Saltdean Lido Reviews
Reviews
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![Natalie]()
Natalie Sent on 24/06/2026We enjoyed the day, but key issues mean we'd not recommend it to others
First, the good. We had only good experiences with the staff we interacted with, all staff were friendly and courteous throughout. The venue looks superb and we were very lucky with the weather. The day itself did not face a major hitch. Indeed, we managed to enjoy the day unencumbered by the stress of the event, and all the staff we met on the day from the venue were incredibly helpful and professional and we are extremely grateful to them!
Now for the not so good...
The venue's contact for us changed three times, because of Lido personnel changes. Record keeping between their team was not comprehensive, meaning we had to go over everything three times, which with an operation as complex as a wedding is incredibly time consuming. Conversations with a previous contact would be consistently lost to the void, which was made worse since we negotiated agreements with them. Fortunately, we had the foresight to ensure when we signed it that these things were written into the contract, and the venue honoured the agreement.
The venue requires events to use their in-house catering, something we were happy to do. Having been invited to taste the menu we were pleased by the food provided...
However the venue's in-house catering provider changed one month before the wedding due to a takeover from the folks at Reading Room Brighton. By this point, we had already received our guests food choices.
The food provided on the wedding day looked far different to the food we were provided at the tasting. Even allowing for lowering expectations for having to serve a large quantity of people, we (and our guests) were disappointed with the quality and quantity of some of the dishes. It was obvious to us that the new catering team either had no pictures or recipes for the food designed by the previous catering team - or had consciously chosen to make it different; either way, not good.
The pasta dish was 3 pieces of tortellini when in our tasting it was 7. The cod curry (which wowed us at the tasting) tasted quite bland and seemed absent of spice. The "banoffee pie" was similar to a Mr Kipling with banana paste smudged on top.
(By contrast, the chorizo starter, beef main and basque cheesecake dessert were very well received.)
We were disappointed by a few other things.
The best man - a coeliac - was incorrectly provided with a non-gluten free dish. Fortunately he sensed something wasn't right, but given how many total dietary reqs we had, it didn't fill us with confidence.
We noticed many overcharges (from either poor recordkeeping or selective forgetfulness, we will never know) on our bill. The venue did add an "optional 10% service charge" to the bill, which was not mentioned to us when agreeing to the contract. This was added on a bill to us *before* the wedding (i.e. before we received the service). To their credit, it was removed upon request.
Other overcharges were due to not factoring in the agreements we made when signing the contract - but similarly, after pointing these out, this was ironed out.
Advice for others, we noticed it did get a bit toasty with all the people in the space. We were lucky with a sunny 20C June day, but folks should note that the venue does not have full air conditioning and while they can mitigate the worst of the heat by opening balcony doors and active ventilation, those holding an event here on a hotter day than ours with 80+ guests might want to consider somewhere else.
To be clear, we enjoyed our wedding day. The venue is beautiful, the location is ideal, and the photos are great!
But for these reasons together, we would probably not encourage this venue to others for a wedding. It really is a spectactular venue, but the price did seem too high for the service we received. Nonetheless, we wish the best to all the folks at the Lido and may well drop by in future for a bite to eat or a swim! -
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Jerry Sent on 07/01/2025
We truly had a magical day
We would like to express our thanks and gratitude to you all at Saltdean Lido and the venue its self. We truly had magical day and your team were exceptional. Your not just a venue, you're the entire package. -
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Ewan Sent on 03/01/2025
Our beautiful wedding
Our beautiful dream wedding came true at Saltdean Lido. We didn't want a stuffy, formal wedding and the team understood that. Our day felt magical from start to finish, all of the staff were amazing. We also were quite a last minute wedding so it could have been stressful, Catherine made it so easy for us. Everything was perfect and I wish I could do it all over again. Perfect venue, staff, food and memories. Thank you. -
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Derek Sent on 03/01/2025
We had a great time
Just a quick message to thank you for organizing our celebration at the weekend. We had a great time as did our guests, the weather couldn't have been better. -
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K Lana Sent on 03/01/2025
Amazing place
Amazing place. Dinner was lovely. Staff are very very kind and helpful. Views are amazing! -
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