The Alfriston

Staff all excellent - service fantastic throughout stay from dinner to breakfast, in the spa etc. Room was spotless and hotel in general also clean and tidy

We had a great stay. The family room was excellent and our kids loved the heated outdoor pool which we used when in February! The staff were lovely and we appreciated the little touches like snacks to take on our walks and home baked cookies. We will definitely be back.

All the staff were outstanding in their welcome and nothing was too much trouble.The provision of welly boots to borrow was a nice touch especially at this time of year (January)

Staff are super friendly here. Rooms are comfortable. Lacking space to put clothes/luggage but otherwise well equipped. The breakfast was nice. A few nice touches like the 4pm pour and well located for walking from the door.

Gorgeous interiors, great attention to detail, staff were faultless

Nice hotel, with good staff. Ideal for exploring the South Downs.

We really like Signet hotels having stayed at the Retreat several times, and now The Alfriston twice. We first stayed at The Alfriston within the second week of it opening and it understandably felt like it was finding its feet. However we expected it to feel settled six months later - not quite our feeling. It still feels like it is settling in. The extra touches we used to enjoy like freshly baked biscuits and an evening digestif in the rooms felt like we were being spoilt and cared for. However these have been replaced by regimented, restrictive times in the bar area, which removed the very special and generous feel from the initial approach. We enjoyed our stay but there lacks the generous and warm feel from before which we feel is a real shame. We are sure that there is good intentions but prescribing times to enjoy the touches removes the feeling of being generous from Signet. I feel the hotel still needs to settle and find its way especially as it is competing with other similar level hotels in the immediate vicinity. The brasserie menu and food quality does not compete with other hotel restaurants in the area and was disappointing quality in comparison. The menu has not changed since Spring and could do with seasonal changes and surprises. No change to the menu makes us wonder why seasonal produce is not being used to drive the dishes, unlike other restaurants in the area. The hotel bar feels cold & underwhelming, in comparison with much warmer competitors

The Alfriston turned out to be a very pleasant stop off on my South Downs Way walk. I can't fault anything. Only to thank all the staff that made my stay a memorable one. Can I add a special thanks to Alessandra.

We loved every moment of our stay at The Alfriston.

Nice, cosy hotel with friendly staff. It was a friends birthday and the hotel staff were great with helping decorate the room and wished her a happy birthday on arrival. Was a little disappointed with the spa as there is no jacuzzi and just the outdoor pool, it was also freezing in the room with the loungers so not very relaxing! I did ask for someone to adjust the temperature but this didn’t make a difference. The restaurant staff were friendly but the food was quite disappointing, the steak was really underdone despite us being asked how we wanted it cooked, also was not asked if we wanted more drinks or checked on throughout the meal. Good breakfast. The pantry was disappointing in comparison to other sister hotels as was just a small cupboard with a few bags of crisps and lollipops. Overall a nice stay but wouldn’t rush back.

Absolutely amazing.....was exactly the break we (as parents of young children) were hoping it would be. Would thoroughly recommend to others.

It was lovely being at the Alfriston and getting to know its town. The pool outside was definitely the highlight and the sauna and steam room installations were excellent. The interiors were lovely and the breakfast was top notch!! Would highly recommend! Just be aware if you don’t have a car, it’s a bit of mission to get to Alfriston…there’s a bus but only runs at specific times.

I liked everything

Although the hotel tries hard to reach the luxury bracket with the new spa and other facilities, it does not quite succeed. Most staff are friendly and helpful, the cleaning staff were particularly cheerful and the receptionists also. One of the senior receptionists was typical of a minority of staff who do not have a service ethos and in her case was unnecessarily rude to us and to other guests. It seemed that the staff were all rushed off their feet and that better Training and a couple more would have helped things along. The breakfast was good but various ingredients including fruit had run out well before the end of service. The grounds are in need of maintenance. The pool area and spa are new if small, and the masseuse and staff very efficient. Room clean and bright. Food was reasonable in quality. Prices very high for a hotel of this quality. They do not have much competition yet in this area as a hotel with pool etc but if this changes they will need to up thr game.

I enjoyed our stay!

It’s a great boutique hotel in a lovely setting which has been very recently tastefully renovated. All the interiors are stylish, great SPA, good restaurant and service, wonderful outside spaces incl. pool. Breakfast is a bit limited but good, coffee isn’t great Lots to do in the area as well. Rathfinny winery just nearby was a happy find with a great restaurant, hiking routes to Seven Sisters, Alfriston village is a gem The only challenges we had were in regards to the check out rules - lack of a clear late check out policy, different receptionists saying different things, overall felt greedy and we end led up being overcharged in the end compared to what had been agreed (pending refund). 11AM is too early for 4PM check in, so the hotel needs to be prepared for exception requests

The only criticism would be the tiny bathroom that was difficult to get into as it was so small.

Very poor service at dinner, staff were nice but seemed overworked and disjointed so lots of running around while you were kept waiting ages for anyone to come over. Quite a frustrating meal experience. Asked for 2 rooms close together which they confirmed, yet placed at opposite ends of the hotel with no explanation or even acknowledgement. Woken up at 645am on Saturday with fire alarms going off, which really ruined the weekend, so we all had breakfast and set off home to get some rest. Not a relaxing break it was meant to be.

Beautifully decorated hotel very individual n lovely touches like the pantry. Lots of staff n very friendly but not always efficient eg took drink/food orders then disappeared. Spa staff and treatment excellent.

The main building is nice. We booked a Heritage room but we were given a small hut in the carport. It seems it had been converted from a storage unit. The room was tiny, badly insulated, badly laid out and lacking in amenities. There are no fans or air conditioning and given the proximity to the car park, noise was loud and early.