The hotel has obviously been recently refurbished and was very nicely done out, however it appeared that there was very little management going on during our stay and it is clearly still rough around the edges. Examples include:

- Check-in was from 2pm, we were informed of a one-hour delay on arrival, but not with any form of apology. We were subsequently checked in at 4.30pm and given the keys while the maid was still in the middle of preparing the room. Again, no apology and no indication of when we could actually use the room were offered.
- The air conditioning did not work; this was a problem as the night was very muggy and the windows could only be opened a crack (and opening windows through the night isn't always ideal in a city-centre hotel in a lively city such as Brighton). The air-con was apparently broken in all rooms, but we were told that someone would be coming to take a look at it two days after our visit.
- The room door had a very large gap underneath it, allowing the bright light of the corridor into the room pretty much undimmed
- The light in the bathroom couldn't be turned off, which wouldn't be a problem except for another gap under the bathroom door
- The bar closed an hour early (11pm), seemingly on a group decision of the bar staff

Also, be advised that the hotel facilities listed include WiFi and minibar in all rooms. Internet access is available but is expensive (£12 for a day) and the minibar contains nothing but two bottles of water.

Parking is basically whatever you can find or afford in Brighton town centre (a potential challenge during busy periods) and the NCPs can charge up to £25 for 24 hours.

Just back from a weekend break in Brighton, spent at the lovely Royal York hotel, which was an oasis of calm in a city splitting at the seams with stag and hen parties.

The hotel was refurbished about 2 months ago, and is looking great. Our room was lovely, the bed was massive, molton brown toiletries, fluffy dressing gowns etc.

We had a package deal, which included breakfast on each day, and dinner on one evening. I found this to be really good value. To dine in such a lovely setting in London would cost you an arm and a leg, and you'd have to fight for a seat in the sumptuous bar area, where i had more than my fair share of heavenly lychee and lemon grass martinis.

Service was really warm and friendly, without being over attentive, staff just seemed really happy to be working there, and it managed to pull off the high standards without feeling at all corporate.

Only criticism is that there was no real veggie alternative at breakfast time, which seemed a bit of a let down in a city crawling with alternative culture. I have a feeling this will be remedied soon though, as it looked like my comments were taken on board.

All in all, well worth thinking of if you are thinking Brighton,

Steve

My boyfriend and I stayed at this hotel for two nights last weekend. The girl who checked us in was great, very friendly and approachable, I felt I could have asked her anything and she would have tried her best to fulfill our requests. All the staff were polite and friendly. The location is excellent, very close to the sea front and pier and seconds from the shops.

We booked a queen deluxe room via laterooms and saved £10 on what lastminute and the hotel itself were quoting. We got room 111 which was decorated really nicely and had a nice big bay window with a chair and table in it but was really strangly laid out making it feel tiny, opposite a main road and roundabout and with the bay window felt really exposed as there were no net curtains so people could see in!

We rang down to reception who moved us to room 204 without any fuss at all. This room was at the back of the hotel and had the bonus of a sea view! it was hardly spacious so I dread to think how small the standard rooms must be.

We had dinner in the restaurant on the second night taking advantage of their two for one offer (which ran out on Monday). The food was simple but excellently cooked and delicious, I would thoroughly reccommend it although it is rather pricey.

Overall we had a good stay but some things could be improved, we were definately mislead over the parking situation when we rang up before we stayed there. The girl we spoke to made out that there was plenty of parking spaces readily available close to the hotel when in reality we had to drive around for ages before finding a space half a mile away from the hotel.

They only provided one teeny tiny bottle of shower gel not even enough for one person let alone two, I had to go out and buy some more! There was no kettle/ tea or coffee making facilities in the room, the fridge was empty bar two small bottles of water not a mini bar in my opinion.

I have stayed in many 4 and 5 star hotels all over the country and I'm not sure if I would stay at this one again as for the price we paid, it just does not compare to the majority although we have never stayed in Brighton before so cannot compare it to what else is available there.

Stayed at the Royal York for the Easter Bank Holiday weekend.
The hotel location is great - very central for shopping, restaurants and sightseeing. The room itself was bright and comfortable even if the decor was a little strange - a mix of old fashioned and modern styling that didnt quite work together. The bed was big and fairly comfy but
the bedding was so crisp it almost 'crackled' when you moved around - the sensation was almost like sleeping in a paper bag.
The bathroom was absolutely tiny ! One of the smallest I have come across in any hotel room - it was a far cry from the bathroom shown on the hotel website.
The mini-bar was empty apart from a single bottle of water. We were left wondering if it was in fact a fridge not a mini bar and a previous guest had left the water there.... don't know.
We had a room at the front of the hotel - there was a lot of noise from traffic as the windows had no double glazing.
The sound proofing between the rooms isnt great either. You could hear the guests in the room above walking across the floor, closing doors, having a shower etc. We ordered room service once and our drinks arrived 30 mins before our food - again found this unusual. The food however was very good.
In summary - its not a bad little hotel but for the money ( we booked via hotel website) I'm sure you could get better in Brighton.