‘Miles more smiles!’ is the logo on the side of our coach but today Thursday there hasn’t been many of them going around. After greeting Gregor, (no answer) and boarding the coach, which was 20 minutes late picking us up, we soon realised that today wasn’t a happy one for him. It was too hot and he was sweating already he told us! Irreverent thought number 9. As he is overweight and seems to do no exercise, as confirmed by the middle age spread around his expansive tummy area, it's no wonder any exertion tires him. We set off, with the number 45 hours resounding in our ears yet again, for a 45 minute (I told you before – a mystical number!) journey to pick up our fellow passengers in Brighton, who were not pleased to see that some of our group were sitting in their seats so movement was called for and disenchantment fuelled the tension in the coach. The journey to our first port of call took over an hour and half but with slow moving traffic and road works we didn’t reach our destination until 1pm. It wasn’t a pretty journey, nothing to see only the roadway to speak of; just a mind numbing stop start; stop start kind of thing. However to be fair traffic can’t be helped but Google maps gave us an alternate route- it was a pity Gregor didn’t have the same one! A wrong turn and a drive around when we arrived didn’t help much either but eventually we got off the coach and were given one hour to look around. This was after a three hour journey for a one hour stop off! We were, I must confess, not amused. A decision had to be made; the small town centre or the coast? We opted for the coast and to be perfectly honest we were underwhelmed by it. Now maybe it was because we had to rush from the drop off point to get to the beach and then find out after our mad dash that Gregor had continued with some of the other passengers to the beach I don’t know! However, we had just enough time for a brew and a quick sandwich and a visit to the loo then back to the coach. Again a wrong turn and a tour of a beautiful housing estate full of old worldly houses finally saw us on our way to the next town. Now don’t get me wrong, but honestly when you have seen one pebbly beach and a pier you can be forgiven to wishing that you don’t have to see yet another one! But we did and after paying over £4 for a gift bottle of beer with the town’s name on it, we were glad to leave; even though it meant another long journey back. We actually took the coast road, which would have been so much better on the way here; the scenery was much nicer to look at and you got a real feel of the coastline and its little inlets. Unfortunately, it had been another hot day and we had been stuck in the coach longer than we had been out of it ,so we were too tired and fed up to appreciate it. Our nightmare drive wasn’t over as we then had to drop off passengers in Brighton and then proceed through rush hour traffic back to Eastbourne. I wish someone could tell me why this type of traffic is called rush hour when everyone moves so slowly! Thought for the day: The journey of life is a long intricate dance, so start dancing
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“I’ve got my pills with me!” Gregor, our driver, greeted us this morning with this comment, when we asked if he was going to sit out in the sun and rest as part of his 45 hour catch up. He grumbled, “If the doctor had his way I’d be wearing a veil!” So the answer to our question was no then? So Wednesday arrived and an easy day was planned; geo-caching on a walk to the harbour; a fish and chip lunch and a mooch around with hopefully time to read/write/sketch. In fact, also time to reflect on the hotel, which has been the cause of gossip and complaint since day one. If you check out its website, the hotel sounds delightful with a restaurant overlooking the sea, a ballroom with entertainment and a photograph of a bedroom that looks like one found in the Premier Inn adverts shown with Lenny Henry. However, this is far from actual truth! The restaurant is in the basement, down some very steep stairs with one small window and no view at all, never mind a sea view! There is a ballroom sign but we never found it, which seems strange as ballrooms are usually quite large and difficult to miss. Yes, we did have entertainment for two nights on the trot; one gentleman comedian who also played the guitar and another gentleman comedian who also played the guitar. You get my drift! The audience numbered no more that six on each evening! If you had read any of the comments from Trip Advisor before you came on this holiday, you would not have chosen this hotel at all, however as part of the coach trip package there was no choice. The travel firm obviously have a deal in place with the hotel, which has been used now for over three years. Apparently three years ago, according to some of our fellow travellers, the hotel was in much better condition and they have seen a decline since then; now it is tired and worn out!. To others it is too big, too old fashioned for the modern customer with not enough staff and poor food. To the rest, the overall quality experience is not on par with hotels developed in the 21st century! So it begs the question why does the travel company still use it? And why is it still in their brochure for 2017? The deal that they have must be incredibly cheap in order for them to operate on the scale that they do. Maybe they think that because their clientele are of a certain age, modern standards don’t hold for them or that because they are of the older generation they will be more inclined to grin and bear it! I’m not sure but it does give you pause for thought. However, I digress and back to our thoughts about the hotel and its facilities. Our room is basic, with twin beds, a walk in cupboard for a wardrobe and a chest of drawers which has seen better days. The ensuite consists of a small shower, sink and toilet with an extremely noisy fan! However, it is clean, and has been that way since we have arrived. The towels have been changed daily even when we haven’t placed them on the floor for pick up. There is no view to speak of but we haven’t spent much time in the room during the day anyway. The photograph of the bedroom on the website must have been someone's idea of a joke! But when you step back and think; this is a budget break, in a hotel held together by a shoestring! So what do you expect! Breakfast has been fine; well cooked and hot but the evening meal could be better. The earlier complaints about frozen vegetables still stands but up to now we have been able to eat everything. Although tonight is curry night! So we’ve decided to eat out; a Chinese beckons! Thought of the day: Everyday may not be good but there's something good in everyday! Due to time constraints, (45 hrs) we were taken back to the coast for part two of our trip out; to see some white cliffs, which were a famous attraction in this part of the country. We had to go the short way round (45 hrs) so we didn’t get to see the full panorama of them although Mr Grumpy did point them out to us in the distance. Up we drove and were given 45 minutes to walk along the cliff edge to see the sights below. (Irreverent thought number 7. Is this number mystical or something as it keeps cropping up time and time again? Again our fellow passengers suffered. They were left either sitting in the coach eating ice creams or sitting in the pub car park a short walk away. As for us well the views from the cliff were absolutely lovely with the sun glistening on the turquoise waters. We managed to walk along for quite a way and saw the famous lighthouse as well. But the terrain was difficult to access and out of eleven passengers only my lovely husband and I saw anything worthwhile. We did offer to show our photographs (at a slight fee of course LOL) to our fellow travellers as we left to return to the hotel. We had to be back by 12.30 so that Mr Grumpy could make a start on his 45 hours! On reflection this was a wasted morning for most of the passengers. It would have been so much better if they had missed out the village and instead drove along the coast so that they could have seen the white cliffs, and lighthouse from the comfort of the coach. People who plan these day trips should really try them out and know more about their clientele ‘s capabilities. However, returning earlier than expected did allow us all to spend the rest of the sunny day at the seaside, which was enjoyable. As for Mr Grumpy; he has tomorrow off and will have made some inroads into making up his 45 hours. He is also moving to the Brighton hotel as well. Let’s hope he has a room with a sea breeze on the ground floor. I doubt it – don’t you? Thought for the day: Make the most of your day. |
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