Hastings Direct - AVOID AT ALL COSTS.

Advantages: None if you have to claim
Disadvantages: Appalling service outside of FSA guidelines

...On returning from my recent trip to France, I came home to find to find two nasty surprises. The first was in my haste to leave I had forgotten to do the washing up and there was a good smelly pile of decaying plates and cups just waiting for an industrial hose. No one else to blame but myself on that one. The second nasty surprise was that my car had been stolen. Like any insurance policy be it home, personal or car the true worth of the policy is only measurable once you have to make a claim on it. You can have the cheapest premiums in the world but if when you come to need the insurance company and they fail spectacularly to deliver, what price those discounts now. I never asked to be Hastings Direct. In the same way we never asked to be under Gordon Brown, my policy was transferred from Budget Choice. I do not know the ins...

Funzo 22.10.2008 · Read review
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Review of Hastings Direct

Hastings Town is the best

Advantages: Lots to do and Lots to See
Disadvantages: Read the review

...I have been living in Hastings since I have been living here that’s coming up 19 years and boy has it change alot in that time. Hastings is a busy town just on the outside of St. Leonard’s-on-sea and near Fairlight. ***Activities*** Hastings has many activities for all ages for example: The Mini Golf on the seafront. The Adventure Golf, which has only just been finished, is superb for people wanting to find out if they are going to be the next Tiger Woods. A fairground called Flamingo Park (I used to work there seasonally) which has very little ride for people of all ages to go on. What they do have are the Most ever Popular BUMPER CARS, 007 which is not for the faint hearted. Hastings is a big place for all those gamblers out there who want to put money in those dreadful slot machines. You can find most of these...

Sexy_Young_God 30.03.2004 · Read review
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Review of Hastings (England)

Hastings Castle - Its not up North!!

Advantages: Beautiful views, so much history
Disadvantages: Wont take you long to look!

...Boy, did I make my family laugh last week, did I ever keep them amused for hours. I was the subject of ridicule for at least 36 hours. Why? It was a simple honest enough mistake. It was whilst we were driving on a trip our, we'd been holidaying near Rye. I just happened to mention that I had always though Hastings was 'up North' and that the famous battle of 1066, you know the one that virtually changed the face of England had also happened up there. My daughter had, by some ill chance been studying the Normans at school last year and she thought it was hysterical. Alan just thought it one of those daft-ass blonde moments I've been having lately. So being only 12 miles from Rye, we travelled to the seaside town of Hastings, ( I didn't even know it was on the coast!), which turned out to be a lovely place. But we weren't there to...

Emma1973 05.09.2003 · Read review
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Review of Hastings (England)

Day Trip To Hastings

Advantages: Cheap and Cheerful
Disadvantages: Some areas are scruffy

...This is my favorite sea side destination come here and you wont be disappointed. First things first every one knows about the battle of Hastings 1066 well that actually happened up the road, but what else do you know? You may of heard of Hastings reputation for being tatty and univiting but don't listen to that, sure it may be a little rough around the edges but that just adds to the charm. If you visit Hastings head to the Old Town first, framed between the East and West Hills the old Town has nearly every type of architecture you can imagine, it resembles a Cornish fishing village without the crowds! For Architecture be sure to walk down All saints Street, High Street and Croft Road, Tackleway. There are Medieval, Georgian and Victorian buildings all trying to grab your attention. Also if you walk down to the stade there are...

monkeykong1 03.02.2008 · Read review
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Review of Hastings (England)

Hastings for 1066 And All That

Advantages: Good hotels. History 1066
Disadvantages: A bit tacky in parts. Rising crime

...modern,brash, part. In the High Street check out Starr's Cottages-one of them is painted to look like a wedge of cheese! This is where you will find most of the hotels,seafront guest houses and the bed and breakfast establishments. Hastings is quite well endowed as regards accommodations for visitors with several quite high class hotels and a number of well furnished small hotels and guest houses. There are amusement centres, bingo, candy floss kiosks and all the other establishments one associates with the English seaside. There are several one stop shopping centres in the town and a vast number of souvenir and holiday gift shops lining the sea front. Parts of the town are rather tacky and some older residents feel Hastings has deteriorated badly. There is mention of a drugs trade and on my visits several local residents indicated that...

ashford 21.10.2000 (29.08.2001) · Read review
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Review of Hastings (England)

The Strand Palace Hotel

Advantages: Central location, clean
Disadvantages: Food, rooms

...We stayed at this hotel in London a little over a month ago now for two nights, we chose this hotel mainly because of the central location and because it was only a ten minuite walk from the show we had booked to go too. Check in was very quick - About ten minuites and the staff at the reception seemed very friendly. My first thoughts on the hotel was that it looked really clean and that it was nicely decorated and it looked modern. I was a little dissapointed with our room as it was very small and basic, our room had a double bed, tea and coffee making facilities, a tv with satellite and a small, basic en suite bathroom with a shower. The views from our room very very poor - A block of offices which made our room dark as they were so close. The hotel has two bars and two resturaunts, the bars were again nicely decorated...

kate44 03.05.2007 · Read review
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Review of The Strand Palace Hotel, London

Underrated Hastings

Advantages: Old town very pretty, unique funicular railway
Disadvantages: Town centre eminently missable, seagulls a bit dangerous

...Hastings has suffered a sad decline ever since British holidaymakers have started going abroad. Add to that its relative isolation on the south coast and you have a town with some serious social and employment problems. However, it is well worthwhile going there for a day trip. The train journey from Brighton is gentle and picturesque going through the midst of the South Downs. St Leonards has an air of gentle dilapidation among its Victorian streets which merit a second look. Hastings doesn't look that promising but if you leave the concrete monstrousity of the high street and town centre there is much to see. If you go to the left from the station, you will reach the old town which is venerable indeed. Snaking up the side of the cliff, there are lots of hidden corners to explore and characterful pubs to stop in and eat as well as...

blinderben 24.01.2001 · Read review
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Review of Hastings (England)

Hastings: A DIRECT rip-off!!

Advantages: Cheap, free phone number
Disadvantages: Poor customer service

...When I bought my last car, I shopped around for the cheapest car insurance possible and Hastings Direct came up with having the cheapest quote, so they got my business. My car was a cheap little run around, something to get me from A to B. It was a VW Polo, J reg, 1.0l and cost me £500 in 2002. I decided to opt for Third Party Fire and Theft, and I had the option of paying monthly (with interest) or pay up for the whole year. Being a single parent, I couldn't afford to pay the whole amount, so I ended up paying £16 a month, Direct Debit. All went well initially, the payments came out of the bank on the date they said they would, no complaints so far. Then, in 2004, I moved from a big town to a small village, just 10 miles down the road. So I thought i'd better inform my insurance company of this change, thinking that...

charkai 21.07.2005 · Read review
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Review of Hastings Direct

Hotel International

Advantages: Location, breakfasts
Disadvantages: Poor rooms

...I recently went on a cultural girlie trip with a friend to Paris. I was left to do all the booking. I was looking for a reasonable hotel, near a metro stop, which included breakfast. I came across the Hotel International on various travel sites and it seemed fairly highly rated so I booked us in for three nights. LOCATION: The hotel is located 6 Rue Auguste Barbier in the 11th Arrondissement. The nearest Metro stop is Garcourt which was a two minute walk away and it was a five minute walk to Republique which gives good links to other lines. It's not really central enough to avoid the Metro and walk to the attractions but it was located so close to a stop that it seemed ideal. PRICE: Prices vary depending on size of room and season. There are singles, doubles and triples available. We paid Euro254 for the whole time...

tartlette83 17.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Hotel International, Paris

Hastings....they actually fought for this place!

Advantages: Nice in summer
Disadvantages: Dank and dismal in winter

...Friends of ours moved down to Hastings last month so we thought we'd make a weekend of it and go and see them. We booked into a Guest House along the front, the only reasonable one with a family room, the only draw back was the parking. Being on the seafront it was all residents permits or pay and display, but the guesthouse always checked with its guests where they were parked and if it was on a Sunday they would always let you know when you needed to have a permit from for the following morning and issue you with a temporary one themselves. We were situated by Hastings Pier and I have to admit that we didn't venture onto it, the weather was particularly bad that day. Before we met up with our friends we tried out the many sea front coffee shops in Hastings. This particular one we tried was called, I think, The Moon...

MitchellandAimeesMum 07.03.2006 · Read review
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Review of Hastings (England)