Hythe Imperial Afternoon Tea Parlour in Shepway

Don’t ever upgrade your room. Charged £360 for a room we were promised prior and were put in a different room by far less of a standard than the original one we were due in. And then lied to saying we don’t boom you in specific rooms. There an absolute con !!

Do NOT stay in room 205 when a wedding is on! The noise levels from the ballroom directly below room 205 from a DJ and or band is incredibly loud. The band may aswell have been in my bed, the noise was ridiculous. The bass from the music physically rattled the air con unit. Video here: https://youtu.be/D6cXgfigQ The spa area is cramped and run down as is the gym! On the positive side: The staff are friendly, the location is fantastic. Lots of parking available.

Amazing place staff are brilliant food great

The hotel itself is great and the staff were very friendly and helpful. The rooms were very well kept with a nice batholroom, and the beds were super comfy. However, the hotel itself is like a kiln. Very high temperatures. But very well kept. The campange bar was very nice with good music and great tasting cocktails. 🍸 yum! My only complaint really was the buffet breakfast. Was quite a disappointment. The food was of a low quality and reminded me of a standard travel lodge/ premier Inn breakfast. Pool was plesant and the steam room and jacuzzi was very pleaeemt experience.

Stayed from 30th March to 1st April. Room 106 was a ground floor accessible room. Meant the toilet was too high and we had emergency cable pulls at bedside tables and in bathroom. Felt like being in a hospital. No bath and the mirror lights didn’t work. Shower had inadequate pressure to wash long hair. There was a pungent smell which we were provided air freshener for. Apparently a serious drain issue. Workman were trying to resolve the drains which we witnessed the audio to throughout our second day stay. Room wasn’t cleaned until gone 4pm on our second day and dirty glasses were left. Nothing offered to make the unfortunate smell and upheaval up to us. Breakfast is serve yourself buffet. Not cooked to order. Loud noise of plates being stacked whilst tables cleared all around prepping for lunch. Poor welcome at breakfast. Not seen to a table. Then quizzed by staff of our room number after we’d already given it: . Pleasant enough but could do with updating. Spa very tired.

Room was not what we booked, staff kindly rearranged. We sat in the bar with our luggage for 75 minutes whilst they made a room up. Rooms keys stopped working at least once a day- repeated visits to reception. Room was meant to be cleaned daily. This only happened on our first and last day. Had to go to reception for toilet roll and water, the dining area for more mugs, tea, milk and spoons. By the time we left we had quite the crockery collection! When our room was cleaned, the mugs and spoons were not replaced with clean ones that had gone through a dishwasher or kitchen service, but were washed in our bathroom sink and put back by the kettle. We had spoons with hot chocolate still on them. Yea/coffee area was not clean. Towel rail didn’t work, four days of damp swim wear was not fun. The toilet did not flush/clear efficiently. We had to keep visiting the toilet in the foyer. Breakfast was poor, limited options. I had a very small and disappointing bowl of (microwaved) porridge, to then be told I would be charged £16! No menus, no signage, no prices stated. Limited vegan options. Oat milk was provided when requested but only enough for one coffee. When I asked (Porscha DM) to remove the remaining breakfasts from our stay, I was told that if we didn’t turn up we would still be charged! However, she eventually removed remaining breakfasts, as if she was doing us a kindness. Porscha was unhelpful, unfriendly, aggressively eyeballing me to win her power-stare battle until I left reception, and then chirped a curt “thank you!” as I walked away. I received a call from reception who attempted to charge my card for “hotel purchases to the room”. Thankfully my bank declined this. They had attempted to charge me £146 plus others for a meal and bar drinks which were not mine! I was firstly annoyed that they attempted to charge my card without permission. Secondly, it was for a bill that wasn’t mine. I did not use the evening restaurant or bar facilities. The receptionist (Evie) was great, and assured me that the payment would not be taken, however my bank WOULD have marked it as pending therefore my funds would have been inaccessible to me! I was shocked that such a large amount went onto my room without anyone double checking a room number? Seems anyone could easily charge a different room number. Afternoon tea was by far the best thing here. The chaps who serve are exceptional and very polite. We had a vegan and vegetarian option and both were excellent and value for money. The vegan option I received was different to the menu advertised which was a shame. Spa area is not pleasant. Advertised as a 4 star “luxury spa hotel”, it certainly is not. We visited 25+ years ago, the spa has not been updated since. Door handles and tiles are rusty/broken. Sauna smells bad, wood is rotten, fits two people maximum, and even that feels uncomfortably close. The steam room worked ok but again, maximum of 2-3 people. Scum around the seats. The floor isn’t clean. None of the showers work well. It all feels quite musty. I don’t believe the steam room or sauna are hygienic here. Changing area is not clean. Lockers are either broken or keys are missing. I can’t imagine what these facilities look like in peak season. Pool is ok. We stayed around 30 minutes. It’s not somewhere you could relax. Had an altercation with a local aquafit “lady” who told me to f**k off. She put all her items on top of ours on a sun lounger, then went to aquafit. When I then moved her items to retrieve mine she shouted across the pool (whilst still aquafrolicking!) Despite moving her items back for her, she still swore at me. Seems local lady thinks she has priorities. I didn’t expect to be verbally abused here, but it seems money doesn’t make manners! Again, staff were amazing when I informed them of her petty behaviour. Another local lady said she has a reputation of being abusive and rude, and that she was surprised her XXL dryrobe would fit around her massive “ego”. I will say all staff (excluding eyeball Porscha) were marvellous, cheerful and happy to help.

I have stayed at this hotel quite a few times, staff are marvellous and can’t do enough for you. Rooms are very comfortable and you’re guaranteed a very good night’s sleep. I recently attended one of their tribute nights and unfortunately was very disappointed, the food was ok, nothing special and the chicken breast for the main course was so tough you really needed a steak knife to cut it! Also the cost of drinks are so much more expensive in the bar where this was held, which is very wrong as the bar one flight of stairs down is cheaper and much more acceptable. The spa area is lovely, but is looking as though it needs a bit of TLC. All in all a lovely stay, but I would never attend another tribute night, far too costly for drinks and food not good value.

Great location, spa needs an update, but the staff, particularly Barney (spa) are amazing.

Hythe itself is a beautiful, quaint village that is yet unspoiled. There are still unique shops and businesses that haven't been overrun by the big chains, there is a market in the high street and fantastic festivals and farmers' markets in the surrounding parks and fields. The hotel is of a very high standard. The rooms are great, the breakfast is nice, the views are terrific, as the hotel is located on the sea front and there is a top notch Indian restaurant on-site as well as a spa and swimming pool.

Just pick up not much to say, as I haven't used it yet.

Had a lovely Xmas meal today. Staff brilliant.

Lovely hotel but wish it was dog friendly.

Great 5 star experience from arrival at front door to departure. Highly professional in all departments.

The worst hotel I have stayed at. I would rate the hotel 0 if I could. The pictures posted on the website are highly deceiving and the prices are extortionate for the awful service and quality of the hotel. During my stay at the hotel, the key cards did not work numerous times so I was required to get them reset, the cleaning staff left my room open after cleaning it which could have led to the loss of a number of expensive and valuable items. The cleaning staff also left dirty towels in my room. Alongside this, a member of staff from the gym was incredibly rude to me and ruined our stay completely and the manager took no responsibility for the gym even though it is part of their hotel. The bed gave me and my boyfriend back and ear pain, it was far from a relaxing break which was what was intended. Please save your money and do not come to this hotel, the gym is dirty and you will come out far from relaxed and rather distressed and upset.

I am very pleased with my stay at this hotel. Spa and tasty food. Spectacular staircase and hallway and the garden...

Had a lovely room with a great view of the sea. Clean, tidy with a comfortable bed. Decent breakfast with friendly helpful staff.

Christmas function - a group of 19 people and we were assigned to 2 long tables. Speedy service. We were in the same room as the dance floor, so quite noisy, but not as noisy as the other room which had a speaker playing over the tables. Drinks were expensive. Food was nice, it's always difficult to produce excellent food in such big numbers. Incredibly warm, everyone had to keep going outside to cool down!

This review is for the lounge and front service only. I did not stay at the hotel. Went for a weekend evening family drinks at the lounge and the service was lackluster and inexperienced. It was a busy night and there were a lot of us, so they did great in terms of serving quickly, etc. however, the young staff did not clear the messy tables, even after we'd finished our meals long ago. Myself and others had to get up several times to clear glasses and plates. The general atmosphere of the lounge is so lacking when you compare it to the hotel in general. Upon walking into the building I felt impressed and like I was about to have a drink in a fine establishment. However, inside was another story. The actual lounge felt like I was in a local social club or a generic, boring gastro pub. There was a nice Christmas tree but otherwise bland furniture, no artwork, impersonal bright lighting. No vibes whatsoever, so if you're expecting a high class night out, you won't feel it here. (Idid pop up to the champagne bar and that felt like it matched the exterior of the hotel much better, if a little bit cliched, it is still more modern and glam than the old lounge.) The bar prices are extortionate and they only have canned Guinness. You really expect more from a fine hotel. If I'm paying nearly 20 for a double G&T, I expect much higher standards of service and general experience. The food was more reasonable. I had a beef rib tagliatelle for about 17 I think, it was decent and about what you'd expect at that price point. Called a cab at the end of the night from the front desk and they had terrible communication. We asked to amend our cab order, which they didn't and we ended up missing the cab entirely. I wouldn't recommend this hotel overall based on this experience.

Went for a group xmas lunch so no rooms involved. Service was excellent from Lily and 2 young men from the bar and (I guess) a Manager who was very attentive and wanted to join our group photo. I don't think he did in the end, shame. The food was very good and the decorations were fabulous. On entering the ladies I was amazed that the toilet bowls had pink flowers on them, inside and outside. Never seen that before.

Spent an evening in great hotel bar with excellent food & service

Lovely one night stay, breakfast was great, room was fine overlooking the front so all good, booking in was no problem and leaving by 11am gave plenty of time for breakfast. Brilliant

Très très bon service ! La déco de Noël est wouaw ! On a apprécié le Tribute.

Went there for my 60th birthday, the rooms were absolutely beautiful, the staff were amazing, food was brilliant, had a great time,will definitely be back, me and my husband loved it here, 5 stars all day long.

Very expensive. But ideally placed for sea walks views. Gym very small, pool tiny. Golf course is exposed to the elements - when the wind picks up say goodbye to your golf balls!

Very good 4star hotel Clean and good location

Fantastic service and excellent facilities

Nice stay in a comfortable hotel with a good location easy walk to town. Nice to have a pool.

Great rooms, food was OK, drink was very over priced

Beautiful and very spacious hotel room with an amazing view of the seafront. The room service although a little procey was still fantastic with a really nice selection of food and drinks. The wine was lovely. Breakfast was superb in the morning also, its buffet style so help yourself to whatever you fancy in the morning. Cooked food as well as cereals and pastries were available so enjoy!

Turned up for our first time to the ocean restaurant in the Hythe Imperial hotel and went to the reception desk to ask for directions and was sent to the next window - no how can I help etc. the hotel ambiance and decor is lovely same cannot be said for the underwhelming and non creative food served. Sunday dinner was a big let down and seemed that some of it was warmed up so rather than crispy roasts we got a damp squib of potatoes. The sides were dished in separate dishes and it seemed looking around the tables no matter how many people were sitting every table got the same number of sides how bizarre. Very underwhelming and not what you would call a Sunday roast. The beef was sliced in a way which comes ready to cook and not off a joint. The starters were no better a bowl of mushrooms with no invention just boring bowl of mushrooms, the small quiche had no accompaniments and the soup was home made and the saving grace. The chef seems to have no invention or capable of cooking in a high end hotel. A number of staff looked and gave the impression of not wanting to be there and the drinks and food are so over priced. We won't be returning as there is no justification to advertise a Sunday roast when it clearly is not and the chefs have no creative or knowledge to make the dishes a wow factor.

Amazing place so relaxing the food was divine and the service was excellent

Only one thing wrong not catered for Disabled in the swimming Area . Stairs up to pool stairs in pool and jacuzzi where so high my husband couldn't swim with me or jacuzzi with me . We feel that disabled people like to enjoy there selves as well . We couldn't get a massage all full . That l was the reason we went to both enjoy the facilities. But was so disapointed.

Lovely room Netflix would of been an added bonus Lovely staff Lovely food

I was given a disabled room which I didn't want or book. I was then refused a refund from the Assistant Executive Director. She is very rude and blunt, and clearly doesn't put 'valued' customers first. My advice - do not stay at this hotel because if something goes wrong and you request a refund you've got no chance. The hotel isn't that nice anyway and is overpriced for what you get.

Perfect location right on the beach. Restaurant very good for nice evening meal. Good buffet breakfast with nice full English available. Ask fir fried egg or poached egg if scrambled isn't your cup of tea.

The hotel is well situated for the sea front and a 10 minute walk to Hythe High Street which has plenty of independent shops. We had brunch on day of arrival and breakfast on both days at a nice place called Sunshine Cafe at end of High Street. Would not eat at hotel. Breakfast is £17 which is a ridiculous price. Evening meal was a very limited choice. We ate in a nice pub in the High Street first night and the Waterfront restaurant on my birthday the second night. Would recommend the hotel if you can get a deal on room as good to use as your base.

A glorious stay in the Belcourt Suite, comfortable, clean, stunning views, perfect sunrises and sunsets and thank you for the birthday message for hubby. We were keen to stay longer😊. The hotel in general probably needs a bit of TLC as it has so much potential. A few little touches would of been spot on, happy to share with the hotel if they would like feedback. Thank you for a memorable stay for a special milestone birthday celebration.

Heel leuk hotel, mooie kamers, goede locatie. Vriendelijk personeel . Het 3 gangen diner was lekker. Lift stonk en veel te klein, dat was spijtig. De bar vonden we niet geweldig. Je kunt naar Hythe wandelen ca. 15 min, schattige winkelstraat....

Stayed here with my partner on the 4th October for one night and we’ve never felt more luxurious and homely. This hotel is really worth staying at, with great view of the beach 🏖️ its friendly staff, especially a lady named Hannah at the reception desk, made this experience very special and welcoming. The hotel is enormous with access to the swimming area as well as spa and a golf club. The food is fresh made on site and baked on site, absolutely beautiful. Will definitely be returning here again. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 star) review from me. Thank you.

The perfect location in a perfect place!

Great location on the seafront, with a large free car park and a pleasant 10 min walk into the town centre and Waitrose. Most of the staff were friendly, the room was fine but Aircon unit outside was quite noisy. The ground floor bar was very expensive, range was limited and decor was tired. Unfortunately the champagne bar was not open whilst I was there. However, Hythe has some lovely wine bars and pubs and the walk along the seafront was beautiful in the sunshine!

Prachtig hotel met vriendelijk personeel en een super kamer! Goed betaalbaar ook!

For such an impressive, historical, prestigious venue, one would expect better trained staff in the bar area.

Comfy beds. Excellent staff. Breakfast was disappointing for the price. Cream tea was nice.

My wife & I recently had an extremely poor experience, the room was dull, crockery looked like a charity shop donation and was chipped/damaged, the food completely devoid of flavour and a human hair in the sandwiches, topped-off with world class pricing! Thoroughly dissatisfied and the numerous local cafes on Hythe High Street offer far-better service, more pleasant surroundings at real world pricing. If you’re going to charge that much; you’ve got to be good. If you think this is good then you need to wobble you’re head! Furthermore, I originally submitted this review before reading anyone else's comments and so now feel the need to amend-it, this is the extra bit: HEY HYTHE IMPERIAL; YOU ARE CLEARLY NOT LISTENING TO YOUR CUSTOMERS! READ THE REVIEWS AND TAKE SOME ACTION BECAUSE IF YOU CONTINUE TO DO THE SAME THING, GUES WHAT; YOU GET THE SAME RESULT! We emailed the hotel the same afternoon to express our dissatisfaction with the entire experience and like others; received a fairly dismissive response. Well that's no problem at all, I certainly wont ever visit again and will recommend to my friends, family, anyone else that knows me, if you've got £50 going-spare, just set light to it, watch it burn for a few seconds, minutes if you're lucky and save yourself a whole load of time and effort to achieve the end result, if I could leave 0/no stars in this review; I definitely would!

I can’t tell you how disappointed I was on my recent visit to the Hythe Imperial. And even more disgusted by their response to our complaint.. It was a birthday surprise, and I was so delighted to be going first to the Moët & Chandon champagne bar then on for an afternoon tea. My first impression of the champagne bar was how very chilly and dark the room was, with no atmosphere. It was 1pm when we arrived and the weather on 31st March was dreadful. I have never felt so underwhelmed. Clearly no heating on and we were the only table in there. I commented on the lack of atmosphere and then the waiter started fiddling with the piped music ( loudly) until he settled on something that played loudly through speakers near us. We had to laugh .. The champagne was poured and swiftly followed by the card machine being presented to us. We have visited numerous top restaurants and never been presented with a bill until we’ve finished and asked for it. We told the waiter we were likely to have another bottle and he apologised and withdrew. When we wanted an other bottle we waited sometime, with clearly empty glasses and an upturned empty bottle, but we had to get his attention to be served again.. not the sort of service you expect at a supposedly 4* hotel .. when we went downstairs for our afternoon tea my partner let a member of the bar staff know we were there waiting. I went to the toilet and on my return my partner and friends were still in the bar. I asked why we were waiting and my partner jokingly said to the girl behind the bar” I think you’ve forgotten us” to which she abruptly replied “ no I haven’t “ and asked a young waiter to show us to our table. The stand of afternoon tea came out and I can only describe it as bland and basic. I have had better at out local garden centre!! We asked for another bottle of champagne and a jug of water. There was only 1 water glass on the table, and we had to get the waiter’s attention for more glasses.. Again 4* service? I don’t think so.. We didn’t make a fuss at the time, nobody wanted to spoil my birthday. We paid the bill and left, vowing never to return sadly. When I got home my daughter asked how I’d enjoy the afternoon and I told her the sad truth. She called the hotel and was told to write an email .. And this is the worst part, the response was so unfriendly , dismissive and totally lacked any customer care , it was appalling and basically accused us of wanting compensation.. !! I have subsequently read various reviews about the poor service , quality of food and total lack of customer care . I I can honestly say I am not one to write a harmful review , but the total lack of customer Care from the management at The Hythe imperial has forced me to warn others to stay away.. Enjoy an afternoon tea anywhere else and try one of the numerous other hotels, bars and restaurants who actually care about their customers..

Initially we thought we would start by having a drink in the champagne bar, but at £23 for one glass of wine we changed our minds! We then went to the downstairs bar which was significantly less expensive eg £40 for a very average bottle of wine. The bar itself was dark, dingy and tired looking. I was given 2 glasses and one was filthy, so by this stage I wanted to leave but unfortunately we had afternoon tea booked and were meeting friends. I complained about the glass and also the fact that it was a big, thick glass of such poor quality that if you dropped it, it would probably bounce! I was then given 2 clean glasses of a better ‘thin’ quality. The bar staff were unhelpful and unfriendly and I asked to speak to the manager but she didn’t bother coming over to address my complaints. We then went and had the afternoon tea. It was very average and the selection of cakes tasteless. On a positive note, the staff doing the afternoon tea were friendly and helpful, unlike their colleagues in the bar. I would definitely not recommend this place and I will never return.

We had afternoon tea at The Hythe Imperial. The quality wasn't great and the amount you get for your money was poor. We paid £80 for 3 afternoon teas. You do not get alot for the money, one sandwich each with 2 scones. No offer of more. Service felt rushed. I really expected a bit more ambiance too but nothing special here. Dated surroundings. Will not be back. And do not waste your money.

We were hesitant to book for Afternoon Tea here after reading several negative reviews. How pleased we are that we ignored these. We were given a warm welcome, the staff were attentive and the service excellent. The food was delicious: fresh sandwiches, with interesting fillings, warm scones with cream and jam, and a good selection If bite-sized cakes. We were offered as many tea refills as we wanted. There was plenty of free parking and the hotel itself is warm and inviting. We will definitely return.

We went midweek for afternoon tea at a cost of £22-95 each. We were so disappointed with the quality and quantity of food. The finger sandwiches were stale and felt like they had come out of fridge the scones were definitely not home made more like cheap supermarket scones and small cakes soggy

It was my mother-in law's birthday and we booked for a party of 5. We were very well looked after by the waitress serving us and a couple of dietary requests we had were accommodated without any fuss. The tea itself and the setting was excellent. Really good variety and quality and we were kindly given a box to take away any items we hadn't eaten. Each of us had plenty to eat. Staff at the hotel were very welcoming and the whole visit felt special. Excellent value and experience and I wouldn't hesitate to return with friends/family again.

We booked afternoon tea as a special treat whilst my mother was visiting, and it didn’t disappoint. We were greeted by Evie who was so happy and friendly and was on hand for the whole of our visit. Her manner certainly added to our experience. The sandwiches, scones and cakes were delightful, and we were given boxes to take home what we couldn’t manage. Presentation was great. A really lovely way to pass a couple of hours in lovely setting. We will certainly return.

We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary with a delicious afternoon tea at the lovely Hythe Imperial Hotel. We had a fabulous waitress, who despite being on her own serving outside, was helpful and attentive. She was also polite and respectful to a party who were 'demanding'. The gardens are beautiful and smelt wonderful. Highly recommended.

Vegetarian options are outrageous considering you still pay the same price as a meat eater and you have to give them 24 hours notice. They provided my friend and I with 3 options.. 1. cucumber and no cream cheese, 2. pepper, onion and lettuce, 3. tuna (which my friend requested for herself but I don’t eat fish). I pointed out that I had informed the people when I looked that I am allergic to onion, and that one of the cucumber sandwiches had a chunk of tuna on it so I wouldn’t be able to eat any of them and the waitress said ‘what do you want me to do’.. and then 5 minutes later said ‘the chef has offered to make you another sandwich’. I have never felt so inconvenient as a vegetarian before. Half way through the afternoon tea, the waitress came over and asked ‘how will you be paying today, cash, card or voucher?’ Which is honestly just so rude. We then felt so rushed and unwanted in there. We hadn’t even started on the scones and asking about payment is an encouragement to leave. The afternoon tea just looked tired and miserable. They serve them on these boring white plates and the tea in stained white teapots. There’s nothing fancy or exciting about it at all. Taking into consideration that the bathroom toilets have a beautiful pattern on the inside and out, I don’t think its crazy to suggest the crockery also have some form of pattern.

Had a lovely time having an afternoon tea the cakes and sandwiches where really tasty 😊

We have stayed at the Imperial a few times but this satay was not so good. It was my 60th birthday so my wife booked a 3 night stay. The room smelt of sewerage. There was no house keeping for the rooms. And the window ledge was piled high with bird poo. I did raise these matters with reception and my response was OK thank you. Hythe Imperial you must get the customer service and make your hotel great again. Ps please don't blame Covid for all these issues.

Lovely place to stay. The town has interesting novelty shops. Nice cafe's would recommend. Right on the beach. Canal walks as well.

Spa being refurbished, room dirty and customer service shocking - this isn’t a classy hotel at all, it’s terrible never again don’t waste your money

We’ve been staying at this hotel for about 7/8 years, always really enjoyed it. Sunday 1st May our son got married here, we had 80+ for ceremony and sit down meal, and around 170 in total for the evening. The whole weekend and the wedding day was amazing, we cannot thank the hotel staff enough, superbly organised, great food and drinks and an amazing venue. So many of our friends and family all said how great the venue was and our helpful all the staff were. All staff excellent, too many too singularly acknowledge but a very special mention for Georgia the wedding planner who has been so professional and so super organised to make the day go well, we couldn’t have done it without her expertise and enthusiasm. I recommend anyone to stay here and also have their wedding here, you will not be disappointed.

We booked a suite for a special treat for our 40th wedding Anniversary. Unfortunately they had wedding in the ballroom which was below our room. The bar in the hotel closed at 11pm so there was no option but to go back to the room. However the wedding didn't finish til 12. The noise was another level. The boom boom was unbelievable. I can't believe they can rent that room with that amount of noise !! Maybe they should look at that !!!

Excellent Hotel Restaurant Pool & Spa

Beautiful hotel. Considering this hotel has been recently renovated. I would say our room wasn’t the best. 306!! But Beautiful sea view though. Breakfast was disappointing considering how much it cost. No hash browns and no fried or poached eggs. There was chips!! And scrambled egg. This wouldn’t put me off going again.

I stayed for one night, while attending a wedding nearby. The staff were friendly and helpful, the room was clean and comfortable. The hotel is easy to get to by public transport if you don't drive. I wasn't able to try all the services as it was a short stay.

Had a Very nice afternoon tea worth giving it a try

Great place staff are friendly 15 of us went for a friends birthday.

Freundliches Personal... Zimmer sauber.. Tolle Lage... Gerne wieder... 👌 😎

My husband and I booked the Only Fools and Horses dinner and stayed the night in March. We have stayed at this hotel many times over the years but never attended a themed dinner before, the show part of the dinner was very enjoyable although we were less than impressed with the food served, we were also disappointed to be seated at a table with eight strangers (we had originally booked a table for 2 and were only informed this had been changed 2weeks prior) not quite how we wanted to spend our joint birthday celebration but made the best of it! We would especially like to thank Grace, very friendly and very hard working, from serving on tables, working in the bar and cleaning up spills in the lift, fantastic member of staff! We were very happy with our room upgrade to a sea view, and enjoyed a very comfortable nights sleep followed by a great breakfast. Thank you and look forward to our next stay.

Great hotel service and food we're very good. Although drinks very expensive

Staff were friendly welcoming always there to help it's beautiful inside and well looked after room was spotless very spacious outside had some where to walk about well lit up would definitely recommend with 5 plus stars

Great hotel, looks amazing from the outside as well the inside staff are very friendly, we had a view of the sea from our room, rooms were very clean had a safe, fridge and a telephone to call the reception which is very rare nowadays.

We spent 2 nights in the Hythe Imperial this week. It was a fantastic experience All of the staff were very friendly and welcoming. The hotel looked like it had recently been refurbished. Our junior suite was spacious, very comfortable and clean. Food was first class. All in all a wonderful experience.

Just a brilliant hotel. Not more you can say.

Very pleasant hotel, good facilities, easy parking

my wife and l were given a gift of afternoon tea from our dear friends last year. because of ill health and lockdown it has taken a long time to use the voucher, it was a nice afternoon and most enjoyable and the food, what can l say we left nothing on our plates the staff helpful and friendly we will go again

Great value and location. Thanks!

Had a facial and afternoon tea. Really lovely experience. Great facial. Felt glowing after. Afternoon tea was brilliant!

1. The Spa Pool was broken, water was freezing 2. Steam room not been working for months 3. Pool showers freezing 4. Jacuzzi freezing 5. Champion bar not open (Manager said not been open for ages, he did not know why) 6. Wi-Fi was so slow it was not usable 7. TV not working in room 8. Manager was incompetent I posted this review on hotels.com and they deleted it so be careful of the reviews you see on that website.

This delightful hotel is like a beating heart in beautiful Hythe. Stay and enjoy a spa, party at Christmas, listen to a first class tribute act, get married, host a business meeting, have a spicy meal or enjoy a champagne with or without a cream scone. The list goes on. It's an asset to the area. Clean and modern spacious interiors. Love this place and can't fault it.

The Hythe Imperial. Stylish, comfortable, welcoming, clean. All of those and more. From the moment of arrival it feels special. The staff are welcoming and the rooms are very nice. The main hotel restaurant serves quality classic foods and the Indian restaurant in the cellar has beautiful authentic Indian dishes. Highly recommended and already looking forward to visiting again very soon.

Stayed for one night. Afternoon tea was average, you could tell that the food was pre-made and had been waiting a while to be put out. The pool area was nice and clean though. Good sauna and jacuzzi. Room was spacious with a lovely sea view, but furniture was quite drab. Good breakfast. For the price I paid, expected more

We were looking forward to this spa hotel after taking part in the Hastings half marathon the day before. Our plan was to spend a few hours around the pool and jacuzzi recovering. No chance. The hotel is nice and the room well appointed but tiny. Sea view was nice. However, no check in till 4 at the earliest, then long queues and slow progress meaning you don’t get your room till 5. They also told us there was £50 outstanding to pay and were about to take a payment until we queried it and said we had already paid. Then they said it was a “mistake”. Spa time… You’re told to ring the pool to book in (strange already) we are told it is closing at 6 due to a temperature issue. True. It was freezing. As was the jacuzzi. And the poolside showers. And the steam room was out of action. In fact the only thing working was the sauna. Which is tiny. There’s a note in the room saying if you have any issues you should let them know so it can be rectified. Fair enough- I did, as having those facilities was the point of our stay. The duty manager was called. Nothing he could do apparently, but he’d go and speak to the spa staff and come back to me. Which he did, to confirm what I knew that the pool was closing early and freezing. However he claimed I was wrong about the steam room and it was fully operational. Having seen the sign on the steam room door twenty minutes ago I knew this was a lie so insisted on showing him in person. I asked the chap running the pool area about it with the manager standing next to me and it was confirmed the steam hasn’t worked for three months!!! What sort of manager doesn’t know that? I pointed out we had paid to come to a hotel with these facilities and they couldn’t provide them - what could he do? His offer? If we checked out he’d refund us and we could find somewhere else! How he thought that would work at 6 pm four hours from home I’m not sure! I said maybe we could have breakfast instead, or a bottle of wine, or coffee? No. Nothing. Tough luck on us. So all In all. Hythe is nice. The hotel building is nice and the room ok but small. If you are coming because of the spa area, don’t. It’s fairly tatty even if it was operational. And the level of customer service from the manager is some of the worst I’ve ever experienced. Avoid.

Lovely place but no option for short term gym membership it's either a full monthly paid membership or a day pass

My husband and I had the best weekend. Incredible room with sea view. Staff were brilliant. I highly recommend.

We were told that a check in between 4-5pm was standard. The booking said 4pm. At 4:45 we were told to go for a walk!

A lovely hotel, great staff lovely room with amazing bed, restaurant was great with lovely food.

Lovely setting £5 for a large Pepsi!

Lovely friendly staff. The evening dinner was delicious not so keen on the buffet breakfast though. Room was clean and comfortable

Excellent service and food. Sunday lunch was excellent.

Hotel and service was really great. Staff at reception was super helpful. My suit was beautiful double aspect view. The swimming pool area was clean and really enjoyable. The only bad thing is the step getting into the jacuzzi, for someone with bad knees and back it was difficult to get in and worse getting out. It definitely needs a second step. Which is a shame as it just what I need to help me. The breakfast was great but the evening meal was OK. Will I go again yes.

Hot stone massage was amazing but the steam room was unfortunately out of order, nice in general

Helped me set the room up with a few suprises for my girlfriends 30th and it was better than expected. The hotel was great, breakfast was amazing. Thankyou to everyone involved

UPDATE: Second time we have stayed here again due to a family event and kinda more of the same, they should lower room rates some people want a spa weekend you cant do that with a 30 mins only time slot! Bar staff need training (ordered a beer was asked if wanted ice ??? Huh and food was not great at all. Lift seems to be on way out twice it stopped maybe a foot lower than the floor it was stopping out..seems dangerous to me. Still 2 stars Original Review: Hotel was nice, but that's about it. Restaurant Ocean (not great, wanted to charge a catering charge for a table of 12) had to pre order our meal due to the number of us (we were the only people in) Breakfast was ok but not 15 quid ok. Woken up 2 days on the spin by pre 8am early scaffolding works. And here's the kicker got home realized I'd left my watch in the room, were not talking casio! i had it on at breakfast, but i took it off for a shower before checkout. (Wasn't handed in) I know it's my fault for forgetting it! But after 3 failed attempts to call reception on Friday afternoon/evening and finally getting through Saturday i was put through to house keeping, who said anything expensive goes to reception so I'll need to speak to them. Had to call back again no answer until the next day where i was told nothings been handed in they will call if it is and hung up before i gave my number!

Food not that great. Customer service poor. Rooms nice and comfortable.

Book a room with a sea view - it's worth it!

Lovely hotel. Room excellent and spacious. Very good buffet breakfast

Your children are not welcome in the pool if under 16 for most of the day . On top of this don't bother on a Wednesday as aqua fit comes above paying guests . Just travelled 30 miles for a spa night and nice meal but guess we will go out for a meal as I'm not putting another penny in their tills .

We arrived this evening for an anniversary treat from our daughter & son-in-law. We were especially looking forward to a spa evening and swim with our grandsons, but told the youngest (14) was not permitted due to his age. Whole evening ruined after a stressful drive here. We travelled up from Cornwall for this family get together.

Great place to stay. Staff are great and food excellent. Rooms very comfortable on a short stay 👌

Restaurant good, room and bar average, South African receptionist needs to hone up on the basic information

Very nice place to stay very friendly staff and helpful 👍