Breakfast choice and quality was excellent. Location was perfect.

There was no hairdryer.