A hotel described as having a reputation for being a "hell hole" left one reviewer with a key reason why she "wanted to leave" and "never look back". The Grand Hotel in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, is a Grade-II listed Victorian pile with more than 400 rooms, which has towered over the seafront in the town since the 1800s.

But despite its beautiful exterior and French-inspired architecture, rooms can still be snapped up for a very reasonable £50 a night, including breakfast. Pets are also accepted for an additional £10 a night, and the hotel website states there is "nightly bingo" with cabaret shows on Friday and Saturday while guests are on holiday.

But according to a review by YorkshireLive writer Samantha Teasdale, the Grand has something of a reputation as a "hellhole" and she explained in an article how "one thing" made her see why.

Sharing her thoughts on the venue, Ms Teasdale wrote: "Since I was in the Scarborough area, I thought it would be a great excuse to stay at The Grand Hotel. And with prices standing at £50 a night including breakfast, I thought 'why not.'

"After parking my car at Palm Court car park, I could immediately see the tall, majestic, yellow-brick building standing in the distance, standing proud and beautiful. But as I walked towards it, the cracks in windows and stairs, bird poo everywhere, and seagulls circling above were brought into sharp relief."

Ms Teasdale's avian observations proved to be consistent with her later experiences when she checked into her room. She added: "After taking several turns in the hallway, I found my room and opened the door to find a simple room layout that resembled my old university flat room. Everything I needed was in the room-a bed, kettle, TV, wardrobe, and a bath/shower-so I was quite happy since it was only for one night.

"At a first glance everything seemed clean - until I looked closer and spotted how filthy the windows were with bird poop outside and dust inside. I was grossed out and cringing when I had to figure out how to open the window up to let air inside as it was 24C.

"As I looked around the room again, I saw small scuff marks on the wall, a mark on the bath and on the bed sheet - but that was nowhere near as bad as the windows."

After saying she went into town to grab some dinner, Ms Teasdale revealed the real problems started. She explained: "Although the bed was not as soft as I am used to, it was comfortable enough to get a good night's sleep - well, it would have been if the seagulls had an ounce of decency to stop making noise every second throughout the night.

"There was no stopping the noise, it was like they had a foghorn inside their small bodies, even shutting the window did nothing. Apparently according to a few other visitors on TripAdvisor, this was a big problem for them too.

Out of the whole experience, the noise of the seagulls was the only thing that made me want to leave the hotel early and not get breakfast. It was so bad and loud. All night. Do seagulls never sleep? However, like a trooper, I managed to fall back asleep and wake up around 8am.

"Thankfully, I was able to get packed up and out of my room to head down to breakfast as I wanted to leave the room as quickly as possible and never look back."

On a positive note, Ms Teasdale reported the "breakfast was better than I expected" and "high quality" and "cooked to perfection". Concluding the review, she noted: "Looking back, I have mixed feelings on whether or not I would go back to the hotel, as the room was fit for purpose albeit dirty. The noise of the seagulls would stop me from staying longer than one day."

Scarborough is said to be home to the restaurant that has been crowned the 'cheapest' first and chips shop.