This is about the 12th time over the years I have stayed at this hotel. Firstly it was for work and then for personal trips back to the area to see family and friends. I now don't look anywhere else, as I know the facilities on offer and am more than happy. I asked if I could have a ground floor room and when I arrived I was given the perfect room on the ground floor. Dinner was very nice and I thought a good price. Limited menu but I think this is the same in most places. Breakfast had changed since the last time I visited, was order and they cooked it, but now they have gone back to self service. But was still very nice and there was plenty on offer. Staff were friendly and nothing was to much trouble.

Nothing. Was as expected.

Nice hotel, very spacious room, and very comfortable bed. Very clean and a powerful shower. The late check-in was a real bonus as our ferry to Newhaven didn’t arrive until late. The guy who checked us in was lovely. Fan provided in the room which was a bonus as it was really hot. As we arrived late we didn’t use the bar or restaurant so can’t comment on that.

No plug socket near the bed, which we needed for medical equipment, but luckily the plug just about reached another socket in the room. I am sure if we’d asked for help they would have found a solution. Decor a little old-fashioned but wouldn’t put us off because everything worked as it should.

Nice hotel in a quiet location. The rooms are spacious with a desk and seating area. The bed is very comfortable and I like that we had plenty of pillows. The bathroom has a bath which is always a plus. Everything was clean. The decoration may be a bit outdated so this may not be for people looking for something very modern. There is a huge parking lot. Although there was no specific facilities for motorcycles, due the its location parking our bikes felt safe. The hotel is close to a dual carriage way and a motorway but you hear no noise from them. The location is also quite far from anything else. They have a bar but the restaurant was closed as it was a Sunday, something we were aware of. The nearest food and shop is a service area not too far away but you cannot walk there.

Lovely grounds and setting, but a little remote as it is set a way back from the main road. Ideal to take your dog, as nice walks around the hotel. Very well signposted from the main road. Good layout with many rooms on the ground floor. Comfortable beds , and very quiet, so we had a good nights sleep. Several rooms with twin beds, which we often struggle to find available. Spacious rooms and bathroom, but a little ‘tired’ with the decor, but nothing major. We didn’t use the breakfast or restaurant facilities. We did arrive early, (approx 1 pm) and thought we would just try to see if the room was available early. Unfortunately there was no one on reception. The only staff member we found was a maintenance man. He was very helpful and radioed through to someone who said the room wouldn’t be available until 3pm (but this was ok, as we expected it) The only other slight issue, was the ‘drain like’ smell in the reception area during the evening. Not a major issue ! I had read other comments in the reviews regarding this. Unfortunately we think it was coming from outside, in the surrounding area, as we noticed it as we drove closer during the evening. I think the staff had tried to camouflage this smell with air fresheners etc (so they were trying their best to resolve it). No smells in the room though. I would however recommend this hotel and we will definitely be staying again in the future. Nice friendly staff. Great price.

The room was well decorated and complete with everything needed for our stay.The fan was an added bonus as the temperature outside was quite hot.Check in was smooth and receptionist was courteous and attentive.Lovely and quiet throughout the hotel.Would definitely stay here again if in the area.

No food available in the restaurant for evening meal.Very limited bar drinks available.No lager other than alcohol free.Poor girl on reception was covering check in bar and seemingly everything else.Credit to her for staying calm attentive and professional.

I have stayed at the Hickstead several times over the years for work and personal trips. Great location for me close to Brighton and Haywards Heath. Love the setting very quiet. Staff are always fantastic.

For the first time I was disappointed with the cooked breakfast. Bacon was very over cooked. my poached egg was over cooked and was basically a hard boiled egg. Black pudding was over cooked. My wife had scrambled egg which was a large chunk it looked like it had been cut off of a large lump. Toast was warm bread rather than toast. Son's poached egg was over cooked and was a boiled egg. The rest of what was on offer was excellent.

The hotel is located in a quiet location which we liked and there was plenty of parking. The staff were excellent.friendly, helpful and always had a smile. We had dinner at the hotel and it was very nice. It was hot and nicely presented. The choice at breakfast was really good. We have slept in more comfortable beds, but it was okay. The room was clean and spacious. The bathroom was again clean but a little tired. Having stayed for two nights, it was a very pleasant experience and would stay again.

There was nothing we didn't like

We were arriving late (post midnight) and were greeted by the night manager, Michael, who was friendly and helpful throughout. Not only did he get us checked in to our rooms smoothly, but he was also happy to oblige us at the bar, keeping us topped up for a couple of hours whilst we caught up with the day. Having travelled down from up north, and then played a gig in Brighton, without any chance to have a beer and a chat, this was absolutely ideal for us, and very much appreciated. The rooms were very quiet, and spacious, and suitably comfortable. The surrounding area was quiet, and we had no concerns leaving our gear stashed in the van overnight - it felt secure. Would recommend.

The breakfast finishes at 9:30am which was far too early for us! However, there are places in the nearby town to get breakfast, so it's really not that much of an issue.

The property is in an ideal location for our requirements and we do intend to revisit the hotel in the future.

I'm afraid breakfast experience was close to being a disaster. We arrived at the dining room at approximately 0915 hours and the staff were overwhelmed by the demand. There were no sausages, the remaining black pudding were almost crispy, there were no glasses, there was only scrambled egg available, some tables had cutlery missing so guests were retrieving their own from adjacent empty tables.

The hotel was on lovely grounds (sunset sucker here), I think the ladies name was Rebecca (I’m the one who mentioned the staffi and used to work in a hotel) she was an absolute credit to the hotel! So warm and friendly and every time I went past she made the effort to talk. Thank you to her because it made the stay! The room was 120 and was really nice and cosey! Bed was really good as I have back problems! Nice and quiet!

The only fault would be the fan in the room. The plug didn’t fit in the wall socket (one prong was bent so wouldn’t fit) room got rather warm and because there was a bush right outside the window I didn’t want to open it due to bugs (classic ey)