The Relais Cooden Beach

The hotel management team and staff were excellent, very professional and always helpful. We booked a Seascape king room which was beautifully decorated and immaculately clean. The hotel itself is situated right on the beach, with its own private terrace area and private lawn with deck chairs and sun loungers for guests to relax whilst being waited on. There is a good selection of food and drinks on the menu, and the food was excellent.

We decided to dine outside on the terrace area, and whilst there was approx. only 25% of tables occupied, it took staff around 20 minutes to take our order for drinks, which we felt was quite slow. I did pop into the bar area to order a drink however the bartender informed me that he was too busy to serve me and that I had to wait to be served by staff on the terrace. This is a small gripe for the purpose of constructive feedback, and is not a reflection of the service as a whole, which was impeccable. We would strongly recommend this hotel and we will be back.

Every member of staff, no matter what their individual role in the hotel were so friendly and extremely helpful. Nothing seemed too much trouble. You could not fault the location. Why go abroad when you can stay in such a beautiful place....with free parking!

It is a very old property, and the layout of the rooms was very confusing, but I was only there for 2 nights and was getting to know my way around by the various art on the walls! I really only have one proper complaint. A fortune has been spent on the refurbishment, but someone made the mistake of installing basins without an overflow. The decision has been made to not allow residents to have a plug in the basin incase the basin is allowed to overflow. Though part of me understands this I found it very inconvenient and an extreme waste of water

The staff were charming, well trained and unobtrusive. There are some lovely touches in the decor- the arched doorways, simple undesked reception and window screens. Lovely big bed with beautiful linen, great shower and a good breakfast with a serene view of the sea. For an old building it was remarkably sound proofed between floors and there was no noise intrusion from other rooms or plumbing!

There wasn't anything to dislike but a little constructive criticism would include the need for additional spot lighting in the room and bathroom - both mirrors were unlit and I need all the help I can get.. The room door needs an excluder strip to cover the 350mm gap which let's the bright hall light in, but these little snags are easily remedied. Hotel alterations are still ongoing and it will be lovely when finished but the hotel's prices aren't yet justified, particularly without gym facilities, and it lacks the feeling of it being quite special enough. Smaller, more boutique, hotels can get away with less when there's that sense of quirky style or luxury; perhaps The Relaisbis just falling between types at the moment.

The location of this hotel is brilliant, right on the beach! It's also been refurbished and the rooms are really comfortable and stylish. I loved the bathroom and its black fittings. Was also worth paying extra for the sea view. The bed and pillows were good quality. Staff were friendly and welcoming.

The terrace for drinks was beautiful but it was a confusing system of ordering (at some times you could order via staff and other times you had to queue up inside and there it took ages). It wasn't clear what you had to do. Being able to order from staff outside would be more efficient and pleasurable. The drinks menu could be better - some local beers and drinks, and more non-alcoholic beers and some mocktails. It would be great to see a local independent hotel like this serve more local drinks and locally sourced food. The meal in the restaurant was fine but not worth the price tag - choice was a bit limited (especially for vegetarians) and the quality wasn't quite what the price would suggest.

Rooms were very comfortable and clean. Hotel was lovely too. Staff very friendly and helpful.

The main thing to complain about was the breakfast! The hot breakfast did not include toast, juice, tea or coffee!! We had to pay extra!! The continental did include tea & coffee. We have never come across anywhere you have to pay extra for tea with a cooked breakfast!! This was very disappointing! I usually have a herbal tea which doesn’t need milk & just hot water! paying for this seems really mean when it’s not included in the price of breakfast!!

The hotel has recently been redesigned and rebranded and the results are amazing. The décor throughout the hotel is stylish, modern and elegant. The quality of the food in the restaurant is excellent and the staff friendliness and service is second to none. Being in the bar, lounge and restaurant areas is like being on a luxury cruise liner and there are beautiful views of the sea and the beach. This hotel has certainly gone up-market over the last year or so, and, as one would expect, so has the cost of staying at the hotel. It is certainly a great place to celebrate special occasions.

We absolutely loved The Cooden Beach. The weather outside was frightful, but the fire inside delightful. It was warm, cozy and very welcoming. The staff were so lovely and helpful. We mostly ate inside the hotel having visited family in the area during the day. The food was delicious. Everything we had was exceptional. The staff couldn't do enough. It was lovely talking to Ben S. Andre was fabulous at dinner. Robert at breakfast. And the Reception and Housekeeping team super. Thank you to all of them for making our stay perfect.

It was all perfect.

Helpful friendly staff. Good service. Comfortable room.

our room overlooked car park/railway station which was not great outlook. The design of the bathroom is poor. The shaving/makeup mirror is in a poorly lit area. No shower gel. Plumbing not thought out a hose trails across the bath. The shower squirts all over the window sill and blind. The advertised bath robe was not available. No make up area in bedroom. The layout of the room was not conducive to tucking our suitcase out of the way. Signing could be better I thought reception was a work station for commercial travellers. Finding our room was not straight forward. You have to guess where the car parking is situated. Bathroom too hot.

Lovely clean comfortable hotel. There is a wonderful patio/ outside seating area for drinks or food. Really lovely on a sunny day. Great breakfast! The room was clean and comfortable. The shower hot and strong.

The beach had black oily stuff in the mud. Also hard black stuff near the sea. I got some on my shoe, i must of touched my eye and it was extremely painful which became red and swollen.

Very helpful and friendly staff. The refurbished room was very well done and had all the facilities that you want. Breakfast served until 10am with a great range of food. Beach front location is great and just a short drive (2 miles) into Bexhill... it's also right next to the station (not that you hear the trains) for services to London Eastbourne, Bexhill and Hastings. I would expect to score it 9 (Superb) or 10 (Exceptional) when the hotel refurbishment is complete.

There is a major refurbishment taking place which is looking great... so there is a bit of disruption but it is kept to a minimum with a continued focus on providing an excellent service.