"We’ve stayed at this hotel several times and to start off, I would strongly recommend this to you for a wonderful stay in Jersey. With a few caveats.
Having stayed in a variety of rooms, they are all spacious, bright and very comfortable. Standard/premium rooms are excellent base products, while the suites are very large and have incredible views over St Aubin’s Bay and the castle (especially at night). The panoramic suites are on a whole different level, and if you can book one, you should. The floor to ceiling windows are breathtaking, particularly while watching the sunset over the bay.
The hotel facilities are good, there is a decent gym and pool access included in the stay. The staff here are friendly and gym equipment is fairly good and varied for a hotel. The hotel is located in a perfect spot right by the marina, the waterfront development and the beach which are all great for walks, and the town centre of St Helier is only a 10min short walk from the hotel. Ideal for business and for leisure.
Staff we encountered in the hotel across all our stays have been very pleasant and friendly, and often acknowledged our VIP Radisson status, which is important when you stay 40+ nights a year to have your loyalty recognised.
However the experience distinctly changes when it comes to food. This has not always been the case, in fact our first few times staying at the hotel we were blown away by the quality of the food. We fondly recall eating sushi out on the terrace at sunset drinking a local Jersey beer (Liberation Ale, highly recommend). We ordered room service of the burger and onion rings to our panoramic suite another sunset, and the food was out of this world as were the views.
Then we come to our latest visit.
There appear to be several cost cutting measures hitting food quality. Sauces are now served pre-squirted into dishes (unhygienic) whereas before they were served in these luxurious little pots which tasted much better. Breakfast items once offered complementary on the à la carte menu have been cut and the remaining items now carry a charge (even if you’ve already paid for breakfast), and the buffet selection itself is dwindling. Some items are being swapped out for cheaper alternatives - the new hash browns for example are not nice, they used to be delicious. Avocado used to be available, no longer is. The coffee from the machines in the buffet is terrible quality, almost undrinkable. But the worse offence of all was the “vegan club sandwich” I ordered. What arrived was two cold burger buns with 4 half-sliced vegan sausages criss-crossed inside. For £18. Management - what are you doing to the food!!!! Our mouths used to water thinking of the menu here. Now we would advise anyone to eat away from the hotel.
Please do not let this distract from the other amazing attributes of this hotel, as it is one we would return to in a heartbeat. The location is spectacular. The staff are friendly and helpful. The rooms are spacious, comfortable and have tremendous views. But these issues with the food are a huge problem and need to be addressed quickly. The hotel itself is very good value on a nightly rate, perhaps this needs to rise to ensure that corners are not cut on the experience end - people remember how they felt long after leaving a place. Food is a big part of that experience.
To sum up, I would stay here again gladly, I recommend you do as well, it is a fantastic hotel, and hopefully the food returns to its former glory (honestly, fingers crossed, it was amazing!)."
