My daughter, her young daughter and I stayed in the apartment attached to the hotel. We paid ?500 for (I think) five nights. On the plus side the accommodation was warm. On the minus - the sitting room cum dining room cum kitchen was sparsely furnished. It just wasn't homely. There was a double sofa bed and one armchair, four dining chairs and a table although it was advertised as sleeping five. My daughter slept on the sofa bed which folded up if she rolled over to the edge. In spite of its being advertised as sleeping five we had to ask for extra bedding as it was provided only for the double and single beds in the upstairs bedroom. The kitchen in one corner of the sitting room had the absolute minimum of equipment and not particularly good quality and I had to ask for a small vegetable knife. We found a frozen pizza in the top of the fridge from a previous guest. When we cooked sausages on the grill which was inside the oven the smoke alarm was activated and in a phone call from reception we were immediately accused of smoking in the apartment. Diplomacy somewhat lacking. But by far the worst aspect was the noise and vibration from the unit positioned under the sitting room window. This ran intermittently all the time. We were told it was the cooling unit for the cellar which was at ground level under our apartment - our apartment was above this on first and second floor level. I think we should have been warned about this beforehand or been given a discount. In August 2007 we stayed at a gite in Normandy. It slept nine, was quiet and peaceful, spotlessly clean and the kitchen had every conceivable gadget and enough crockery and cutlery to cater for the Russian army. It was also a fraction of the price of the Cliffemount apartment and this price even included the ferry crossing for car and passengers. We love Runswick Bay and know it well but the apartment really was a rip off.

With a few significant 'tweaks' this could be a great hotel. The sea view is to die for, and the evening meal food is good (although somewhat overpriced). On the whole, the staff were pleasant too. On the downside, the hotel needs to address 4 important points: 1. We had a child with us but the hotel doesn't really cater for children - for example, in the evening there was no children's menu and only one main course dish was really capable of being adapted for size into a child's portion. Cliffemount could attract a lot more customers if the hotel were more child-friendly. On the other hand, if the hotel doesn't really want to attract families, its advertising should make it clear that it isn't really suitable for children. 2. For a hotel that claims to be 'Luxury', the breakfast menu isn't varied enough. For example, there was only one type of fruit juice on offer, and no continental option (e.g. croissants, yoghurt etc). Even the most humble B&B's provide these now. 3. The hotel has a beautiful sea view - so why dump so many unsightly cardboard boxes in the garden in a direct line with that view? Sloppy at the very least, and at worst this shows no consideration for guests. The hotel should put the boxes somewhere else or build a screen! 4. It was a cold winter's weekend, but the hotel chose to turn off the central heating each afternoon! So when on Saturday we returned from a long and cold walk at 4.30pm, the room was freezing! This is totally inconsistent with any 'hotel' label, let alone a 'luxury' hotel label. Money saving certainly shouldn't come into it given the hotel's rates!

I recently visited the Cliffemount Hotel for the third time. My two previous visits were made when the previous owner was in charge. The difference is amazing. The previous owner was friendly, hospitable and gracious.The present owners do not have these personal skills. My bedroom was dated and tired. The bed was too soft and was past its best. The kettle was old and grubby, the bedding was too hot and heavy for July. The bathroom was tired, the shower splashed all over the wall if not on full power. The wash basin was cracked, the loo roll holder fell apart when touched. Service was minimal , with no smile. Breakfast was well cooked and tasty, but the waitress never asked anyone whether they needed more tea , coffee or toast. I have no doubt they would have been forthcoming if asked for but they should have been offered. More choice should be available, different juices, local honey and jam, crusty rolls etc. After all this is no cheap or even moderate priced B and B. The chef cooks wonderful meals but not everyone needs three courses every night. I opted for a smaller meal, chose what I thought was one off the chalk board in the bar, only to find out these were starters for the restaurant meals. People on the next table were served a bar meal, which is what I would have prefered. I asked why I hadnt been shown the 'Bar menu'. The owner said , '' Well you will know for next time, wont you''. There was no next time, as I ate in the Magpie fish restaurant in Whitby the next evening. Very good it was, too. This hotel is in an unenviable position on the cliff edge overlooking a beautiful bay. There is great potential to make this hotel a first class establishment. Sorry to say the present owners seem reluctant to upgrade the rooms and to give hospitality of a standard the price demands. I hope someone with imagination and flair takes it over soon.

We have long planned to visit the Cliffemount-and what a disappointment! Two plusses: the view of the bay from our room was fabulous,despite the poor weather,& given the downsides we experienced,we were glad we paid the extra.Dinner was also good, though the menu varies daily as to be expected & we wished we'd eaten on the Friday instead of the Saturday when it was much more interesting ie lobster & green-lipped mussels. Now to the downsides. Our first encounter with the owner was telling us we had parked in an inconvenient place (not sure who for) - despite being in the hotel car park! Not a very nice welcome. Then we had the temerity to move a chair while eating in the bar & when we finished it was ostentatiously returned to its original position as 'it was blocking the door' .The next night we were told to remain 'in the bar' because we had dared to look in the restaurant for our booked table. I don't appreciate being treated like a naughty schoolchild when paying £215 per night for bed & breakfast.Owner customer service leaves a lot to be desired (though serving staff were much more pleasant)...The rooms are tired and need updating-our shower/bath combination resulted in a soaking as we vainly tried to work out the controls;I had to ask for a hairdryer and the drawers on the bedside tables fell apart when I opened them.Ah and breakfast...I can't recall when I last stayed in a hotel boasting about its food which offered TINNED grapefruit segments at breakfast.I felt as if I'd returned to Fawlty Towers.Some fresh fruit would be appreciated - its 2007 not 1977! Drinks are ridiculously overpriced : £3.30 for a TINY glass of lukewarm pinot grigio! Shall I go on? Needless to say,we won't be returning to the Cliffemount.

We booked a room with countryside views, room was clean and bright but really no difference in quality to the many good b&b's we've stayed in over the years- so to be charged around £90 for the room seemed very over priced... Runswick Bay is lovely but in terms of nightlife there is only one other pub and as this was deserted (in the middle of June on a Saturday night!) we chose to eat in the hotel restaurant- what a mistake! It seemed expensive - around £7 for a starter and £14 for a main but we went ahead and ordered...we both had scallaps for starters which were chewy and tastless and our mains- pork for me, steak for him- were over-cooked- the most incredible part of my meal was the mash potato which, I'm convinced was instant smash!!- the whole meal was around fifty pounds and a real let down. Oh and as mentioned by previous reviewers, the napkins are still paper!. Breakfast was much better however- we both very hungry from the night before! And did I mention the gin and tonic ? around £4!!! Overall a pleasant stay but overpriced......