Best Western Plus Dover Marina Hotel & Spa

Checked into this hotel in November 2018. I chose it for a variety of reasons. Name recognition of the Best Western Brand, price and location. I had two nights to kill after 9 hard days on the road before I flew out of Heathrow in London. Looking for relaxation I chose the Best Western because it was on the harbor and centrally located in Dover tourist area. I walked a short distance from the ferry docks and found the hotel with no trouble. I was met at the desk by a staff member who quickly found my reservation and checked me in. I was given room 401. I went up to my room and noticed that it was at the end of the hall out a glass door that led to the stairs. Hummm? I entered the room and noted tasteful decor and a comfortable looking room. As I walked to the other side of the room to put my stuff down I walked into the wall. Hummm? After a rough crossing of the Channel I thought I had not got my land legs back. Started again and walked into the wall again. I don't drink and was not that tired so I took a hard look at the room and found the floor sloped sharply from left to right. Hummm? I thought at that time to go back down and request a different room but decided I was tired and could live with it. I checked the bath. Very well appointed with a deep bath tub and I could see myself taking a long hot soak after so many days on the road so okay I could live with the floor. The room was a little stuffy so I turned on the AC to air it out a little and began to unpack. As I looked around I began to notice a few other things. The walls sloped inward too. The room was out of plumb and not just a little. But once again I decided I could live with it. I decided a quick shower and a trip to a nearby seafood restaurant was just the thing. Turned on the water to let it warm up and found that the hot water was short of hot and water. AT check out I mentioned the hot water and was told they apologized and were aware of the issue and working on it. Undressed by now and really not wanting to mess with changing rooms this late I vowed to talk to management in the morning as I was staying another night. As I was getting dressed I noticed the room was still a little stuffy and warm. I walked over to the AC and noticed that the vent cover for the AC was missing but I did feel some cool air so life goes on. I dressed and went out for a nice evening. I returned and went to bed. In a few hours I woke to a hot stuffy room. Seems the AC may be on a timer and switched off after a period of time. I reset it and went back to sleep only to repeat the process once more. In the morning I went down for breakfast. I had paid for a breakfast buffet upon registering. Once again staff was polite and helpful. The buffet was nicely laid out in the restaurant with a nice variety of items. The view of the sunrise over the channel was stunning. I went walking around the town and returned to do something about my room. I had wanted to print my boarding passes for my flight but the monitor to the lobby computer would not work. The desk clerk offered to have me email the passes to the desk and she would gladly print them out. It was at this time that I discovered I would not be staying the entire night so I decided just to live with it. Once again the staff was very helpful as a young lady and man helped me plan how to get to Heathrow and catch an early flight back to the States. Once again the Hotel had some very good thinks, service, and some very bad things, the room. Dover is an easy train ride to St. Pancras station in London and then a short underground trip anywhere. Room 401 really should not be used for guests no matter how cheap. It is just not suitable and using it just cheapens your hotel. But the staff is wonderful. The good and ugly of it. If you like my review please follow me. less

I’ve had the misfortune to have been booked into this establishment for 6 nights. Inspire of having having stayed on numerous occasions of hotels belonging to this group. I’ve yet to come across and establishment of this ineptitude. I’ve made repeated requests to get my TV working. However this pales into insignificance to my brothers’s problems. He reported the lack of any hot water, enabling him to have a bath. Plumbers arrived dismantled both the bath panel and sink, stating that no hot water was available. Initially he was offered an alternative room, to check the availability of hot water. He saw the room, but was amazed that at 5 pm that it was not made up, and the toilet was soiled from the previous. This room he refused. Subsequently after 6 hours he has been offered an alternative room (downgraded) where he has been assured that hot water is available. less

There was a large contingent of Dukies staying for our 50th year reunion at the Duke of Yorks Royal Military School and we had a special deal. I had room 103 which was a Single Friday 9th to Sunday 11th November. Excellent BAR, breakfast buffet in the morning. I enjoyed very much the small Gym in the basement and excellent front of house staff (very patient and welcoming). Overhall for £69 a night B+B an excellent stay. My only criticism would be the wardrobe should be deeper to take Suits, Jackets and Shirts. Thank you. David. less

Stayed on the way back to France. Huge comfortable bed, sea view, big fluffy towels and lovely welcoming staff, who made checking in and out very easy. A decent beer and G&T in the bar. Breakfast was excellent - nice touch having vegan butter! Would stay again! less

The hotel is below the standard of a Best Western in the US or a 3 star hotel in Europe. It is rather old and tired. Worst, we were there three days and we only had hot water one day. One day they sent us to the spa, where there was hot water, but no human attendant, so it was very hard to find anything, as it nothing obvious to the first timer's eye. The last day we were transferred to a lower class room, but received no compensation for the downgrade. While one of the staff persons did all she could, a young man who introduced himself as the manager was extremely rude and insisted that "we, the customers, just HAD to understand" that they had a problem and did not care at all about the problems caused to the customers. In addition, since this is an understaffed facility, there was seldom a person at the Reception and nobody answered the phone when we call "Reception", regardless of the time of day. The worst hotel in a month-long stay in Europe less