The Sefton Hotel

Arriving late off the ferry, tired and in pain, I was met by Margaret on the front desk. Margaret was lovely, very chatty and genuinely interested in people. The check-in painless and the duty manager brought my increasingly heavy bags to my room. What a room! It was huge, and although a few chips here and there from wear and tear, it was amazing. I wish I could have stayed longer. Only the Bonzai restaurant was open during my 2-night stay. The food was very good, although the service a bit lack-lustre. But January on the Isle of Man, it was cold and at least I didn't have to go any distance for food. The atrium area was quiet, and it was lovely to walk through with the outside feeling from all the plants and the water fountains. The Sefton is ideally located on the Loch Promenade, and it's easy to get to other places in Douglas. There is a car park too which is one of the reasons I chose the hotel. I'll be returning to the Island again later in the year, and I'll definitely be staying at the Sefton again.

This majestic fronted building on the Douglas promenade gives off grandeur but sadly it's not! The hotel has a unique attrium which has a number of balconied bedrooms overlooking the mature plants, fish ponds and fountains, however these bedrooms are dark, airless, very hot coupled with low ceilings making the room feel claustrophobic. The interior hallways in the hotel have worn dated design carpets. We were told that housekeeping would only service our rooms every 3 days which was the case during our 4 night stay. Our bathroom appeared to have recently been renovated with a roomy walk in shower. The breakfast room at the front of the hotel lacked seating at peak times and the coffee served via a machine was unappealing. The Sir Norman hotel bar was dark and airless making it feel like a dungeon.

The Sefton is nothing short of a jewel right in the centre of Douglas. This beautiful old building boasts multiple types of rooms including sea-view, atrium with balcony, and entire top-level suites. Staff are helpful and attentive. There is a gym and a pool when they are available, and the breakfast is one of the best you'll find. Affordable, great location for surrounding eateries, theatre, drinking locations etc.

Checked into this hotel to celebrate the wife's birthday. A nice sea-view room was allocated , very spacious with a double bed and a bath and shower. A nice bay window with a sofa and tv and a fridge. A hairdryer was also available in the room. Plenty of storage space. Breakfast was available in the Harris restaurant on the 1st floor. This was buffet style and offered a full English breakfast, continental breakfast and from the kitchen Manx Kippers. In the evening you could eat in The Sir Norman Wisdom Bar, which offers a wide range of drinks and traditional British Cuisine or for something extra special I strongly recommend the Bonzai Asian restaurant, offering Asian dishes from Lao, Thai , Filipino ,Japanese to Malaysian food...it is advisable to book in advance for Bonzai. ||A slight issue with the bathroom was sorted within 24 hours and our thanks go out to the following , you made our stay very enjoyable....Zowie....Katie......Claire......Mandy.......Karen.......Nick.........Kara.......and the proprietors of Sir Normans and Bonzai....Melody and James.||The hotel also boasts an indoor pool and gym.||Look forward to returning in the not too distant future

The hotel was very close to the ferry port and has a very handy car park just off the main road. The building is very impressive with great views of the seafront. There are 2 places to eat inside the hotel and we had a casual dinner in the bar, which was good and included live entertainment. Our room overlooked the seafront and was very spacious although a bit noisy in the evening due to its proximity to the bar. Breakfast was good with plenty of choice.

Staying at present in room 470 for my mums 80th birthday. Hotel is fantastic - especially this room. Would like to say a special thank you to Chai and Josh at Bonzai for making my mums 80th birthday meal so memorable. Special thanks also to Margaret and Clare on reception for encouraging our celebrations and arranging the lovely surprise of Prosecco in our room to end our evening. Will definitely be returning to stay and would highly recommend this hotel.

Was staying in The Sefton for our wedding. We thought go to The Sefton as it is mean't to be one of the best hotels on the Island. Location is obviously superb, Douglas promenade is a beautiful place, and waking up and seeing the bay was spot on. Unfortunately though, although the room was very spacious, it felt very outdated. Few trims were loose etc also. Bed was comfy but nothing to write home about. Everything was grubby also. Over the 4 days we stayed there non of our toiletries (inc toilet roll) or tea and coffee was replaced. You even get that in a Holiday Inn so unsure why not in The Sefton? Overall a beautiful building in a spectacular location, but unfortunately didn't live up the hype for us!

Not a 4-star hotel by any stretch of the imagination in our experience. On arrival one of the main front doors was broken and "not in use". We had a sea view room, which other than having a bay window, bore little resemblance to the photo on the hotel website. The decor was very tired, the pillows well past their prime, and there was mould in the bathroom. 2 of the 3 wall-mounted soap/ shampoo/ shower gel dispensers were empty in our bathroom. The stairs down to the 1st floor for breakfast were covered in threadbare carpet and there was evidence of damp on the walls. The gym was "not in use" because they had detected asbestos in it. (One wonders how many guests were exposed to this asbestos before they discovered it). The spa facilities were "fully booked for the next 3 months". Most of the fruit at breakfast was tinned. The wifi connection was unreliable and slow. Take your own milk, coffee and tea because they make up the rooms once every 3 days and you'll run out. It'd be nice if (given this lack of service) they provided washing up liquid and a tea towel so we could clean the crockery. I'm sure some people will find all this acceptable for the thick end of £200 a night for B&B but we didn't.

Great beer and sea air .. bar staff cool and off home leaving the porter in charge of the bar for sad loners like me to keep drinking .. cheers .. they also let the music play too.