The Aviator, formerly Smugglers Cove, Clacton On Sea by Marston's Inns

Comfortable bed, pressure not great on shower. Car park empty in the morning at 7.30, did anyone stay that night.

Some updating and painting might freshen up the hallways and rooms but they were clean.

I stayed here with my wife and two kids for a two night stay. When we arrived we were pleasantly surprised at the overall cleanliness of the room. It had been made up to accommodate all the beds we needed and it was a very lovely little room to stay in. The bathroom was very clean too. Also plug sockets on each bedside! Those are a game changer which surprisingly aren't in a lot of hotel rooms. Here come the negatives. We were a little disappointed that the room did not come with a mini fridge as those are always handy to have and also there was no lift. It’s only two storeys but when you have heavy luggage it’s quite necessary. I don’t know what wheelchair users would do. Not a huge deal to us but just some things which I feel I have to comment on. The main negative came at the end of our stay. When fishing underneath the main bed for any lost kids toys before checking out, I saw it had not been cleaned at all under the bed. There was a used tissue, sweets stuck to the carpet and crumbs. Then I saw a shiny pink thing which caught my eye. I had to use the TV remote to get it out. What it turned out to be was a piece of illegal smoking paraphernalia. A grinder of sorts. A quick sniff confirmed my suspicions. It must have been left on the bedside from a previous visitor and fell off and rolled underneath. This was the worst part of our stay. Lucky it was at the end and lucky it was not something ‘worse’ which my children could have picked up.

Friendly and inviting

Clean room. Plenty of tea and coffee. Great breakfast at the pub and lots of other food outlets around. Would definitely stay here again.