We stayed here for a two-night break, attracted by the location (close to lots of sights), swimming…read morepool/spa, reasonable price and on-site restaurant and bar.
To start with, I don't understand the previous reviews - unless things have changed a lot. Our room was lovely, spacious with a Super-king (US King) bed, balcony with stunning views and spacious bathroom with separate bath and shower. (See photographs.) Access to the pool was unrestricted for guests.
On to the review: the hotel has a spacious car park, and an enormous, marble-floored reception area, which extends across to the bar/lounge area. Access to the conference rooms runs off the reception as well. The rooms run off long corridors. The hotel is on a slope, so the check-in is level with the car park, but on the second floor of the rear. So out second floor room was actually a level walk from the reception, and also on the same floor as the spa and pool, lounge and restaurant.
Check in was swift and the receptionist was exceptionally pleasant and helpful. We had to ask for an extension (bedside sockets accommodate non-standard plugs) and this was delivered to the room within minutes.
The room was spacious, with a generous wardrobe, and came equipped with full-sized ironing board, iron and hairdryer. Towels and toiletries were of a very good standard. The super-king bed was extremely comfortable and the air-conditioning was efficient and easy to control. The balcony had a small table and two chairs. The views across to the South Downs were amazing.
The breakfast was a pretty standard buffet, and the catering staff were okay, but replenishment was a bit haphazard. The range of cereals and fruit was a bit limited, but most people seemed to go for the cooked breakfast. There's a toaster, and a nice touch was the fresh honey and honeycomb provided. The filter coffee from the urns was to be avoided - very good coffee from the coffee machines, though.
On the first evening we ate from the Table D'Hote set menu for £38 for 3 courses. This included nice starters; my curry main was fine (curry, bahji, rice, tomato and onion garnish, and mini-naans) but the coley fillet on haricot beans was both a small portion and under seasoned. The cheese and biscuits is best avoided: two small pieces of cheese and 3 biscuits for £8 was poor value and very underwhelming. They also got our drinks order wrong (pink champagne rather than champagne) but they knocked 20% off the drinks bill for that. (NB Most people eating in the restaurant seemed to be on a half-board package, so for them the cost wasn't an issue.)
However, on the second night we ate in the adjacent bar/lounge and had a Korean sticky chicken burger and a vegetarian burger, with chips and coleslaw were considerably better.
We used the pool, steam room, sauna and jacuzzi. Towels are provided at the Spa reception. The changing rooms were lovely - spacious changijg areas, good-sized free lockers, and very clean - and the 20m pool was a good temperature (not too warm). The steam room and sauna are both small - only half a dozen people max - as was the jacuzzi. There were plenty of recliners to lie down on between swims. We didn't use any of the spa treatments, but there is a relaxing lounge available too.
We were not golfers, but the course is championship standard and was very busy. The club house can be reached through the hotel without the need for going outside, but it has its own reception and car park if you not staying at the hotel.
Overall, notwithstanding the meal on the first evening, we really enjoyed our stay, and are considering a return trip at some point.
