The Alfriston

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.

Beautiful property in the countryside. Staff all very welcoming and friendly. Spa facilities were clean and had a very relaxing atmosphere. We also used the restaurant and the food was amazing.

We visited here on our honeymoon and had a lovely stay. No upgrades or special touches which was unfortunate, but it is a lovely hotel that had recently been upgraded. The food in the restaurant is great, but service was a bit slow. The pool was lovely but sadly no hot tub

Most I've used a hotel services in a while, and all was exactly what I needed for my stay. Very relaxing vibe.

Great location and facilities

Wonderful hotel with fabulous design, brilliant people and gorgeous setting.

Amazing place!

Lovely property. The reception

We had a fabulous night here, it is much improved since the recent renovations. The new decor is beautiful, even in the 'classic' room which was cosy but perfectly formed. Lots of lovely little touches like glass of wine on arrival, Madeira port in the room, snacks available on request. The spa was small but lovely. Breakfast was very good quality but a little chaotic at 9.30 on Sunday morning - suspect there are a few service glitches still to be ironed out since the reopening - but otherwise the service was top notch, they couldn't have been more helpful. We will definitely be back.

Very cosy comfortable and friendly

This was my first visit to this hotel albeit in extreme weather conditions.It was a 1 night business stay. Staff friendly and helpful.Excellent value for money given the facilities in the room and the inclusion of breakfast in the room rate.Only 2 slight niggles - I had a pint og Long Man cask ale which was past its best(only fully realised this when I had a pint of the same beer at a pub in the village.Cost of the evening meal in the restaurant was quite high at ca. £46 (may be an expensive area?) - this was for a pint of beer, a large glass of wine, a starter and a main course at the cheaper end of the menu.However,apart from the aforementioned beer everything was very good.I would certainly recommend this hotel to anyone who needs to stay in the area.

Very friendly and helpful staff, great location for the Downs and Cuckmere Valley, had a great stay

Need to sort out water supply not good draining an ocean to get hot water

The hotel was lovely the staff were super friendly Ideal location Fabulous food Lovely room

We had a lovely few nights at Deans Place, the grounds are immaculate with a pool also which was lovely to make use of. The food was very good and staff very friendly. The rooms are a bit tired in places and a few cobwebs here or there but a lovely hotel and all the communal areas and grounds are very nice

Just lovely slightly shabby chic country house hotel. Stayed many times. Just live it. Dog friendly great for Glyndebourne CHANGE NOTHING.

Wonderful pool, had a great stay.

Lovely grounds, public areas. Corridor to downstairs bedrooms needs decorating but bedroom itself very nice.

Lovely view from ground floor bedroom. Excellent breakfast. Helpful staff

Been going to Deans Place for years on our annual Glyndebourne visit. It’s just a great country house hotel in a beautiful village in the middle of the S Downs national park. It’s a bit tatty at the edges, the food is predictable and chic it isn’t. We just love it as it is and pray that it does not get boutiqued… for us 5 star

This place is beautiful on the outside, and the experience inside does not match the exterior. Rooms are dated and in need of refurb, and food pretty underwhelming. The price paid for the room is not good value, and they get away with charging this due to the amazing location and setting.

Helpful, friendly welcoming staff, lovely comfortable room, delicious dinner and most generous breakfast.

Very comfortable hotel in a beautiful location. The food was excellent, too, can’t fault it.

Another stay at Deans place, always an enjoyable place to stay with a warm welcome and excellent staff

friendly and accommodating staff

Staff were delightful, friendly and efficient, the hotel and grounds are lovely, breakfast was great (we did not dine) the village gorgeous and we look forward to another visit.

Staff are very friendly and helpful. Loved the breakfast. Set in beautiful surroundings.

We stayed for one night. Room was clean and well furnished. Breakfast was good. Staff were nice and friendly. The only thing I would say is bathroom needs some repair and improvement.

Clean but rooms I had I had 2 were dated

Very friendly and helpful staff.

A comfortable stay in a nice setting. The hotel needs a refurb TBH, but to be fair this is reflected in the pricing and the warmth of the welcome makes up for the decor being a bit dated. Room was clean and spacious and bed comfortable with nice sheets. Good English breakfast. Nice bar. Pool was a decent size and felt warm (to my hand). Lovely garden.

Hotel is in need of renovations, rooms are small and do not have air conditioning. The grounds are lovely but the swimming pool needs cleaning. The dinning room and bar area and spacious and comfortable.

Lovely country house hotel. Food only ok and hotel a bit tatty but location and ambience trumps this

The staff was super helpful and friendly. We arrived late (after 10pm) and had no problems checking in. The room was clean and the bed was very comfortable. Considering we got the economy room, it was very good value for money as very spacious. Lovely breakfast too.

Comfortable and very friendly

Great location on the edge of Alfriston, with a lovely walk through the gardens into the village. Hotel has a heated swimming pool with views of the downs in the background.

My room was lovely, very clean, bed was comfortable, but could just do with a little bit of updating. The actual door to the rooms in the section I was in, could just do with a lick of paint. The hotel in itself though is charming. I would stay again.

Unique, lots of character, charming.

We've stayed in this hotel a few times over the years, and so pleased it managed to stay afloat over the pandemic. Firstly critical points: the hotel bedroom we stayed in looked a bit tired - particularly the paintwork needs attention. This trip (May 2022) the meals served in the bar weren't up to the usual standard, so not sure if they've lost kitchen staff. That said, the breakfast was absolutely delicious. In spite of these criticisms we felt that the hotel more than made up for the shortcomings by the great friendliness and helpfulness of the staff and the fact that the rooms and hotel were very clean. The hotel is in a beautiful location, and from the heated outdoor swimming pool you get a wonderful view over the hills. Wonderful to lay on the lounger in the sun with eyes closed, G&T in hand, just listening to the bubbling of the water filter and birds - could have been anywhere in the med! Unfortunately, the hotel no longer offers mini golf but this trip there was table tennis available for guest use which was great fun.

Very comfortable rooms and fantastic outside areas.

The stay was overall pleasant with friendly & helpful staff. The room I stayed in looked like it needed updating as seemed tired & in need of refreshing & the out look to the courtyard wasn’t the best & the light in the room needed to stay on as quite dark. The rest of the hotel was nicely decorated especially the dinning hall. It was a nice stay. Breakfast was very pleasant. Thank you

Quite enjoyable, would have been better if the weather was on our side. Staff were very helpful and friendly. Food was very good, hats off to the chef.

Lovely clean hotel. Grounds are beautiful even if we did visit in February. Staff were very polite & friendly, even the gardener was friendly. Was very quick when asked for extra pillows and then extra tea bags the next day. The only thing I was slightly disappointed with was it took over half an hr for breakfast to come the first morning but the second day it was self service buffet style. The Wi-Fi wasn’t the best but we were informed they are in the process of upgrading this.

Pleasant stay lovely staff Our first room was a bit tired so upgraded room was much nicer It was Valentines Day so there was a special menu which sounded delicious Unfortunately there was a problem with the kitchen which meant the service and quality of the food was affected quite a lot which spoilt the evening We were compensated for our inconvenience and we’ll definitely go back but it was disappointing

The host and staff were amazing, lovely food and excellent service, i will definitely book this hotel on my next visit to the area

Staff were outstanding as was the food. Room not a high of a standard

Was amazing, the hotel is so beautiful and the food was completely delicious.

Great stay over

Lovely location and building. Food outstanding.

We were very disappointed with our room, which was tiny and needed redecorating as it had peeling wallpaper and paint.The restaurant staff were efficient and friendly and the food was good.The reception staff told us we could book breakfast for 10am, but when we arrived it had all been cleared away. We were not happy although the waitress Kindly offered to get us something and advise that we needed to arrive by 9.30 ish. We have stayed here before and always been satisfied so this was a bit of a shock.

A comfortable stay with friendly and polite staff, breakfast was generous and delicious

Lovely hotel in a quiet village countryside setting. Staff were lovely, very welcoming and helpful. We had dinner in the hotel in the evening which was very good, as was our breakfast. Room was lovely, bathroom quite narrow and pipes made noises early evening and morning. Reported to staff when we left, who informed us that it may be due to an airlock and would address it. We plan to return to explore the beautiful surrounding area and would book here again

Always a warm welcome - it’s like catching up with old friends and so relaxing to unwind

Great location, friendly staff, lovely place

Kind staff, lovely room, great food.

From the front this place looks amazing, the garden and front of the hotel really are stunning. Sadly the bedrooms and some of the other areas including the pool are very tired and dated and in need of some real tlc.

Overall we had a very nice stay. We'd booked an 'unrefurbished' room which was dated but fine. Much bigger than expected. Plenty of towels etc. Quite a few cobwebs and dust but it didn't effect our stay. Service was great and the food was lovely.

A lovely family run hotel with lovely, friendly and accommodating staff. Beautiful grounds and pool with excellent covid safety measures.

We booked for a 2 night stay. There are refurbished rooms, and rooms that haven’t been refurbished, in this hotel. We were unfortunate to have been give an unrefurbished room. There was no indication of this when we booked. It was dirty (hairs all over the carpet) and very tired, with scratched walls, damaged paintwork and a dated bathroom. We offered to pay to get a refurbished room but none were available. We were given another room of similar, but slightly better quality (there was a half eaten biscuit visible under the chest of drawers though - so much for rigorous Covid cleaning!) The grounds and staff are lovely, however, and restaurant adequate. Given the quality of the rooms given to us, this is definitely not worth the amount paid (after complaining again, we managed to get a refurbished room for the 2nd night - this was much better, so if you must go to this hotel, make sure you get one of those).

Nice hotel, good location, great swimming pool. Bathroom and bedrooms need updating but they were clean.

Lovely hotel and friendly welcoming staff

Food was ok not great ,shower in room did not work .no plug for kettle near chest of drawers had to put kettle tray on floor to plug in.

My second visit. Contrast could not have greater. Cramped single bedroom and ensuite. Ceiling height so low in bathroom that I had to stoop to get under shower. (I'm only5ft 6ins) Toilet very difficult to flush. Meals, dinner and breakfast very good and service excellent. BUT room was so bad that my stay represented poor value for money.

A wonderfully friendly hotel in a beautiful setting, we had a wonderfully relaxing two-night stay. The hotel staff were attentive, efficient and cheerful. The room was comfortable, and although it was a little worn in places, it was clean and fresh.

Comfortable room and excellent service. Very good dinner, though tough muffin at breakfast. Lovely villiage: shame it rained all the time.

Super friendly staff, great food and champagne, beautiful gardens and lovely outdoor swimming pool . Beautiful village nearby. Highly recommend

Great service and a lovely setting. Staff attentive and food really great.

Comfortable and adequate. Location perfect for our needs. In need of some repairs and maintenance Breakfast food and service was average. Had to wait almost 30 minutes for cooked breakfast

Very pretty setting and great pool. Our room however very very small and in a very tired part of the hotel. Bathroom in particular needed upgrading and windows peeling paint badly and dirty net curtains. Telly had terrible sound quality (turned it off eventually as had to have it so loud felt we were disturbing neighbours). Room was so tiny we were disappointed as would have preferred something bigger and not cheek by jowl with next door room (doors make a real racket when shutting too so quite disturbing). Good breakfast and staff mostly helpful.

Charming hotel in a beautiful location. Good service and amenities, with helpful friendly staff. The grounds are lovely and perfect place for a relaxing break.

The pool was great, and so were the general areas. Food was appalling.

We stayed here on half term for close access to Drusillas - a 3 minute drive which is very handy. We were able to check in earlier than the normal time and staff were very helpful and friendly. The bar, restaurant and communal areas were very nice, recently decorated, quiet and relaxing. The rooms however are very dated. There is wallpaper hanging off, the bathroom needs renovation and the beds are terrible. The king size bed had two huge divots in them where they are so old and were very uncomfortable. These desperately need changing as they are so worn. The windows are old but the heating in the room worked very well so balanced out the termperature. The first night was very noisy with music between 8-10pm. Baring in mind we were in a family room and this was the start of bedtime! We thought it was a guest but then the next morning realised it was the bar/restaurant. We couldn't believe they'd play music so loudly knowing it could be heard throughout the rest of the rooms. There were also very strong cooking smells coming in to the room which was unpleasant. Due to Covid you have to book your breakfast timeslot and pick what you want the night before. This was handy and the breakfast area was quiet and easygoing. The food was very nice. The only issue was that there were no kids options (e.g. no cereal). Equally there is no kids menu for dinner but they said they could make 'whatever we wanted'. Overall a pleasant stay and area but not the best nights sleep.

What a super hotel. Great location, staff very friendly and all amenities provided.

Wonderful location for walking. Excellent food and cleanliness. Very helpful and friendly staff

The staff and food were exceptional but the rooms were a bit tired and dated. No drinking water in the room was also very strange.

Beautiful grounds to explore, lovely village.

Our stay was lovely. We have stayed here before and would stay again. The staff are good however the chap on reception was not as friendly as he could have been, maybe he was having an off day.

Staff and location are great. The bar and outside seating area is lovely. The pool area is small but fine. The room we stayed in was a family room and it was very dated with ripped wall paper and very old carpets but the room was clean and bed was comfortable. The room seemed appropriately priced for the area. There was an issue with booking, we booked a superior room on the day we were to stay but when we arrived they hadn't seen our booking and had sold out of superior rooms so that is why we ended up in the family room. It wasn't ideal but it was cheaper so we agreed.

Lovely and friendly staff, good social distance regs., I enjoyed eating dinner in the garden. Food is a bit steep but really very good and drinks are reasonably priced. Highly recommend, and I hope to go back in future.

Restaurant staff were friendly and welcoming, nothing too much trouble. Thank you. We enjoyed our stay and there were cleaning procedures in place.

Deans Place Hotel is in the most amazing location. Alfriston and the surrounding countryside is beautiful. The hotel is right beside the river with fantastic walking in all directions. The staff at the hotel are brilliant, and service was excellent at breakfast and for our evening meal. Food was cooked well and of a high quality, not huge portions. The room was a little over priced, it was small but decorated nicely. The bathroom was awful, very small and needed a refurb. We were celebrating our 30 wedding anniversary so would have liked something nicer. Room was very noisy all evening and doors kept banging, my husband got dressed and went to have a look and came back to report that we were above the kitchens and the staff were in and out banging the doors, if we were there another night I would have asked to be moved. The swimming pool was nice as it was very hot whilst we were there. The back of the hotel doesn’t look as nice as the front and looks like it needs a bit of attention. Overall I would go back even if just for the location and the wonderful staff but would ask for a different room.

Lovely period property with a great beautiful garden. Excellent, super friendly service. Good food. Our entry level room was very small which was not a surprise to me no not a problem. The bathroom needs a revamp even though - the shower furniture was brand new and very good quality but the bathroom is general very tired. Comfy bed so got a good night's sleep. Would definitely stop here again in the summer and take by swimmers and a good book with me - cosy little pool area.

Room was too hot.

This hotel is situated in a beautiful South Downs village: perfect for the Newhaven ferry Local fish dinner was good. . Comfortable room. Great night’s sleep and a breakfast to die for. Charming staff. We felt very safe with the COVID measures in place. We will definitely return.

We could not have asked for more, everything was perfect. James and Lucinda are very kind and nothing was too much trouble, it's obvious they love their job. The level of service shines through from check-in onwards. All the staff are professional and friendly. We cannot fault anything about our stay, this is truly a special place run by special people.

Simply wonderful staff, a real breath of fresh air! I would stay here again simply because the staff were efficient, caring & all of them seemed genuinely interested in making our stay as good as possible. The local beer in the bar was really good & I had the best Wagyu Cheeseburger I have had anywhere in the world. The hotel has a great family vibe, so rare to find as most hotels seem so corporate & run on a template rather than trying to serve the customer.

Shower was only cold did tell them in the morning and didn’t seem to bothered room was very tired aswell

Friendly staff, clean, comfy will return again.

Lovely location. So close to village. Bar, terrace overlooking garden nice place to relax. Good food in bar. Comfortable room.