We booked this hotel after being impressed by the website. The communal areas and art on display didn't disappoint. However, we had a room on the second floor which felt like the servants quarters. There was something institutional about it too. The carpet was stained, and the room as a whole looked like a travelodge room not a room in a boutique hotel. The bathroom was tiny and we had to squeeze past the loo to even get in! Perhaps I'm being fussy now, but I would have expected something better than Neutrogena products in the bathroom too. Breakfast was ok, but it is a buffet, the cooked food is not made to order and overall the choice was more narrow than we have usually found and of poorer quality . One thing I would say though is that the staff were brilliant - the service was exceptional and the view from the bedroom was beautiful.

A quirky hotel as another reviewer wrote. Our Club Room was large but had just one wardrobe cupboard with a high shelf inside. No chest of drawers or dressing table so you have to live out of suitcases. A faulty aircon unit made a horrendous noise throughout our first night but this was disconnected as soon as we complained the next morning. Staff were both helpful and polite at all times. Breakfast was excellent with good service. Overall a comfortable though unusual place to stay - well placed for the town centre (But book a parking space at the hotel) - but a bit on the costly side.

We held our wedding reception here last month and there were a few aspects of the day that could have gone better - they didn't really bother us on the day but looking back were quite annoying. First off, Circa and Pelham split in the new year, it have been nice to have been told this - it meant that although we were in Pelham House, Circa were responsible for our wedding reception inc food and bar and on the day co-ordination. I was therefore quite surprised to see the Pelham House wedding co-ordinator doing show-rounds to other couples when we were meant to have exclusive use. I mean, come-on, we were increadibly busy setting up the tables and my bridesmaid was in the other room having her make-up done and they were showing random people around commenting on my centrepieces whilst I'm on my knees in a tiara. The only reason we were having our make-up done downstairs is that despite being promised the bridal suite from 11am so we could get ready we did not get the key until 1pm. I was getting married elsewhere in Lewes at 2.30 and with an hour and a half to go we really needed to start on my make-up and get everybody else dressed. This was compounded by the fact that all the bits and pieces we had delivered the evening before on the premise that we had one of the side rooms had in fact been locked away in an office as they had hired the side room out and getting the key was an absolute nightmare so we were stuck with no underwear or jewellery for ages. They told us that a room would be made available in the mews for the groom and best man to get ready in as they were travelling down from London on the morning - this never materialised and they had to get ready in the shoe box of a room the BM was given and it took a near military operation and a stroke of luck that we didn't bump into each other. They put my mobility impaired 82 year old Grandmother in the single room upstairs and my 14 year old bridesmaid in one on the ground floor and then came and found me to ask my permission to swap them about - a little common sense would have been useful here I think? We were under the impression that we had reserved all rooms in the main house and most of the mews - imagine our surprise when coming up to the bridal suite with the photographer for some couple shots there was a random couple going into the room next to ours. I felt really sorry for them - a hotel full of wedding guests and a disco until 2am - a tip if you intend to stay here - ask if there's a wedding on as the sound proofing is non-existant. The service we recieved from the hotel in the run-up to the wedding was good but on the day they let us down. On the plus side, the addition of a full english went down very well the Sunday morning but it's a shame they have put the restaurant into the pannelled room - we had been hoping for some nice photos in there and it was a bit strange having our guests eat breakfast in two different rooms.

We were originally attracted to this hotel because we wanted to eat in the 'at one time highly rated' Circa restaurant, but after several unsuccessful attempts found/deduced that Circa had left. On its website the hotel itself said "Pelham House launched its new restaurant - the new place to be in Lewes; focusing on locally sourced food and mostly organic produce with fantastic gastronomic creations by Head Chefs Peter Winn and Simon Raynor"....and we were seduced as we know Lewes well, wanted a good meal in a nice hotel with time to meander around the area too. BAD idea. I don't know what cookery schools these two chefs went to but my wife and I have travelled the world and eaten in many very good [and not so good!] restaurants, and what we were served could in no way be described in the terms above! Bland, poorly executed and uncooked vegetables with indifferent service in a room that should have oozed character but didn't! The staff are patchy, some friendly but some who clearly think they are there to be 'noticed' and have no idea of what their actual role is - I certainly wouldn't employ them [and as we were paying the bill, we were!]. The hotel itself is quirky, interesting and self-consciously 'arty' with numerous points of interest and a garden that looked worthy of exploration. In terms of the rooms, ours was adequate for one night but, as others have commented, there was no space for a suitcase. This wasn't a problem for us, but could be for others. The beds are quite small, presumably to maximise on space, and the bathroom is creatively compact. We found quite a lot of dust and cobwebs around, and overheard other guests complaining of this too. Overall this smacks of self satisfied management who couldn't really care less about the guests who pay to stay there. We really wanted to enjoy this, but in the end couldn't recommend this to anyone - there are better hotels/restaurants locally. We won't be back.