One of the many Victorian-era hotels nestled upon the seafront of Eastbourne, East Sussex, The Grand Hotel Eastbourne is the only five-star luxury hotel to sit alongside the British coastline, overlooking the white chalk cliffs of Beachy Head. Originally constructed and owned by Eastbourne resident William Earp in 1875, these days it is managed by the Elite Hotels group and has since been restored and modernised to meet the requirements of 21st Century guests.
The Grand Hotel Eastbourne provides a range of accommodation, with 152 rooms for guests to choose from. At the most basic end of the spectrum the hotel offers a number of standalone bedrooms of varying sizes, all of which come equipped with either a double bed or twin beds. The hotel also houses a number of suites, with junior, standard and master suites as well as three additional individual suites: the Debussy Suite, the Presidential Suite and the Penthouse Suite, all of which stand at the top end of the hotel’s accommodation price range. All rooms feature en-suite bathrooms stocked with Molton Brown toiletries, complimentary WiFi access, flat-screen televisions, tea and coffee making facilities and 24 hour room service.
There are two separate dining facilities within the hotel – the Mirabelle Restaurant and the Garden Restaurant – both of which offer a fine dining experience and request a formal dress code for evening meals. Menus at both restaurants cover a wide range of dishes, primarily modern European cuisine, with additional seasonal classics offered according to availability. Lighter dishes and a more relaxed atmosphere can be found in the hotel’s lounges, which also serve traditional afternoon teas.
The hotel also comes equipped with an in-house health club and spa, providing treatments from Kerstin Florian and VitaMan. Kerstin Florian packages specialise in natural resources such as herbal extracts, essential oils and thermal mineral water, whilst VitaMan caters exclusively to a male clientele. Outside of these treatments, guests are able to make full use of the club’s various other facilities, which include outdoor and indoor swimming pools, a gymnasium, a sauna, a steam room, a whirlpool bath and a solarium.
The Grand Hotel Eastbourne is just one example of the classic Victorian-era architecture that preserves Eastbourne’s status as a historic seaside resort. The seafront itself remains visually unchanged from the mid-19th Century and runs alongside four miles of Blue Flag award-winning beaches. All seafront buildings in Eastbourne are protected from alteration and development, and this, along with the thousand-foot pleasure pier and the traditional bandstand, helps to preserve a certain timeless atmosphere. This historic feel extends into the town itself, which houses four Grade-II Listed theatres and an extensive museum exploring life from the early 18th to the mid-20th Century. There is also plenty of modern entertainment available in Eastbourne, such as crazy golf, go-karting and Laser Quest, to name a few.