A major hotel has closed its doors, leaving customers in the dark about room bookings and functions.

Owners of the Lansdowne Place Hotel in Hove are to convert the property into serviced apartments.

A string of disappointed customers have contacted The Argus to say they have been left in the lurch over bookings at the hotel.

Leah Taylor, 42, from Hollingbury, booked a birthday surprise for her husband Robert at the hotel’s spa on January 2.

The hotel left a message on the couple’s answering machine on New Year’s Day to say the hotel had closed suddenly.

Mrs Taylor said: “My husband’s birthday was ruined. I had taken time off work and arranged to work different shifts. We had asked our daughter to look after our house while we were out.

"The hotel did not try to find another spa venue for us and since then we have been unable to speak to anyone about the cancellation.”

Glen Greenfield and his fiancée Penny Bryant planned a wedding at the venue in the spring. He put down a deposit of £500 and booked 20 rooms at £80-£100 a night.

Booked and paid for

His brother Aaron told The Argus: “All my brother’s wedding invitations have gone out. The suits are paid for. The registrar, the DJ and the cake have all been booked and paid for.

"No one from the Lansdowne Place hotel has contacted my brother or his fiancée.”

Chris Harris said he and his fiancée Emma Brooks have booked a wedding at the hotel in May and paid a deposit of £1,000.

Donna Knight and Jeff Teague said they have a wedding event planned in September at the hotel while Gemma Rann said she has a wedding function booked later this month.

They all said they have been unable to contact anyone at the hotel.

Early closure

David Glover, director at Max Hotels (Dudley) Ltd, which owns the property, said a problem with the boiler at the hotel had brought forward the closure plans.

He said: “We will be contacting everybody who has rooms and functions booked with the hotel to discuss their individual circumstances. We have not yet cancelled any functions. We will try to see if we can hold the functions at the hotel or at other venues.

“We do not have food and beverage staff at the moment but we have a kitchen that we can use if we need to.”

Mr Glover said customers can contact the general manager Michelle Brown if they have specific queries. Her email address is mbrown@lansdowneplace.co.uk

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