Sunday, November 16, 2014

The Laindons, Hastings

Jon and Sara made us feel welcome, and we felt very much at home during our 5 day stay at the Laindons this November.
The accommodation is tastefully decorated, with a fishing or nautical theme, giving a relaxed and uncluttered feel throughout.The room was clean light airy warm and spacious. The bed was very comfortable and the en-suite with shower very adequate.
The location is ideal. Hastings Old Town has the feel of a village, nestling between West and East Hill, away from the busyness of the new town beyond West Hill. There are many cafes, pubs, restaurants, a myriad of shops, quirky and independent, and lots of antiques. Mostly they are on George Street, on the sea front, and at that end of the High Street. The Laindons stands part way along the High Street, where the shops start to give way to the quite old and picturesque residential end. The traffic is minimal, and there is a cut through to a car park with free overnight parking.
Breakfast is a fine affair, home made muesli with yoghurt and home made fruit compote, with Bircher muesli or grapefruit as alternatives. A limited choice, but I would not choose anything different. The full English breakfast was excellent, as was the smoked haddock and Blueberry pancake options. The apple and pear juice was sourced from a local farm, though I did miss options for orange a grapefruit.  A Dualit toaster was on-hand to make your own toast from the delicious home made bread, very soft, yet easy to cut, and very tasty, a true delight.
Breakfast was served in a first floor conservatory, with views looking out over East Hill. Next to the conservatory was the residents lounge, which we found to be very comfortable. There were books and games, and we played a few games of scrabble, and ate our fish and chips there one night.
Also in the evening, there are apples tangerines, and nuts with a nut cracker freely available, while outside the rooms there were crisps drinks and other refreshments for sale. In the room, each evening were two home made cake portions, wrapped for freshness, as well as a flask of fresh milk for the tea and coffee making in the room.
It is not ideal for disability. Ann needed assistance, an arm or walking stick, for the three steps up to the front door, and the stairs up to the first floor had a turn, and an outward opening door at the top. The stairs up to our room were OK, but we will ask for one of the two first floor rooms next time.
All of Hastings Old town are within easy walking distance. We enjoyed our anniversary meal at The First In Last out pub and ate twice at the excellent Cafe Maroc, both less than 100 yards walk.  We also enjoyed Hanushka Coffee Bar during the day.


1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hi Mike

Would it be possible to correct the link in this post? The page for Hanushka Coffee bar moved some time ago to http://www.1066online.co.uk/gallery/old-town-photo-gallery/hanushka-coffee-house

Many thanks

Geoff Wolfe
http://www.1066online.co.uk