Deluxe Double Room, 1 King Bed, Ensuite, Ground Floor by Entrance
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Reviews of Motel Schmotel

3 out of 5
Motel Schmotel
37 RUSSELL SQUARE, Brighton, England

Reviews

7.4

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 19 out of 72 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 28 out of 72 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 11 out of 72 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 8 out of 72 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 6 out of 72 reviews" "

7.6/10

Cleanliness

8.0/10

Staff & service

6.4/10

Amenities

7.0/10

Property conditions & facilities

5.8/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

4/10 Poor

TRACY

Travelled with partner
Liked: Amenities
Disliked: Staff & service
The property was fine apart from a drunk in the room next door shouting and smashing things , was very un nerving , and no visible staff to complain too .
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024

4/10 Poor

Ian

Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The property is close to town which is great and the staff responded quickly to any questions or needs. However, the place wasn’t properly cleaned and I have several bite marks around my body from bed bugs for this reason I wouldn’t recommend this place
Stayed 10 nights in Dec 2023

8/10 Good

Sharron

Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2023

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Older dated room
Hotel is basic. No reception or so. Basic cleaning on the day. Room was old and a bit dated. However, clean. Toilet didn't flush properly. It did the job to sleep there, but, not more than that. so, if you are okay with a very basic, dated but clean room, it will do.
Stayed 8 nights in Sep 2023

2/10 Terrible

praful

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 9 nights in Aug 2023

6/10 Okay

Toby

Liked: Room comfort
Could be better, could be worse
It's quiet, but you're prone to end up with a room full of flies if you leave the window open too long. Nice location, though.
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2023

2/10 Terrible

David

Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2023

8/10 Good

Toby

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Convenient location, nice staff/hotel manager.
Stayed 3 nights in May 2023
Response from Q on 11 May 2023
Thank you for your stay!

10/10 Excellent

Angus

Stayed 1 night in May 2023
Response from Q on 11 May 2023
Thank you for your stay and review score!

4/10 Poor

Daniel

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Heating was maxed out making the room stuffy, shower was too small to use comfortably
Stayed 7 nights in Mar 2023
Response from Qi on 11 May 2023
Heating could be turned off in room. Thank you for your stay!

2/10 Terrible

Muhammet

Stayed 1 night in Apr 2023
Response from Qi on 11 May 2023
Thank you for your stay! Sorry we failed your expectation.

4/10 Poor

Charles

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
If you’re a smoker then perhaps this would be ok for you. It smelt so strongly of smoke that I didn’t want to be there at all. Mould in the bathroom too. Sheets were clean, toilet and shower were also clean, but the mould made me just want to get out of there. Booked two nights, only stayed for one.

8/10 Good

Nur Arif

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
strategic location and nice staff

8/10 Good

Deborah

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The room was very pleasant. Clean, tidy and quite spacious. There was a squeaky door downstairs, which someone kept opening and shutting throughout the night making it quite impossible to sleep. There did seem to be a lot of noisy activity in the hotel? I would go back though.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2022

8/10 Good

stuart

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
In town
Stayed 6 nights in May 2022

10/10 Excellent

Ross

Stayed 1 night in Apr 2022
Response from Qi on 15 Apr 2022
Thank you!

8/10 Good

catherine

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Clean room, basic, exactly as expected. Only strange aspect is the reference of a reception area as there isn’t one. Needed to call the number for someone arrive and give us our key. No idea where you could have left your case as advertised
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2022

6/10 Okay

David

Liked: Room comfort
Considering the late booking, location and price this was one of the cheapest locations available for our trip. Location was excellent, central and also quiet. The only issue was we were asked prior to arrival of our arrival time which we gave, however when we arrived no email had been sent with the details to let us in to the property and we had to call someone to come and check us in. Other than this, the room was ok, not the best but again considering the price, it was fine for what we required.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2022
Response from Qi on 25 Mar 2022
Dear David, thank you for your review. We always send email before reception close. Reception usually closes at 6pm but sometimes we work late. We don't send out emails when receptionist is still available to let you in. However you may be expecting some email to be sent before your arrival. We will consider it and improve our operation. Thanks again!

8/10 Good

Levi

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Convenient for one night stay. Room was quite small but had the basic amenities needed. Perfect location. Staff helpful and have good communication in regards to checking in late.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2022
Response from Qi on 25 Mar 2022
Thank you, Levi! It's nice having you stayed with us. Hope to see you again!

6/10 Okay

reginald, godalming

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
I thought this property was very disappointing and overpriced the decor and renovations were not great but it was just about purposeful for a solo traveller . The picture on the travel website was obviously taken in better times , I thought the best thing about the Hotel was the central location to the city and seafront . There is no reception here , I would not return in the future .
Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2021

8/10 Good

Edward

Travelled with group
Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Brighton trip
We were given the opportunity to upgrade to a bigger room for an extra £5 which was great. The room was ideal to 5 minutes to the location of seafront and shops. The only issue was the room was not cleaned daily because we were late in waking up. The basic creature comforts were good. It would of been better for my friend and me to have separate electronic keyes to enter hotel and room at times to do our own stuff. The room was clean and tidy. The price per night was good
Stayed 7 nights in Nov 2021

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Ground floor entrance room shouldn’t be a bedroom
We stayed in the ground floor room next to the entrance which honestly isn’t fit to be a bedroom. Every time someone entered or left the hotel the walls of the bedroom would shake and wake us up. A guest arrived at 1am and was banging on the door and yelling to be let in which was very scary to wake up to in the middle of the night. Plus we could hear all the conversations from people outside on the street as the walls were so thin. That ground floor bedroom should be a check in desk or guest lounge as it’s absolutely not fit to be a bedroom. Very disappointed in our stay, definitely won’t be coming back.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2021

6/10 Okay

Nicholas J

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Room comfort
Good location
We didnt realise the labour conference was on so the price we paid was very inflated, so feel it was poor valie for the room. The small double room was tiny, it was quite stressful being so confined. Fair play to them for managing to fit in a bathroom, but you can barely close the door to take a dump. The location was really good and the host was friendly. If i was travelling solo and just needed a bed for the night and it was priced better, i would stay again. I wouldnt stay more than a night thiugh, at least in the small double room. Perhaps the other rooms are better. The rooms were clean and the bed was very comfortable.
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2021

10/10 Excellent

Sandy

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2020
Response from Qi on 14 Sept 2020
Thank you, Sandy!

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Was extremely cosy and the staff were very friendly. Would definitely recommend.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2020

2/10 Terrible

Kevin

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The only place I've refused to stay in
I refused to stay in this place , I expect a full refund from yourselfs as this business does not have an AA rating as in your published picture .My Partner took pictures of this Damp horrible dwelling & I can forward them if you like & I doubt that I will use Hotels.com again
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2019

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness
Hotel was conveniently located. Room was very small. But was ok for one night.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2019

10/10 Excellent

N

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2019

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Business traveller
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Not good but at last it was cheap
I'm guessing that my issues stemmed from his being a top floor room. However... there was masses of visible mould across the whole bathroom. The bathroom was so closed you couldn't use it without the door open - especially as the sink overhangs the toilet. Fine for me, not so good for couples. The window had about a 1 inch gap when it was closed so it was incredibly noisy and the thermostat on the radiator didn't work so it was permanently on full heat - it was 20 degrees outside! Carpets were dirty and the window blind when fully down was taking up one half of the pillow space on the bed as the window overlapped the bed.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2019

6/10 Okay

Jonathan

Business traveller
Last chance saloon stay.
Checking in was a nightmare with keys and keyfobs. After about 30mins of standing around we got sorted
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Close to everything, very expensive for a basic room
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2019

10/10 Excellent

Laura

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely
Amazing i loved it. The Best
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2019

4/10 Poor

Carrie

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
My son and I stayed for the night. My husband and I stayed previously and had a fine visit. This time, the room was not quite as clean and the activity in the square outside the motel was much more active than in the past. Loud music until 2am. The bed wasn’t very comfortable and the room was damp. Low budget accommodations. You get what you pay for. The staff was friendly and kind during check in & check out.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2019

6/10 Okay

Paige

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
average hotel
Check in was good, instant, staff very helpful, allowed us to leave our bags on Sunday when we checked out a train wasn’t until the afternoon, cleaned daily. Couldn’t fault the facilities, shower was a bit complicated but we figured it out, big tv which worked well. The bed was absolutely awful, you couldn’t even move without the whole B and B hearing so not really ideal. There’s no parking and can be a bit nosey at night but nothing major. Tbh I’d rather pay a bit extra and go somewhere a bit nicer tbh as wouldn’t say it was exactly cheap to stay here and a bed making loads of noise isn’t exactly suitable
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2019

8/10 Good

Justine

Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2019
Response from Qi on 22 Jul 2019
Thank you!

4/10 Poor

Helen

Business traveller
Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
Location is very good. However, there is no hot water in my Room and the owner told me it'll be fine in half an hr. more then an hr later my rm still has no hot water and I have to shower in another vacant room the next day morning. And the water pressure was very weak in that room too,
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2019

2/10 Terrible

Tania

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Worst hotel ever! avoid at all cost
This is the worst motel I've ever set foot in. And that is all I did - one look at the grimy doors, windows, banisters, and a brief look at our room and we fled. We had two nights booked, unfortunately, which the hotel would not refund us, in spite of being pressured by hotels.com - but it was worth being over 200 pounds out to not have to sleep in that pit.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great Motel perfect location for shops and beach.
Lovely Motel , great location , rooms were very clean and tidy , breakfast was amazing. Very friendly staff , allowed us to check in early and leave our bags after check out so we could extend our day in Brighton . Lovely place will use again.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2018
Response from Ling on 2 Sept 2018
Dear Guest, thank you for your very kind comments. We are so pleased you enjoyed your stay here with us and I hope we can see you again soon! Best wishes Ling

8/10 Good

Ronald

Two night stay
Two night weekend break , central location very helpful staff , good breakfast with plenty of choices
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2018
Response from Ling on 22 Aug 2018
Dear Ronald, Thank you for your very kind comments. We are so pleased you enjoyed your stay here with us and like our breakfast. I hope we can see you again soon! Best wishes Ling

8/10 Good

Kevin

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2018
Response from Qi on 10 Aug 2018
Thank you for your stay!

8/10 Good

Richard

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2018
Response from Ling on 8 Aug 2018
Dear Richard, Thank you for your feedback!

8/10 Good

Tim, Buckinghamshire

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed here for one night during Brighton's Pride weekend (Saturday night). Welcome was warm and friendly. We stayed in room 3, which the lady advised is quite small. In truth it was small, but had plenty of natural light. The shower/wash basin and toilet looks like it was built into a old cupboard, small but manageable. The bed was very comfortable and the KitKat in the room was a nice treat. Breakfast the next morning was in the breakfast room on the very ground floor of the property. We had full english, which was fairly nice although the toast wasn't toasted that well. Otherwise breakfast was a nice extra to have in the morning. I'm pretty sure we paid a premium to stay here because it was Pride, but would stay here again as it is very close to the main shopping areas of Brighton and the beach is a 5 minute walk away, 15 minutes if you want to go to the Pier. Overall a decent enough place.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2018
Response from Qi on 6 Aug 2018
Thank you for your very detailed review! Your comment on toast raised a point of replacing the toaster.

8/10 Good

PAUL

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Good location and great breakfast excellent staff, only downside was very small room
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2018
Response from Qi on 6 Aug 2018
Thank you for your feedback!

8/10 Good

Carrie

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Sweet family owned and run inn. The room was small but just what we needed for a one night stay. Staff was very friendly and accommodating. Texted them our preferred breakfast menu and timing. Food was ready when we arrived. Location is ideal.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2018
Response from Li on 29 Jul 2018
Hi, Thank you for your very kind comments. It was a pleasure to assist you during stay at Motel Schmotel. We have taken into account your comments about the room description. Thank you very much for your feedback. This helps us to maintain our standards and so improve the visitor experience at our hotel. We are at the moment making some improvements and upgrading, unfortunately we can't enlarge rooms but they are modern within a period listed building. Rooms 4 and 6 have larger rooms and toilet is inside of the room. maybe you could book one of these next time you are in Brighton as we do hope you come and visit us again for a bit of more pampering :-) Best wishes Ling

8/10 Good

Sarah

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2018
Response from Qi on 25 Jul 2018
Thank you for your review score!

8/10 Good

gary

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Boutique Brighton
Nice place and nice people too, thoroughly recommend it
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2018
Response from Qi on 25 Jul 2018
You are so kind. We look forward to seeing you again!

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Stayed 1 night in Jul 2018
Response from Qi on 18 Jul 2018
Thank you! We hope you are satisfied with our service.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice hotel
The room was clean, but up at the top of the building means its a long way up with luggage. Highly recommend breakfast, but the square and also behind the building is not great, but that's not the hotel's fault.
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2018
Response from Qi on 3 Jul 2018
Thanks for the review!

6/10 Okay

Jackie, Motherwell

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Located centrally
Pictures on website make the hotel look fab however hotel needs painted and carpets replaced. Staff pleasant and helpful
Stayed 4 nights in Jun 2018
Response from Qi on 27 Jun 2018
Thanks!

8/10 Good

Paul

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Great location and good value for money. This is not a luxury hotel in any sense and the rooms are quite small but the service is good, the rooms are very clean and the staff do try hard to please. I forgot to pack my mobile charger and sent them a message. They sent it to me within 48 hours at no cost. There is a nice garden in the square outside the hotel and the seafront is less than 5 minutes walk. If you are on a tight budget it is a very good option.
Stayed 3 nights in May 2018
Response from Qi on 19 May 2018
Dear Paul, thank you for your review! It is my dream to make Schmotel luxury. However the conservation people put too many restrictions on this listed building which make the upgrade twice cost of a normal building upgrade. Having said that, we will make it luxury one day in the future!