Best Western Exmouth Beach Hotel, Exmouth

We were so confused by our stay. The hotel lobby, dining areas, outside areas and reception all had people speaking Arabic, most wearing a Dish Dash. The receptionist barely spoke English. The notice boards had adverts for English lessons. We didn't see any other guests and we were taken through the corridors and through a door that said "PRIVATE" before being shown to our room. The room was huge, although empty, and the bath was an incredible spa bath. All the corridors had a very strong smell of strong foods and spices. The hotel had a strange feeling and we won't be going back.

We booked last minute for a 2 night break in Exmouth. Must admit we had read the reviews and were not expecting much. We were just desperate for a bit of sun & sea air. However we were knocked out by this place. Firstly the staff. The guy on reception works all hours and was so helpful & knowledgeable about the area. Secondly the room, twin bed with a sea view. The view from our bay window was awesome & well worth the extra. The room itself was large & clean. The bathroom was also clean & the shower more than big enough (and I am not small or slim) with ample hot water morning & night. My wife had packed a hairdryer as some reviews suggested this was not available but we had one in our room. Yes the hotel is being refurbished & parts were tired but overall we were comfortable and I think we had value for money.

Staff were excellent. Very friendly and helpful. Hotel is being refurbished and workmen have left paint on carpets etc. Our room was large and cleaned when we requested cleaning. I cannot stress how much we appreciated the hardworking and helpful staff who tried so hard to make our stay as comfortable as possible.

On arrival at 2pm on 25 August my father and I initially found our bed had been made up as a double, so we requested a twin. This was initially resisted and the receptionist made us wait to confirm whether we had made a mistake on booking. On return to the room at 6pm, we found our room in a state of disarray, which we photographed (see images). It was also dirty and in a state of disrepair. The staff ensured our room would be made up on our return. At 11pm, we arrived back at our room and found for the first time there was no power supply to any of the sockets in the room. this meant we could not use our phone chargers, the TV or the kettle. It was too late to find another hotel. On leaving the hotel we complained firmly and politely. The manager, Aaron, agreed completely that our experience was unacceptable. However, he could not mitigate our disappointment as the call centre for Best Western (actually this is a franchise hotel) is in the far east. It was noticable that all the staff at this hotel were rather inexperienced (although very polite and generally nice). We have been in touch on 5 separately occasions to request the compensation we were promised, and now we do not get any answer from either Aaron or the BW care line. We have given every opportunity for this hotel to mitigate our disappointment over 2.5 weeks since our stay and so the only option to us is to make others aware of our experience at this hotel. On the positive side of things, the location was convenient.

We were worried after reading some reviews not being able to find much choice for our dates we decided to trust the Best Western name. on arrival reception clean and welcoming friendly staff. our route to the room did have shabby carpets but the refurb is still ongoing (would you fit new carpets before the workmen are finished . no!) Our room very clean, pleasant decor, nice ensuite with lovely large white fluffy towels and very comfortable bed. breakfast was superb with all diets catered for and plenty of choice.

The windows are screwed shut (see pic) no way to get out in an emergency, no ventilation in the bathroom or openable window so the smells linger, the electric towel rail doesn't work and as they didn't clean the room each day as requested the towels are still damp from the day before adding to the odour. Beds are well past their best and uncomfortable with a thin horrible pillow. The shower doesn't drain properly leaving a large puddle, the carpets throughout the hotel are disgusting as are the walls and ceilings (see pic). Breakfast is limited to a fry up, cereal, a bowl of mixed fruit which looks like it been there for weeks or a yogurt on tables that are far too small and more screwed shut windows?? What's all that about?? There is nothing good about this place. Reception didn't seem that bothered when we checked out and other guests we met as we left with we're leaving earlier than booked.