Nightcap at Sandringham Hotel

I loved the location, dining options, comfortable bed, view, complimentary items in the minibar, and the free drink and meal discount at the bistro downstairs. The only downside was the number of stairs to walk up in the accommodation.

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Loved the convenience for a nearby function we were attending.
Receptionist was super friendly and informative. The room was comfortable and perfect for our short stay. Rooms are above the restaurant and bar and slightly noisy with people coming and going but very quiet once the venues closed for the night.

It was okay, stairs a problem

Loved being able to see the bay and the many things going on in the streets around the hotel. Really enjoyed the food at the hotel
The stairs to the rooms are pretty steep and difficult to drag your suitcase up them. Not good for those more elderly or disabled. Need a lift. Unfortunately the people in the 2 rooms on either side of us didn’t stop talking and their doors banging closed as they visited each other to after 4 in the morning so sleep very lacking.
Also the queen bed was too soft

Fantastic service from the young girl that checked us in & arranged our taxi.

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The room was nice, but you get a double and single bed which is strange. Chair is not ideal for sitting and reading but plenty of room. Place was clean. Shower very nice bit bathroom a bit old and disorganised. Overall a pleasant spot to stay for the nice small Sandringham beach and hotel gives you 10% off meals whoch is handy.

Dragging bags up two flights of narrow stairs.
Limited dining - no breakfast

Location was great, just across from the beach, but that is about it as far as positives. Sheets were clean, but room itself and the bathroom were very grotty.
We decided to use the complimentary drink voucher downstairs at the hotel, thinking that may be a better space than the room. It was filthy. Food scraps from tables over the floor, tables left uncleared with dirty dishes.
I really wish I could say something more positive, but the whole place felt like it needed a deep clean and a total overhaul . . I thought / hoped that maybe we caught them on a bad day, but after reading a few reviews (my fault, something I should have done beforehand) it appears not.
Sorry guys, but it was just yuck.

Floor had not been vacuumed there was broken up crisps all over the floor
I immediately went down to reception. The guy came and vacuumed it himself.
Overall very tired and grubby rooms
The manager was informed and they offered 10% discount on food in their restaurant

Great area and we liked the easy access to the waterfront plus food options. BUT this property needs a whole lot of love to come up to higher standard. Especially a good spring clean, attention to aircon and some general updating overall for the accommodation. Alas, not a place we'll stay at again.

Easy stay. Worked well

Very handy location

The hotel is quite elderly, and showing its age. The shower head is great, and the bed is very comfortable, and both deserve their spots of the best thing about the hotel room in which we stayed. The room itself, however, is looking quite tired and in desperate need of a little TLC to bring it to life. The cracks and small holes in the walls need filling and the walls repainting, removal of hooks that apparently have no purpose, retiling the shower, and replacing the toilet and toilet roll holder as both were broken and hanging on by a thread (the toilet lid fell off completely at one point, and after several attempts at replacing it we gave up, and the toilet occasionally refused to flush at all). There was a box of tissues, some spare toilet paper, and a hair dryer in the bathroom.

Additionally, replacing the bathroom furnishings with something a little more modern with more space for items wouldn't go astray. While I'm dreaming, the little walkway outside the window could be converted into a balcony to allow people the chance to sit outside and have a slightly better view of the ocean (despite being closer to the air vents and a/c units for the bistro downstairs).

The hotel information stated that all TVs in the rooms were smart TVs, and that you could sign into your own Netflix account by pressing the Netflix button on the remote. After some time wasted trying to figure out why were couldn't find the Netflix button, or any Netflix option on the TV (we found Browser, Twitter, Facebook, and Picasa options, none of which did anything), we called reception to explain how we could get Netflix working. A staff member came up to help, but even she couldn't get it working, and offered us a voucher to make up for the lack of this advertised offer, which was very kind of her and the hotel.

Strangely, the hotel room didn't have a room safe, which I thought very unusual. I don't think I've stayed in a hotel without a room safe before (though I can't say I've noticed room safes in the motels I've stayed at for work), so we had to carry our valuables with us whenever we left the room. The staff did offer to keep items for us, though.

The walls are very thin, and the windows looked to be single glazed, meaning that there was a lot of noise from the hallway, the adjacent room, the a/c units and the street throughout the night. The noise level wasn't too loud, and would be fine for a heavy sleeper, but as a light sleeper I didn't find it easy to fall asleep and was awoken several times during the night from doors banging down the hallway, or people talking in the hallway before going to their rooms.

There is limited room service available via a QR code, and I couldn't find a list of times when it was in operation. It seemed to operate outside of meal times, which seems to be counterintuitive, as generally people want to eat meals at meal times. We could walk down to the bistro and get them to deliver food to the rooms during quieter times, even if the room service website wasn't in operation. Apparently, there is also meant to be a breakfast box that you can get daily, but you have to go to reception and ask for it. These breakfast boxes don't cater to people with food intolerances, so we didn't ask for any. The mini fridge did have a few cans of soft drink, and several bottles of water, which were complimentary. There were also complimentary original Tim Tams in with the tea and coffee offerings. The room had various glasses and mugs, as well as a kettle. There were two outlets with USB ports, allowing up to four items to be charged at once, while still being able to plug in additional items (such as the kettle) - one below the TV, and one at one of the bedside tables. We were also given two complementary drink vouchers, which we used downstairs at the Grillhouse - both meals on the first night at the bistro were excellent. The Grillhouse is certainly a popular venue!

The light switch was in an odd place, part way behind the bunk beds in the room, rather than adjacent to the bed, and I'd imagine that a family with children might be asking the child in the downstairs bunk to be switching off the lights at night for them! The neon lights lined the wall above the bed, which was set behind a nicely decorated niche, but this feature sits out a good way from the wall and we occasionally knocked our heads (despite me being of average height) on it when trying to sit up and watch TV from the bed. It really could do with being higher up.

There was also no way to contact reception from the room as there was no telephone in the room, and walking downstairs wasn't an option as the desk rarely had anyone there. There is a phone near reception which seems to call the bistro, and it looks like they send someone from the bistro or sports bar to the reception desk. In the end, I found the quickest way to contact reception was just to call the hotel number, and speak to whoever answered.

There isn't a clear star rating for this hotel on their website, but it certainly has the feeling of a two star hotel, which is a shame as with a bit of work (and a modern makeover), this hotel could really be a great place to stay. As it is, it's a nice enough place to stay if you are happy with a 'cheap and cheerful', if aging, room with relatively limited service (though the staff at the hotel were excellent). But the bed and the showerhead were amazing - they were definitely the best thing about the room!

Great staff.

We did enjoy the location very close to the rail station and parking right outside

Great location - across the road from the beach.
Neat and tidy accommodation for a 2-night stay to attend a wedding. Dinner at the pub downstairs was excellent. All the staff were friendly and helpful. Highly recommend.

Good service

Rooms were clean, beach views
Great location walking distance to shops
Beach just across the road
Lots of free parking available
Reasonably price
Highly recommend