White Rock Hotel, Hastings

The White Rock Hotel is a large hotel on the seafront at Hastings and as such there is plenty of café style seating with views of the sea on the terrace out the front. The bar area is to the right of the entrance and it had a modern feel with the tables uniformly set out at exact distances and the three other people in the bar when I visited on Monday evening last week were all using their laptops. I walked up to the bar and noted my observations and then had a wander around to see if I could find anything interesting, which didn’t take long, and then I found myself back at the bar. I think that over five minutes had passed before I saw any kind of staff member and then I was asked “are you waiting sir” – No, I like to walk into random hotels so that I can stand at the bar and scratch my balls! To be fair the service was friendly when it finally arrived and I had a pint of Harvey’s Kiss which slipped down nicely. The other three ales on were Sussex Extra Stout, Pale Ale and Original all from the Dark Star Brewery and apart from the Guinness all of the draught products were of the premium type. I’d be very happy if I was staying at a hotel and found this to be the bar, but I wouldn’t actively seek this place out when there are proper pubs in the area.

When you're at the seaside and fancy a pint, how many of us would go into a hotel? Not many. Which is a shame. Hastings sea front is littered with so many grim pubs and this place gets overlooked. Four decent ales on the hand pumps, and over twenty local bottled ales behind the bar. With bar staff who know what they are doing, the place is welcoming and I for one will be going back.

Situated opposite the town's pier, the White Rock looks like any other seasfront hotel and for the most part, that is exactly what you get. The entrance leads straight to the reception with the bar leading off to the right. The first impressions are of a typically genteel hotel bar, largely laid out for hotel guests ready to sit down for dinner or afternoon teas. The style is modern with dull shades and the zero ambiences that normally go with drinking in a hotel bar. Despite feeling a bit uncomfortable wandering in wearing a football shirt I was warmly greeted by the uniformed French brman and studied the 4 pumps which enticed me here in the first place. They admirably support local breweries and on my visit Harveys Olympia, King & Co Mallard and 2 Dark Star Ales (Hophead and Sunburst) were available and easily justified the visit. The lagars were of the premium top of the range variety and prices did not seem to be as steep as I would have expected in such surroundings. Along the front of the hotel is a decked terrace that overlooks the seafront and the pier which, fortunately for us, had a few seats available so I could enjoy the beers (and they were most enjoyable) without having to suffer the blandness of the bar itself. Sadly the traffic noise all but drowns out the seagulls and the waves crashing onto the beach. The bottom line is that this is a wonderful spot for a sunny Saturday in August but not really a place for a wet Tuesday in November and without the quality beers it wouldn't pass for much at all.

Large sea front hotel with a large open bar area that extends outside. There are 3 real ale pumps and when we went they had our favourite beer, Dark Star American Pale Ale, unfortunately it was not as nice as it should be and the other pump was selling something undrinkable. Great effort for a hotel,must try harder though,.

New ownership since 2007. Big upgrade and refurb by new owner has made this worth seeking out. Always 4 real ales available - usually local micros. Good value high quality food. On a sunny day you can sit on the terrace and enjoy views out to sea.

Official site of the White Rock, contains menu - www.thewhiterockhotel.co.uk

Official site of the White Rock, contains menu - www.thewhiterockhotel.co.uk