Breakfast, lunch, dinner served; British cuisine
Check availability

Reviews of The Gallivant

4 out of 5
The Gallivant
New Lydd Road, Camber, Rye, England

Reviews

9.0

Wonderful

Rating 10 - Excellent. 42 out of 71 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 20 out of 71 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 7 out of 71 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 2 out of 71 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 0 out of 71 reviews" "

9.4/10

Cleanliness

9.4/10

Staff & service

9.4/10

Amenities

9.0/10

Property conditions & facilities

10/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

John

Stayed 1 night in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

Simon

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A beautiful hotel
A wonderfully comfortable hotel with a team of staff who couldn’t do enough for us. Lovely to sit around the fireplace and relax for our anniversary treat and the luxury garden room was super comfortable.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2022

10/10 Excellent

Geoffrey

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Great decor, fab food and lovely staff
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2022

10/10 Excellent

Jill

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The Gallivant provided much needed solitude in the most stylish way, with every last detail careful attended to from towels and totes for the beach to afternoon tea service to the lusciously comfortable bedding. We made the easy walk across the street to the incredible stretch of beach, lazed for a bit in the lounge playing games and enjoyed a good cocktail with a delicious meal in the restaurant. We’ll be coming back for sure!
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2022

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2022

10/10 Excellent

Lynne

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Always Lovely
We love our escapes to The Gallivant, peaceful, gentle, comfortable and lovely people. Good location for beach, walks, touring, history. Will be back.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022

10/10 Excellent

Anna

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
It's a delightful bolthole, moments from Camber Sands - literally across the road
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2022

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Hidden Gem in Camber Sands
We had a lovely 2-night break here. Really homely, and a great place to get away from it all. The food was excellent, the lounge and restaurant were very Christmassy and a joy to hang out in. Our room was quite small but had a super comfy bed and nice decor. The hotel is very dog friendly and the beach is just over the road, great for big long walks. Could do with some dog waste bins around the property outside though. The staff go above and beyond and are super friendly. We loved the free elevenses and glass of wine at 5. Such nice touches! We had an issue with our room with a noisy ice machine outside meaning we got no sleep on our second night. Repeatedly told it was not faulty and it took a couple of conversations with different staff to get it resolved. Initially, we were offered a free bottle of wine but in the end, agreed to 50% room cost reimbursement. In hindsight, this should have been more considering on check out we were utterly exhausted after a long night of continuously disrupted sleep. The rooms are not cheap so this was a disappointing end to our stay. Overall I would recommend this hotel but make sure you have a room far away from the Kitchen / Outdoor dining area!
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2021

10/10 Excellent

Anthea

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Relaxing stay at a gorgeous hotel - more like staying with friends. Beautiful, cosy rooms, great food and drink, attentive service. As my husband put it 'classy but not pretentious'. Can't wait to go back.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2021

10/10 Excellent

Samantha

Travelled with family, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2021

10/10 Excellent

Anuj

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great hotel with great food.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2021

10/10 Excellent

Tess

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Amazing stay - only wish was longer!
The Gallivant is such a gem - we couldn’t feel luckier to have stayed in such a gorgeous place. We brought our little dog, who was made to feel so welcome from the start, and enjoyed roaming around the little garden attached to the room. The room itself was beautiful and we appreciated the characterful nature and cloud-like bed. The staff were incredibly friendly and warm, and the whole experience was made all the most fantastic thanks to them and the little touches of hospitality. The food is also very good, and you can feel the care and attention which has gone into it. Great wine list too with plenty of delicious local wines. I am a coeliac and they also catered to this very well. Can’t recommend enough if you’re looking for a special getaway in a romantic setting, steps from the beach. Thank you for a lovely stay, we will definitely be back.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2021

10/10 Excellent

Samantha, Dartford

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We were greeted by a lovely guy who made us feel very welcome. Room was impeccably clean and very nicely decorated. The covid changes that have had to be made didn't affect our stay in any way. The Gallivant is a peaceful, friendly and very quiet hotel. I would stay here again!!
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2020

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Stayed 1 night in Feb 2020

10/10 Excellent

Lynne

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Restful luxury
This is a really comfortable, gentle, calm place. You get the feeling of calm and rest as you enter the reception, warm and inviting with its log fire. The rooms are very comfortable, modern, attractive beach themes. We were given an upgrade so added luxury!
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2020

10/10 Excellent

Glenn

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great place to stay
Love this place, second time here, would go again!
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2020

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Cost rooms. Relaxing atmosphere and amazing food. Will definitely go back
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2019

10/10 Excellent

Nick

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Relaxing atmosphere. Happy staff. Warm. Rooms in verygood condition . No gym. Not cheap. Curdled milk and bottle to be removed. Water jug and glasses charged.
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Little gem.
We had a very relaxing break at the Gallivant. The staff are very helpful - the couldn't do enough for us. We loved the laid-back, 'Hamptons' vibe of the room decor.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2019

6/10 Okay

David

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Room comfort
Food excellent - bed uncomfortable - room a bit poky
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2019

8/10 Good

Dave

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
One Night Getaway
Excellent hotel/restaurant to stay at for easy access (across the sand dune) to Camber Sands beach and Rye town. Lovely chilled vibe with very friendly, helpful staff. Food is delicious if not a little over priced, however would fully recommend this place for a one night stay as we did.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2019

10/10 Excellent

Lynne

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Resyful
Very relaxing. If you want to ‘stop the world and get off’ this is the place!
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2019

8/10 Good

Timothy

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A foodie hideaway
An hugely unexpected oasis in an otherwise rather bleak area. Lovely rooms, great service and a tidy, upmarket spot with an excellent kitchen.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2019

10/10 Excellent

Ann

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Seasidey theme - lovely food, staff & nice touches
Thoroughly enjoyed our 2 night stay in June and all the staff were very friendly and helpful. Garden Room 5 was lovely, comfortable bed and pretty patio area - only 2 issues we experienced were that there was nowhere to place the kettle apart from the floor, so a small potcupboard would have been useful and probably saved spillages on the carpet, also the toilet seat didn't stay up (a problem for the men). Loved the decor throughout the Gallivant and its relaxed seaside feel together with the book, games and music Breakfast was great - homemade breads and cakes as well as locally sourced healthy options and fresh fruit is always a wonderful touch. Our evening meal was memorable and each course was brilliant, a bit pricey but fine for a special occasion. Hadn't realised dogs were allowed - my husband is asthmatic and has allergies - but your cleaning team must have done a good job as he had little problem. We probably wouldn't have booked had we noticed but in fact are extremely glad we did !!
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Stayed 1 night in Jun 2019

8/10 Good

Barbara

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in May 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The location is lovely and there are no kids so a very peaceful environment
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2019

10/10 Excellent

Nigel

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A comfortable short stay,.
Hotel was spotlessly clean. Room was comfortable and quiet. The breakfast was excellent and the complimentary tea and cake just after check In was a nice touch.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2019

10/10 Excellent

Nicky D

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2019

10/10 Excellent

Rohul

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2019

8/10 Good

A Macdonald, London

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
A lovely stay
We had a lovely stay and the hotel had a welcoming atmosphere! The staff were really friendly and helpful! We were a little disappointed that the cooked breakfast wasn't included (considering the price) and we were woken in the morning by noise from out the back and a hairdryer being used in the next room. Apart from that we had a lovely stay! :)
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2019

10/10 Excellent

Rosalind

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Room in need of repair
Apparently some rooms are still in need of updating but they dont tell you that before you book. Other rooms had been refurbished but my one was not comfortable. The room I stayed in had a broken radiator so it was boiling hot all night. You couldn't turn it off. Really didn't make the stay comfortable. There were also broken tiles on the bathroom floor which were sharp, and the bathroom door did not close properly. The room badly needed repairs really, not sure why this was not addressed before my stay. Do management care? The staff are lovely though, and very helpful and friendly. Shame the management let the room get so run down
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2019

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Stayed 1 night in Dec 2018

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2018

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
We stayed in the Shug Cabin room. The bathroom looks nice but totally not practical and shower was awful. I’ve had better shower at campsites! Nice place overall but over priced for what it was and the location. Dinner and breakfast were nice, but they only seem to have small plates?! My partners steak and chips were literally squashed onto a small plate. If you charge £28 for steak and chips we’d expect something a little better!
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2018

6/10 Okay

Susie, Kent

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
A few little niggles
It’s not at the cheap end of the scale so I felt the following issues shouldn’t have occurred: Our room was ridiculously hot on arrival so we turned the wall heater off. Hours later when trying to sleep, the room was still too warm to sleep comfortably and as it was a garden room, there were only french doors and no windows to open. I’m allergic to feathers and stupidly assumed that the hotel would provide alternatives (as do most others I’ve stayed in). Only 1 pillow could be found by the evening staff and 1 ‘pregnancy’ pillow which he had stuffed into a pillow case so was so fat it was unusable. On checkout, we were asked to pay for the room which was prepaid, and items that we hadn’t consumed had been added to our restaurant bill. This was all amended but could have been avoided if someone had done their job properly in the first place. I know other reviews have praised the staff at The Gallivant, and those we encountered couldn’t have been more friendly and helpful and were the best thing about our stay. If prices were lowered, expectations might not be so high.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2018

8/10 Good

Why?

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Close to being perfect
Staff are brilliant & always go the extra mile. The welcome on arrival was very warm & being treated to tea & cake was a very nice touch. Extra Brownie points because they let residents' dogs in everywhere. Why are most other hotels & restaurants so paranoid about this idea? Would be 5 stars in all areas given a little bit of attention to detail, like, our room door handle very loose & almost impossible to lock or open, ceiling light bulb blown, lighting in bathroom too dim & water connected incorrectly to basin, cold supply goes on right not left, also the extractor fan was not working and there was no ventilation in the bedroom other than leaving the ground floor french doors open throughout the night and lighting inadequate to read menu in centre of restaurant. That said the food was superb though the wine list prices came from another planet. These are small items that would make this place 100% once attended to.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2018

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very cosy & welcoming. Outstanding food - breakfast in particular!
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2017

10/10 Excellent

Nicola

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Such a find.......a complete GEM of a place
Fantastic room, food and staff. Although was a little more expensive than I usual pay when travelling for work, I am so glad I did this once. Highly recommended!!!!!
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2017

8/10 Good

paul

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Good :Very good service from staff. Bad: Room had a broken partition door and very noisy plumbing.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2017

8/10 Good

Michael

Liked: Room comfort
Short stay experience
Stylish and enthusiastic concept. Good food with local produce and most things home produced, including bread and butter. Might consider changing the menu more often or separating the lunch one from the dinner one. Very good breakfast. Service levels are a bit patchy and some staff are insufficiently proactive. Rooms are comfortable and well serviced. Lovely gardens outside the window. All a little cramped though.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2017

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Pleasant experience with a few things to improve
Great location, so close to the beach, a very stylish decor. Good food at the restaurant. The service at the restaurant could be better - the waiters were slow and forgot several items from the order. Soundproofing of the room is quite poor. Overall a pleasant experience but feels a bit overpriced.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2017

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The hotel and restaurant were beautiful. My only issue was with the lack of Air Conditioning in the room. We only had a door to keep open (no windows) and we didn't want to sleep with the door to the terrace open through the night. Staff were excellent.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2017

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Dog friendly hotel near dog friendly beach
We felt very welcome at the Gallivant, and found it really was dog friendly. The food was excellent; our only quibble was the unsuitability of the bread provided for toast & how long the toaster took to toast! The location opposite the dog friendly beach is very good, be nice to have a zebra crossing there but that's no criticism of the hotel. We liked the decor and the garden area added to our pleasure. Our room was a little small - ok for two or three nights but not for a long stay - but to have both bath & shower was good. We felt very relaxed here and will be back.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2017

10/10 Excellent

Andrea

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Superb hotel with very tasteful decor
The Gallivant is a lovely hotel all round. We stayed in room 20 (Camber), the room was very well decorated. It was lovely to have outside space too, excellent breakfast. We only had breakfast at the Gallivant but would have dinner at the restaurant next time. The beach is just a couple of minutes walk away from The Gallivant, and Rye nearby for antique shops and sightseeing. Top marks

8/10 Good

Russell

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
A wonderful getaway
Very warm and welcoming small hotel with the beach on its doorstep. The food in the restaurant is excellent, including the 'continental' breakfast included (which is more exciting than it sounds). The only down-sides were that our room got a bit smoky in the mornings - it seemed to come down the ventilation shaft from the log fire in the restaurant - and that our room was also a bit hot. Otherwise a beautiful place where we felt very at home.