My fiancée and I stayed at The Alfriston during the last weekend of half-term. The welcome was pleasant, and we appreciated the complimentary glass of wine. Unfortunately, almost every part of the stay had issues. Our room was small, overlooking the spa pool, with fairly standard amenities. Dinner was disappointing. The sole server was friendly but repeatedly forgot our order. Drinks took 20–30 minutes to arrive, the rosé was served warm despite which is quite bad when it costs £12–15 a glass. My salmon, broccoli and puffed rice dish (£25) arrived without the rice due to a delivery issue, leaving a very underwhelming meal. We were offered just £5 off the bill. Breakfast was no better. On the first morning, our eggs were overcooked and had to be remade (20 mins wait). On the second, it took around 40 minutes to prepare two sausages and scrambled eggs despite the restaurant being quiet. The spa was also disappointing, with no towels available and the outdoor pool full of children running and shouting. While it was half-term, don’t advertise it as a luxury experience if you allow it to be treated like a kids pool. At checkout, our concerns were initially met with little response, although a senior staff member stepped in and offered a resolution, which I appreciated. Perhaps we were unlucky, but the experience fell well below expectations. The highlight of the trip was the beautiful weather for the Seven Sisters walk.

Great!

Our stay was fantastic. We didn’t want to leave. Of course the bank holiday weather helped, but we felt we were abroad, eating outside and sitting by the pool. We were also extremely fortunate to have air conditioning in our room. The staff were all friendly and helpful. It was a wonderful hotel. 2 small things that would have made it even better, they ran out of towels in the spa but were offered an extra robe instead. And around the pool it might be useful to have hooks for towels, rather than people placing them on the sun loungers that they then weren’t sitting on. But these are minor niggles to what was a perfect night away.

Really lovely hotel with personal touches, efficient check in and lovely amenities such as the pool and gardens

We went to the Alfriston hotel to celebrate our anniversary The room was average not really up to our expectations Also the room was unbearably hot with windows wide open all night and the cheap pifco fan to try to keep the room cool which had little or no effect My wife had a swim in the pool and afterwards smelt like she had been swimming in a river We went to explore the village early evening had a very pleasant time in the quaint pubs Arrived back at the hotel at 2030 wanting to get something to eat to be told we could get a packet of crisps which was another disappointment The breakfast was ok could have been hotter But the staff were very pleasant But in all honesty for what we paid it was very disappointing and wouldn’t entertain paying to go back

Friendly staff, room was clean and very comfortable with good amenities. Food was very good, both dinner and breakfast.

staff 10 out 10 breakfast nice outdoor pool cold could do with a hot tub

Amazing welcome, lovely staff, beautiful grounds ! Would definitely recommend.

The hotel was wonderful, lovely bedroom and the check in staff were so friendly and helpful.

Incredible location, lovely staff and cosy room. The staff really made this place that extra bit special, they were so attentive and chatty it was lovely to talk to all of them. They really made our stay so much better than just the hotel itself which was beautiful!

Lovely property. Nice additional touches like the 4pm pour (free wine for hotel guests). Easy walk into the village or out into the gorgeous countryside.

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.