Eastbourne hotel manager hits out over Claremont fire chaos

Andre Darabi, from The Pier Hotel in Grand Parade, said the family-run establishment has been under pressure for the last three months since the Grade II listed building next door went up in flames, and says now construction work is causing customers to leave negative online reviews.

Mr Darabi said he has tried to contact the council on several occasions to talk about possible ways to relieve the pressure specifically a discount on business rates - he said the hotel currently pays a total of £2,050 - but he said the council has rejected his requests.

The green light was given last Wednesday (February 12) to completely demolish the Claremont Hotel after Storm Ciara’s 80mph winds brought down large sections of the building which left the structure ‘unstable and clearly hazardous’, according to Eastbourne council.

Construction workers moved into the site on Friday (February 14) and Mr Darabi said he and other local businesses were notified by the council a day before, which did not give the hotel ‘much time to plan’.

The 36-year-old Iranian said, “We are now just trying to survive. This place was shut for two years. The council is not supporting local businesses. The Claremont staff lost their jobs and some other business around here have gone, like Debenhams. We could be the next place to shut down and lose our jobs. As a small business how are we meant to survive?”

An Eastbourne council spokesperson said, “We were contacted by Altitude Properties Limited which is connected to The Pier Hotel on January 13. We explained why we were unable to offer a discount on business rates.

“We also offered to help if further advice was required in completing the appeals process through the Valuation Office Agency and we requested permission to pass on details of their circumstances to the VOA. To date we have not heard back.”

Mr Darabi said the demolition work is constantly changing, specifically mentioning the obstruction of sea views, noise pollution, the blocking off of the pavement affecting footfall and how some customers have been ‘taking advantage of the situation’ and asking for a full refund.

Mr Darabi said, “Some customers have been saying ‘if we knew this was here we wouldn’t have booked’. Many people are surprised when they see the Claremont and say ‘wow’. We are getting a lot of bad reviews regarding the noise. It is very out of character to get bad reviews.”

One unhappy customer wrote on Trip Advisor, “The front of the hotel is bombarded with loud construction, which ruined the sea view. They did mention construction on the website but not the inconvenience it causes actually staying there. It’s criminal that a refund was not given. I was only there for three nights so I wasn’t bothered enough to call a solicitor.”

Mr Darabi said he has asked the banks for a loan to keep his business and the 12 workers the hotel employs going.

He said, “Hopefully in eight weeks the seafront will be open. We just have to keep going. If someone knows if there is a way to get support please let us know.”