I stayed at the Ilfracombe House for seven months whilst working in Southend, and it was a real "home from home" for me.
I originally booked it for just the first week of my stay, but had no hesitation in making a long term booking straight away. The initial plus points for me were the friendly atmosphere in the hotel and the quality of service, where nothing was too much trouble.
The rooms are nicely furnished and very well equipped, with Sky TV, dvd player, hairdryer, mini fridge etc (I have stayed in many of the rooms in the hotel over the months). I also stayed in one of the apartments for a week when my son came to visit, and found it very roomy and comfortable. An apartment would be ideal for a family or maybe two couples staying for a few days. When you look at other prices in the area, both the hotel rooms and apartments also represent really good value for money.
As someone who was working in the town and sometimes quite late, I often found it useful that I could get something to eat in the hotel up to eight o'clock at night, and of course it has it's own bar with a recently installed plasma screen tv. There is also another lounge area away from the bar with it's own tv too. Many guests on holiday seemed to really appreciate the late time that breakfast was available (I think it's 7:30 to 11:00), although I wasn't able to take advantage of that myself.
I always used to drive to Southend, and as the hotel is just ten minutes walk from the town centre, I was always able to leave my car on the hotel car park during the week. This is a big plus, as parking in Southend and Westcliff is both scarce and expensive.
Not being there on holiday I'm not really the best person to comment on the resort's attractions, however, I did go into Southend or Westcliff to eat most evenings and there is a pretty wide range of good restaurants to choose from. The hotel is situated midway between both centres and approximately 300 yards from the seafront.
During my stay there I have met many fellow guests, working people staying on their own there, couples and families on holiday and several large family groups staying over for weddings or birthdays, and I can honestly say that all seem to have received the same friendly welcome and quality of personal service that I did.
In summary, I would recommend the hotel highly to anyone staying in the area, whether on business or pleasure, and would be confident that they would have an enjoyable stay.

M. Heritage, Cheshire

June, 2008

• Liked — Helpfull staff

The Ilfracombe Hotel is a very nice B&B, it's one that is almost a cross between a B&B and a full on hotel as it has a total of 20 rooms, a reasonable size dining area, bar etc.

The owners and staff are very friendly and helpful. The rooms are clean and have a bit of character to them which is nice. I have stayed here twice and went for a luxury room both times as it wasn't much more. Some people have complained about these rooms but they have to remember that this isn't some 5 star resort, take the rooms for what they are! The luxury rooms are meant to be a bit more spacious and a bit better than the usual rooms not some super deluxe suite.

The first time I stayed I had a four poster bed at the front, that room was very spacious indeed, the second time I had a smaller room at the back but still had plenty of space and was equipped to meet my needs.

It's 4 Diamon rated I believe which is a slightly different scheme to star but I think the prices are very good value.

Both times my room had a TV and DVD player, the first was a 21" coventional and the second was a 19" flat panel, came in handy as I brought DVD's both times to watch!

Breakfast is good quality and I also ordered some room service dinner this time which was quick to come up and was very nice too, homely cooking! and Burger, Chips, Salad, Garlic Bread and a pint of coke for less than £9, not bad!

Would definately come back here and would recommend to anyone.

• Liked — Friendly environment, cosy but with good facilities
• Disliked — Car park is small, 8-9 spaces for 20 rooms