Braye Beach Hotel, Alderney

A nice place for a quiet getaway with beautiful views of the sea. Amazing dinner. Friendly staff.

Flew in from mainland UK by light sport aircraft for the day. 2 electric pedal bikes got us round the island in a couple of hours finished off with a blow out late lunch at the Braye Beach Hotel. Splendid fish and chips sitting out on the balcony with a view of the bay. Brilliant.

Champagne afternoon tea at the Braye Beach. It was absolutely fantastic and the staff Elias and Azariah were absolutely excellent in looking after us. particularly commend the chef for the production of all of the lovely cakes. Sandwiches were splendid. A fair price which meant no evening meal needed!

We reserved a table outside with a nice view of the bay. We ordered mushroom soap, crostini with prawns and sea bass. Meal was tasty and staff was very friendly and accommodating. All good so far. As a desert we ordered a cheese selection for 14 GBP excl. 12.5% service tax. Very disappointing. Cheese selection just included a slice of what looked and tasted like plain brie and a piece of blue cheese and some dry toast. No further explanations from the waiter. Not a selection what somebody from France or Netherlands expects. For drinks we asked for the beverage chart and the waiter told us that they don't have one but we can go to the bar and see what is available (?). Although we were suspicious on what they were not transparent about beverage pricing we did not want walk over to the bar and ordered some sparking water and two glasses of house wine. When we asked for the bill we noticed that there was a charge of 32 GPB + 12.5% = 36 GBP for two glasses of house wine (?!). When we complained about the exorbitant price the waiter said this was the normal price for house wine. When we complained to the manager on duty that night he said that in fact it was the cheapest wine you could get. When I told the manager that apparently it was my mistake not to ask for the price of house wine before he said 'yes sir'. The combination of not providing a beverage menu and then being charged this amount feels very unfair and is against everything we consider good hospitality and fair business.

Hotel is lovely - staff super friendly and helpful - but the noise coming from the hard rock/ heavy metal/ or thump thump music below our room and which started at 11.00 pm put a spoil on the stay and the ability to sleep - to be fair it’s the only complaint we have. - sadly the loud music is a regular occurrence otherwise a great stay in a lovely location with good service .

Handpicked Hotels say “Braye Beach Hotel is renowned for offering one of the most luxurious stays on the Alderney island thanks to its 4-star status and warm hospitality.” When I stayed there the breakfast service was very slow. This week, getting a cup of coffee as a non resident was still painfully slow and to day, at 09.55 we were told that they weren’t open until 10.00 ? This is a hotel on a busy beach ! Bizarre.