Well, readers. Mixed reviews I suppose. The rooms were fine and we did get balconies and sea views. One double bed appeared to be built from carpeted breeze blocks and wasn't as comfortable as we would have liked. One point I noticed was that the mirror over the dressing table was fixed to the wall too high up for me to be able to dry my hair whilst sitting down and too low to do it standing up. Ended up in a very fetching hunched position but noticed that the majority of dressing table mirrors were of the pivoting variety. I just got a rogue one.

The staff were, as always, absolutely first class. Nothing was too much trouble.

However, many families with children were staying and although the majority were absolutely fine there was a very small percentage that appeared to be totally out of control. Even my 16 year old son had to ask them to stop having a marshmallow fight outside his bedroom at 1am! The staff were fully aware of the problem but could do little about it as the parents appeared to be unconcerned.

Bookshelves in Reception are looking a bit bare - maybe the visitors take the books home inadvertently.

Excellent idea to be able to keep rooms on until 6pm on the last day (albeit for a small fee). We found this very useful.

The pool was lovely and we did find some quiet times for a swim. The 'no diving' notices were being ignored though.

Had a sneaky peek inside a ground floor 'premier' room which looked wonderful. It was HUGE.

Yes, I will go again. Yes, I will take my family again. Yes, I'm saving up for a premier room next time.

We booked the Dalmeny for a family celebration for nostalgic reasons. We stayed for 2 nights.

The rooms were adequate - we had a room at the back of the hotel with a huge bay window. This, like much of the hotel, has so much potential. However, enen though the room was very spacious, it could do with a decoration overhaul as it was very dated. There had obviously been a leak in the bathroom and the carpet had been damaged therefore giving off a terrible smell! I left a comment card but have heard nothing back...

The public areas are OK. We had to queue for breakfast but the food was fine. We chose to eat out on both nights and found a couple of great local restaurants - a French style bistro round the corner and Portofino in Lytham which were both fantastic. We didn't use the pool but the facilities looked good.

Overall I would say this hotel would be suitable for families with young children but is obviously past its best. Like many English seaside resorts the management don't seem to want to make the most of what they have - even though the prices are still high considering what you get for your money.

Stayed here for a couple of weeks throughout June and July. I have seen a wide variety of the rooms, they range from Hot prison Cells to huge Family rooms with lots of space. Luckily for me i was mainly situated to the front of the Hotel where you can generally get a decent room with a balcony overlooking the sea (I would definately recommend asking for one of these rooms if possible). The furniture is a bit dated and the beds in some rooms are placed on an old piece of chipboard which makes it not as comfortable as you might like! Like alot of the hotels in the area the rooms could really benefit from Aircon during the summer months. Overall the rooms are not too bad bit of a lottery though.

The food for me again overall is average. The carvery is not too great but the food in the atrium is better if a little limited.

The leisure facilities in the Hotel are good, the Gym is a great size and the equipment modern. Also there are some really good classes you can join in for a small fee. The pool area is also very nice. Definitely one of the selling points of the Hotel.

Only briefly saw some of the entertainment which to be fair was kind of what i expected from a seaside resort hotel... People pretending to be Peter Kay but not quite hitting the same high points.

I would recommend it to familys especially as some of the family rooms are so very spacious. As a business traveller i would probablyy look else where during the high season but thats not really a criticism just that there are lots of children running round and you can't really get that leisurely swim in!

Overall the hotel is OK not great and in no way bad.

We returned to the Dalmeny following last year's positive experience (see July 2006 review). This time we had booked a premier room and it was most certainly worth the relatively small upgrade cost.
The room is HUGE, with a fantastic balcony view, giant shower cubicle and spacious bathroom (though the loo being housed in a tiny cubicle of it's own with no wash basin was a little bizarre.)
The main problem here though was the beds -- two nice big doubles but so 'sturdy' that we woke up the next morning feeling like we'd gone a couple of rounds with Prince Naseem. We took turns at sleeping on the sofa after the first couple of nights.

Onto the kids clubs -- our five year old daughter of last year has become a seven year old and, whereas last year she could stay in the creche for up to four hours, she could only have one hour this time (and these sessions cost £3 each for craft materials).
Not a huge problem, but it did restrict our 'free adult time' somewhat.
On the positive side, the staff were all great (particular mention for Kerry) and our daughter particularly enjoyed the swimming gala which was well run and supervised. The pool here is great with superb views from the lounge as you enjoy a drink.
And talking of drink, that brings us nicely on to food.
My wife, unlike me, isn't a seafood fanatic. I can pile a plate to the ceiling with fish, prawns etc but not everyone is quite as keen and she found the carvery food rather bland so we decided to try the Atrium restaurant.
The Atrium seems to fancy itself as a top class establishment and the decor was impressive. That was the good news.
We arrived and were duly seated. The music seemed to consist of a distant thumping noise. The two waiters appeared to be struggling to cope with three tables and it took quite a while for our drinks to arrive. The starters were OK but nothing special and our daughter's chicken nuggets arrived a good five minutes before our main courses. My wife had chosen the lamb and it arrived looking rather like a small minced loaf. It tasted alarmingly like cardboard and was immediately sent back. She was offered an alternative dish and opted for the pasta from an extremely small selection. My own main course (fish of course) was rubbery and unappetising but edible. When the pasta finally arrived it was no better than something from a packet and had been covered in lettuce leaves in an attempt to make it look better. I noticed that a gentleman at the next table had left his lamb virtually untouched and looked decidedly unimpressed.
Desserts were diappointing too.
In fairness, the waiter did give us a complimentary bottle of £13.75 Rose wine, but we'd have preferred a decent meal.
I should point out that we eat out several times a week, so we do know what to expect and our experience at the Atrium was well below the standard of our local pub.
We returned to the carvery for the rest of our stay.
We sampled the entertainment on a couple of nights, and it was OK, though it has to be said that the ballroom is a rather depressing, souless place.
Plus points included the magician who spent a generous amount of time at each child's table in the carvery and the (surprise) discovery that the hotel had a useable back door which is really handy for the bus stop and the shops!
Overall, our stay was positive, though I doubt we'll return.
We can't fault any of the staff and cleanliness was good.
Running a family hotel of this size and trying to please everyone is a daunting task and the Dalmeny staff do their absolute best.
If you're looking for a few days family getaway, we'd certainly recommend the Dalmeny, though a bed and breakfast basis might be preferable.