The Smugglers Retreat

Location was excellent for us, great view of the beach and an underground car park directly opposite the property which was very reasonable.

The hall as you walked in smelled heavily of cigarette smoke.

Great view and location. Comfortable beds.

Old bathroom facilities

Sea view

On arrival there was a awful smell in stairwell , it looked scruffy ! In entering the little hall to apartment I couldn’t find a light switch so was really dark ! I found them later The accommodation was a bit of a mess on arrival , phoned owner to be told the cleaner hadn’t been . This was resolved quickly and a cleaner was sent out . We arrived back at the apartment after the cleaner had been , but all we could see was beds were changed and towels . The bathroom smelt like wee I had to go out and buy a toilet cleaner and block . Beds were awfully uncomfortable and so was the sofas ! No ironing board but a burnt bottom iron . Cutlery was dirty and so were the plates . These things should be checked before new guests arrive . The sea view was stunning though . The place just needs some TLC and a good clean Also If you’re parking it’s £10.70 for 24 hours and it’s any colour bay in the underground car park . We didn’t know this do was quite confused

Location

Good location, few minutes walk from station and easy to get around the town. The communal stairs area had unpleasant smell and front door never locked. Property can do with some maintenance as showing lots of wear and tear eg,scuffed paint, frayed carpet, mould in bathroom, door catch broken on main door. The door to patio needs repairing as draft and broken lock. Comfortable beds made up for our arrival with towels. Well stocked kitchen. Good communication and instructions in advance of our arrival

The location and views are beautiful

Location of the place is excellent the property was nice except a few issues the fan in bathroom didn't work we were getting the neighbours smalls like cigarettes and food smells ,

The small of the stair well as you enter the building

The property was well maintained and the views were lovely. The kitchen was well equipped.

The communal areas were clean but there was a constant smell of cooking, the bed linen did not smell freshly cleaned, there were no mirrors in bedrooms and the boiler in the main bedroom was noisy and kept us awake on first night.

Nothing!

Anyone thinking of staying at The Smugglers Retreat in Hastings... Don’t do it!! Firstly, it was not the easiest to find and the person on the phone wasn’t even sure of the exact location. It continued to go downhill from there…. Walking into the entrance was very off putting, it smells damp and unclean. Entering the property was again disappointing to say the least. With cracked floor tiles as you walk in, and carpets that look like they haven’t been cleaned since they were laid. The lounge/dining area led to the balcony that was advertised as a great feature. It was far from great, it was not clean and with furniture that had paint peeling. The door that led to the balcony had a broken lock that was “fixed” (I use the term lightly) with what appeared to be a bathroom bolt. The rust on the fixtures of the door, tell me that it is not a new break but something that has been damaged for some time. Needless to say, it did not keep the sound of the local drunks and traffic out, nor the breeze from coming through! The dining table was an absolute mess, stained and colour stripped from it. The sofas, cushions and rug looked as though they had never seen an upholstery cleaner before. Let’s go to the bedrooms, unpleasant smelling towels, made us go out and buy new towels and pillows. The bedside cabinets were dirty. One of the sockets in bedroom one was scorched, which at some point had clearly overheated and would indicate that it should not be used. A socket in bedroom two was cracked, which makes me wonder if any checks had been carried out to ensure the safety of the property! To top it off, we found someone else’s false nail under the bedside table. Now we head to the kitchen, where the tap moves as you use it and another poor attempt at “fixing” has taken place. By fixing, I mean layers and layers of silicone that is built up with grime.

Great location, close to train station and town with views over the beach. Rooms were a good size with plenty of space for 4 guests. Welcome pack provided all the info needed for heating, WiFi etc which was helpful.

The door to the balcony did not close properly at all, with any wind blowing straight into the living room. Thankfully, the heating worked well, so the rooms were never too cold, but when the wind picked up, it really made the living room noisy and uncomfortable. The temporary fix of the slide lock did not feel overly secure either. Some other, smaller items also need addressed such as cracked/scorched plug sockets, extractor fan in bathroom not working, loose tap in bathroom. Generally, it's a great apartment, just in need of some TLC / repairs. If the door was fixed properly we would have no problem booking again in the future.