The Nici

The small lifts

As I wrote to Poppy (no reply), I had already visited this hotel several times already this year and loved it. However, a mix up in bookings meant that when my daughter and 6 week old granddaughter, 93 yr old mother arrived on the hottest day of the year, the hotel had overbooked. Staff were unsympathetic - my daughter wasn;t offered so much as a glass of water. Very sad as this would have been my go to hotel as I live locally.

Staff, attitude to paying customers and lateness for rooms

Our room had a few problems - grottiness and lack of deep cleaning in the bathroom shower area. Staff were attentive to this though.

Unfortunately the room we had (garden suite) was very smelly. It cost a lot of money and we were slightly disappointed. We also did not have any subbed or seating on our private patio. All the others did. I had to make a number of called to reception to try and ask for this to be sorted. I spent 2 hrs trying to chase while also supervising a 6 year old who wanted to be in the pool. Very frustrating. In the end I had to go to reception in person so sort. They had no idea / record of me calling.

The pool which looked lovey before booking was filthy. Fully of sand, food, cigarettes and dirt. It was also a disgusting yellow colour. Around the pool had plasters and food waste which was not removed for the duration of our stay. I saw the same plaster for 3 days. It is worth noting they allow day guests. This resulted in the pool area being dangerously busy. Nowhere for hotel guests to sit. Why when the hotel is fully booked at half term do they allow this is beyond me. It feels so greedy.
Being a 5* you expect a certain standard and this was very much lacking. People drinking , smoking and acting like they are on a “lads” holiday round the pool. Made it feel like a cheap holiday destination.
I think day guests is such a bad idea and lowers the tone significantly.
I spoke to a manager about the mess and she just said we have been so busy. This I understand being half term however if you allow day guests when at capacity you need to manage this and clean the pool!
The next day there were still towels, drinks and litter all around. Plus pool was still fully of sand and litter. I have been to many 5* hotels and they have always cleaned the pool each night. I don’t think it is acceptable at all. She then also said they were short staffed.. again, then stop with all the extra guests.

I did also find all the dogs round the pool and sitting on sun loungers a little off putting , but that could just be me.

Staff just seem really miserable, we were a bit shocked at how miserable the staff were. We had dinner for 2, took an hour for the food to come out and when it did come out it was only my partners dinner that got served, mine had been forgotten. I sat and watched my partner eat her meal and then we decided to leave. We stayed in a room that was over £600 a night and we were shocked when we found out this didn’t even include a breakfast. On the last day we went by the pool and the lady who gave us the towels said “you’ve got until 1pm and then you need to leave” - no hello or good morning. The hotel has so much potential but it’s just the staffs attitude that ruin the experience.

Nothing.

Unfortunately - most of it.

The Manager and Customer Service Team.

Issue with our booking: the front desk didn’t pick up the phone, and after emailing the manager directly, I received no response for over a week. Terrible customer service, and a disappointing reminder that behind the sparkly social posts is a company projecting the aesthetic of hospitality without mastering the substance of it.

In the end, I booked The Gallivant in Camber Sands instead. Their team were warm, attentive, and genuinely delighted to have us. I’ve already rebooked for a girls’ trip. That’s what good hospitality looks like.

NICI is expanding quickly — multiple sites, growing brand, polished social presence. But you cannot scale a hospitality business on aesthetics alone. I’d urge leadership to look carefully at how customer relationships are being managed, because the gap between the Instagram image and the reality of dealing with management is significant.

Had we experienced good service, we likely would have returned repeatedly — as a family, for girls’ trips, and for romantic breaks across multiple sites. Sadly, we were let down from the very beginning.

Such a shame.

Far too busy. We arrived in the afternoon and there wasn’t even space to lay our towels on the ground by the pool let alone being able to find a lounger. Pool was shoulder to shoulder with people and a murky yellow colour. The hotel had clearly let too many day guests in for the amount of people staying in the rooms. The car park was overpriced. Staff ‘lost’ one of our bags (it had been put behind reception at checkout but then inexplicably returned to the room).

No pool service. Ran out of drinks and food at the pool bar