The Hythe Imperial - A QHotel - Hythe, United Kingdom 

The staff--in just about every part of the hotel--contributed wonderfully to our stay, and more than made up for the sorts of shortcomings commented on by other reviews here. After a problem with our booking, they found us what amounted to an ideal room; when we balked at dinner in the hotel dining room (which seemed to us a bit pricey), they eagerly recommended the very good seafood restaurant five minutes' walk away; the breakfast was terrific, and the service wonderfully attentive. It's an old hotel, and the chain that has taken it over hasn't done the major renovations that would be necessary to erase the effects of age: it reminds me, as an American, of places on the New Jersey shore. But the staff clearly is aware of these kinds of drawbacks and really go out of their way to make the stay delightful. The gardens in back are big and lovely, and the beach in front, while rocky, is very nice. The clincher for our gratitude to the staff came when our young son became ill with a virus he'd clearly brought with him, and they worked very hard to help us find very good medical care on short notice. They really made us feel at home. It's a fascinating, lovely area, and I think this a very good hotel from which to see it, especially if one doesn't bring to the place unreasonable expectations.

There was a large group of us staying here for a girlie spa break and we had a great time. Our rooms were all good, a couple were a little tired but all were clean and everything worked. The food in the restaurant was excellent and we were served for both dinner and breakfast by the same waiter who was friendly and happy to serve us. The spa treatments were excellent and the spa staff were really helpful when a couple of our party were running late and missed their appointments. The only downside was the rude barmaid who served us, she seemed annoyed that we had disturbed her by asking for drinks and we were left in no doubt that she was having a bad day at work! Overall though, we would come again as we found the hotel very charming and the (majority of) staff to be helpful.