Bev Fearis picked a stormy weekend for a weekend break in Brighton.
The sky was black, the rain was coming down in sheets, and the waves were crashing on to the pebbly beach. Luckily, I was warm, dry and happily tucking into my full English, looking out at the wintry Sunday morning from the comfort of the breakfast room at the Mercure Brighton Seafront Hotel (pictured here on a sunnier day!).
One of the iconic Victorian hotels that lines Brighton’s seafront, the Mercure’s glass fronted breakfast room, restaurant, bar and lobby make the most of its prime location. Although we didn’t get there early enough to get the table by the window, from three tables back we could still see the waves breaking and the drenched, windswept joggers battling their way along Brighton’s seafront promenade (the fools).
The four-star hotel, which celebrates its 150th anniversary next year, has changed hands several times and in 2011 was rebranded from a Ramada to Accor’s Mercure brand. It’s a popular spot for weddings, events and conferences and has just spent £60,000 renovating its ballroom, restoring the ornate cornicing, frieze and Palladium columns to their original splendour. 
The hotel isn’t short of Victorian elegance, but like many classic British seaside hotels it has to cope with some of the quirks of its age. For example, once you get past the lobby it’s a bit of a maze and getting to our third floor room meant travelling up in the lift, then passing through a fire door, going down a small flight of stairs, then through another fire door. When I tried to take the stairs down, I got completely lost, came to a dead end, and had to retrace my steps and revert to the lift.
The bedroom itself was spacious, classically decorated in neutral tones, with a large comfy bed and two large windows with seafront views. But the bathroom was a bit small and sterile in comparison, the bath took ages to run (for a four-star hotel) and the water wasn’t always hot enough. I also had a bit of trouble with the television, which seemed to always want to direct me to the pay channels. When I did manage to work it out, I couldn’t get anything more than the four main channels, despite many more being listed. (Try explaining to a four-year-old that tonight there’ll be no CBeebies before bedtime.)
However, when it came to the hotel staff, I can’t find fault. Although it was busy at check-in, the reception team acknowledged our arrival and promised we wouldn’t be kept waiting long, which we weren’t. I use the word "team" because the highly motivated staff did seem to be working well as a team, with lots of camaraderie. The breakfast staff kept the buffet stocked up with fresh fruit and pastries and the full English was hot and hearty. Our pot of tea was brought straight away, with a smile, and there was a nice bit of banter between staff and guests. On checking out we were asked if everything was OK with our room and when I mentioned the television problems I was promised someone would get straight on to it. The receptionist seemed genuinely upset that I had a complaint, however small. Credit goes to the general manager, who I notice on TripAdvisor has taken the time to respond to the majority of the reviews, good or bad, demonstrating the hotel’s strong focus on customer service. I bet he’s already sorted out that television. It’s a shame he can’t do the same about the weather…
