BOASTING 37 lush Christmas trees and hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of decorations, a Southend seafront hotel claims to be the most festive place to stay this Christmas. 

The Roslin Beach Hotel, on Thorpe Esplanade, has been dazzling guests this month with a series of spectacular and up-market decorations filling the hotels lobby, restaurant and all the corridors. 

Echo: The hotel's main restaurant is adorned with crackers, reindeer and Christmas garlands.The hotel's main restaurant is adorned with crackers, reindeer and Christmas garlands. (Image: Ben Shahrabi)

The hotel will welcome around 450 people over a couple of sittings on Christmas Day, and again on Boxing Day – and is already 50 per cent booked out for next year’s festive period. 

Managing director Jacqui Dallimore, 60, said: “We totally embrace Christmas at the Roslin, as do our guests.

“We have a huge collection of decorations in storage which we’ve built up over the last decade, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Echo: The hotel boasts decorations worth 'hundreds of thousands' of pounds.The hotel boasts decorations worth 'hundreds of thousands' of pounds. (Image: Ben Shahrabi)

“We’ve become so well known for our decorations that people come here for weekend breaks over the festive period just to see them. We’re already half-booked for Christmas day 2024.”

But what is the secret to the hotel’s success? Jacqui says there are two.

Echo: An animatronic reindeer greets guests at the bottom of the hotel's decorated staircase.An animatronic reindeer greets guests at the bottom of the hotel's decorated staircase. (Image: Ben Shahrabi)

“We have the most amazing staff,” she said.

“A huge percentage of them have worked here for many years, which is quite rare in the hospitality industry.”

However, the hotel’s other not-so-secret weapon is its sea view.

Echo: Guests enjoy the waterfront view from the hotel's main restaurant.Guests enjoy the waterfront view from the hotel's main restaurant. (Image: Ben Shahrabi)

Jacqui said: “I’ve lived in Southend all my life, but I still walk through those doors every day and think ‘how lucky am I to have this view?’”

Assistant front office manager Karen Ciuclacu, 42, added: “The hotel has a stunning sea view. I got married here in 2018 as I couldn’t think of anywhere better to have our wedding.

“Why would I want to hold it somewhere else when I’ve got this view?”

Echo: Rita and Alan Ayliff have been regular guests for the last three years.Rita and Alan Ayliff have been regular guests for the last three years. (Image: Ben Shahrabi)

Husband and wife Alan and Rita Ayliff, both 81, of Bouldrewood Road, Benfleet, first visited on their 60th wedding anniversary in 2020. 

The pair are looking forward to spending their first Christmas at the hotel, joined by their children and grandchildren.

Rita said: “We just love the service. And you get a lovely Christmassy feeling when you step through the front door.”

Alan added: “We’d heard about the hotel’s decorations  they’re so warm and welcoming. It’s absolutely brilliant.”

Echo: Tracy Nicol (left) regularly visits the hotel when she comes down from Lincolnshire to see her friend, Diane Guidotti, who lives in Thorpe Bay.Tracy Nicol (left) regularly visits the hotel when she comes down from Lincolnshire to see her friend, Diane Guidotti, who lives in Thorpe Bay. (Image: Ben Shahrabi)

Friends Diane Guidotti, 59, from Thorpe Bay, and Tracy Nicol, 59, from Lincolnshire, are also regular guests.

Tracy said: “I love it here. The staff are always lovely, and the food is excellent.”

Diane said: “We’ve been coming here for nearly 20 years. It’s always welcoming.”