A woman who used to work at the Royal Albion hotel has shared horror stories of her time as a receptionist.

Ava Santina was a student at Sussex University when she worked at the hotel in King’s Road, Brighton which she says was infested with rats.

The hotel, having a prime location opposite the pier on the seafront, is popular with tourists but has lost grandeur over the years.

Ava said that considering there were no casualties, “the best thing for it was to burn down”.

The Argus: Ava Santina worked there while she studied at Sussex UniversityAva Santina worked there while she studied at Sussex University (Image: Ava Santina)

She began working at the hotel in the summer of 2015 to earn some money alongside studying in her second year.

The English literature graduate worked there for three days a week as a receptionist and would deal with complaints every day, she said.

“I couldn’t get through a shift without a complaint,” Ava told The Argus.

“It was filthy. The carpets were old and stained and a lot of the rooms still smelt of cigarette smoke, even though you wouldn’t have been allowed to smoke in rooms for years.”

The hotel had a "problem with sewage" and the basement rooms especially would have it pumped back into their sinks.

Ava said: “The worst thing I recall was when people in basement rooms had faeces in their sinks.

“I called head office and they would not let me refund customers. It was awful.”

The hotel is run by Britannia Hotels which had been ranked Britain’s worst hotel chain for a tenth year running in November 2022.

The Argus: The hotel has previously been ranked as one of the worst in BritainThe hotel has previously been ranked as one of the worst in Britain

Ava, who now lives and works in London, had a part-time job at their Brighton hotel for a year.

She said it was well known that the hotel was riddled with rats.

“They were everywhere and traps were all over the place,” said Ava.

The journalist was often the only member of staff at the front of house dealing with the barrage of complaints, she said.

“I would go into my shift on Saturday morning and people would be waiting at the desk to complain,” she said.

“Sometimes there were queues from the desk all the way round to the dining room.”

The hotel has a three-star rating from the AA and an average of 2.9 stars on Google reviews. 

In 2021, a spokesman for consumer experts Which? said: "Despite its Grade II listed status and prime seafront location in Brighton, the Royal Albion is one of the worst hotels we've ever inspected."

The Royal Albion Hotel was slammed then after visitors found gum on the bannisters, peeling wallpaper and an armchair repaired with gaffer tape.

“Breakfast also lived down to its one-star rating, with bitter coffee and anaemic-looking, watery scrambled eggs," an inspector said.

Ava was offered free meals when she worked there, but even as a student she refused after seeing rats in the kitchen.

Writing on Twitter, Ava added: "Rooms would go for £140 a night and I'm not joking I would not have slept there if you paid me a million."

Britannia Hotels did not respond to a request for comment.