Hilton Brighton Metropole review

We’ve stayed in Brighton loads over the years and it’s become one of our favourite family getaway spots. We usually come during February half term, Easter or October half term, so this was one of the first times we’d really experienced Brighton during a proper heatwave and peak summer crowds.

Safe to say, it was a bit of an eye-opener.

The Hilton Brighton Metropole is one of Brighton’s most recognisable hotels sitting right on the seafront, and from the outside it still has that grand old Victorian hotel look. You can tell it must have been incredibly impressive in its heyday.

Unfortunately, first impressions inside were a bit different.

Check-in chaos at the Hilton Metropole Brighton

Check-in officially starts at 4pm, which already felt late compared to most hotels we stay in. We arrived at around 3:45pm and walked straight into absolute chaos.

The lobby was packed. There was an enormous queue snaking across reception and not nearly enough staff on the desks for the amount of people arriving. We ended up standing around for roughly 40 minutes in a hot, crowded and sweaty lobby feeling tired and fed up before we finally got checked in.

I’m a Hilton Honors member, but online check-in wouldn’t work because we had booked through Expedia. So there was no quicker process or membership benefit there at all and it’s worth noting that they only give complimentary water for the rooms if you are a Hilton Honors member, so bring your own if you don’t want to sign up.

Even later on when we walked back through reception at around 5:15 pm to head to the swimming pool, the queues were still absolutely rammed with people waiting to check in. The hotel was clearly struggling to cope with peak-season demand.

The room completely changed our mood

Then we opened the room door and things improved massively.

The room itself was actually brilliant.

We booked a sea view balcony room and I really do think that’s the key to enjoying this hotel. Without the sea view, I don’t think the experience would feel anywhere near as special.

The room was large, flooded with light from enormous floor-to-ceiling windows and had some surprisingly stylish touches. The lighting in particular was really nicely done, with matching wall lights, table lamps and a cool modern floor lamp that tied the whole room together.

Straight away your eye is drawn to the view.

From the balcony you can see the sea, the remains of the burnt-out West Pier and the Brighton i360. It’s a brilliant spot for people watching and soaking up the Brighton atmosphere.

We spent part of the evening sitting out on the balcony watching the sunset and listening to the sounds of the seafront below. That ended up being one of the best parts of the whole stay.

There was definitely noise from groups of teenagers outside because Brighton was absolutely heaving during the heatwave, but that probably comes with the territory when you’re staying directly on the beachfront in peak summer.

Personally, after this trip, I’d probably go back to doing what we normally do and visit Brighton off-peak. We’ve always loved our quieter autumn and spring trips here. This visit felt much more chaotic, crowded and full-on than the Brighton we usually enjoy as a family.

Practical features that worked really well

One thing I really liked about the room was how usable it felt.

There were lots of little zones rather than just a bed shoved into the middle of a room. Alongside the bed area there was:

• a really good desk setup
• a comfortable chair
• proper lighting for working
• another seating area
• an additional table near the TV
• A plug socket directly under the full lenth mirror (ideal for hair dryers and straighteners etc).

I ended up sitting there doing some blogging and it worked really well.

Storage was good too, with a wardrobe, safe and all the usual tea and coffee facilities you’d expect.

You only get complimentary bottled water if you’re a Hilton Honors member, so it’s definitely worth signing up before your stay because it takes two minutes and gives you a few little extras.

Guests also receive warm cookies on arrival, which was a nice touch. We had the same thing at the DoubleTree by Hilton Malta, so I think it must be a DoubleTree thing. Worth noting though, they contain walnuts, so avoid them if you have a nut allergy.

The bathroom was fine but a bit tired

The bathroom itself was absolutely adequate. It was clean, a decent size and perfectly functional.

But it definitely lacked the wow factor you get in places like Kimpton Fitzroy London or the more design-led bathrooms at The Standard, London with all the snazzy tiles and styling details.

There were also a few maintenance issues:

• the shaver socket wasn’t working
• there was a crack down the side of the bath

It reminded me slightly of the bathroom situation at The Dilly where the building itself has character but some areas are starting to feel a bit tired around the edges.

Remember the insanely gorgeous bathroom at the Standard, London? Well, this wasn’t in the same league.

A surprisingly good security feature and a major issue

One thing the hotel did really well was the connecting room security setup.

We’ve previously had concerns about connecting doors in hotels, especially after my stay at Meliá White House where the adjoining room setup caused me a middle of the night meltdown and room change (arghh!).

Here, there’s actually a little chamber between the two rooms with an additional internal safety lock on your side. That means nobody can simply unlock the adjoining door from the other room and walk straight in.

It’s such a simple feature but it made a huge difference from a family perspective.

The downside is that sound does travel through the connecting area quite easily. We could hear the people next door chatting in the evening. Thankfully they weren’t noisy late into the night, but if you had loud neighbours it could definitely become annoying.

Oddly though, the external soundproofing was excellent.

Despite Brighton being absolutely packed and noisy outside, once the balcony doors and curtains were shut, the room became really peaceful. The air conditioning was also fantastic. Considering it was flipping boiling outside, the room stayed lovely and cool all night.

The balcony was a different story…

One major balcony security & privacy issue

There was one really significant security concern that the hotel needs to address at Hilton Brighton Metropole in the sea-view balcony rooms.

At least two rooms (in our case and possibly more elsewhere), share balcony space unlike most hotels where balconies are properly separated with partitions. The UPVC doors onto the balcony (which initially look safe and secure) do not lock in the way you would expect.

We tested it and anyone can get into your room even if you’ve ‘locked’ the door by pushing the handle up and engaged the locking mechanism as the handle on the outside can unlock it so the people you share the balcony with can get in unless you put the inside catch on, which in our case was wobbly and falls down.

You can go through the normal locking procedure by shutting the door and lifting the handle up, but without the top safety catch engaged, the handle can still apparently be operated from outside.

This is a major oversight from a security perspective.

Also, if you are getting undressed in your room there’s nothing to stop your neighbour wandering along the balcony and looking in your room window which is a major privacy issue.

It especially stood out because the hotel had actually done such a good job with the security setup on the adjoining internal room doors. That extra chamber and safety catch system inside the connecting rooms gave loads of peace of mind, so it was surprising to then find a huge vulnerability on the balcony side instead.

Personally, I think the hotel should properly partition the balconies between rooms to remove the privacy issue and install a true locking mechanism on the balcony doors that cannot simply be bypassed by lowering the handle from outside

The swimming pool was a major disappointment

One of the main reasons we booked this hotel was because it has a swimming pool.

The boys absolutely love swimming when we go away, so after dropping our bags in the room we headed straight down to the health club ready for a swim. Only to find out you have to pre-book pool sessions.

We hadn’t been told beforehand and there were no slots available, so we couldn’t use it. Looking through the window though, I’m not sure we would have wanted to anyway.

I have never seen so many people crammed into such a tiny swimming pool. It looked absolutely chaotic. We later found out they allow up to 33 people into the pool area at one time which, for the size of the space, sounded completely mad.

We booked a slot for the next morning and this turned out to be horrendous! Not only was it so packed that you couldn’t move. You cannot see the bottom of the pool it is so filthy. There are hundreds of people using this pool everyday and it shows. Do not use the pool if you stay here, it is foul.

It was a really stark contrast to the Leonardo Royal Hotel Brighton Waterfront where the pool is also fairly small but somehow always feels calmer and much more enjoyable.

So if the pool is a major reason for your booking, it’s worth managing expectations here, especially during busy periods.

Breakfast was much better than expected

Breakfast was probably one of the biggest pleasant surprises of the stay.

The breakfast room inside the 1890 At The Met restaurant is gorgeous.

Loads of ornate cornicing, panelling, coving and original detailing.

It actually reminded me quite a lot of the breakfast room at the Kimpton Fitzroy, just with sea views thrown in too.

Food-wise, there was a good spread:

• pastries
• cereals
• yoghurts
• cold meats and cheeses
• waffles
• toast
• full cooked breakfast options

The coffee comes from a self-service machine, so it’s not quite the same as having barista-made coffees brought to your table, but it was perfectly fine. Plenty of tea and milk options too.

One important tip though: go early.

We went down around 7:30am and by the time we left just after 8am, a massive queue had already started forming outside.

The interiors were a real highlight

As someone whose website started out entirely focused on interiors, I can’t stay in a hotel without paying attention to the design details and overall styling. And in that respect, the Hilton Brighton Metropole actually really impressed me.

While some of the practical and operational sides of the stay felt stretched during the heatwave, the interiors throughout the building were beautifully done.

The scale of the hotel is huge, with enormous hallways, sweeping stairwells, huge marble staircases and massive windows flooding the communal spaces with light. The wall panelling in particular stood out. There was intricate blue detailed panelling running throughout many of the public areas and it looked immaculate.

The chandeliers were fantastic too and gave the hotel that grand old seaside glamour feel that you want from a historic Brighton hotel. Even the lobby seating areas had been thoughtfully designed with lovely colour schemes, statement lighting and lots of little breakout spaces to sit and relax.

The artwork throughout the hotel was really good as well and helped stop the huge communal spaces from feeling cold or corporate.

One thing that weirdly impressed me was the robot vacuum quietly making its way around constantly cleaning the carpets. In a hotel this size, during such a busy period, it was actually reassuring seeing how much effort was going into keeping the communal areas looking smart.

So while parts of the guest experience were chaotic, I would genuinely say the interiors were one of the strongest aspects of the hotel. If you love historic buildings, original detailing, panelling, chandeliers and grand Victorian seaside architecture, there is loads to appreciate here.

Would I stay at the Hilton Brighton Metropole again?

This is quite a hard hotel to sum up because parts of it were really enjoyable and parts of it were frustrating.

The room itself, was lovely. The views, natural light, air conditioning and usable layout were great, but the securit issue with the balcony kind of ruined it.

The overall guest experience downstairs was chaotic throughout most of the stay with huge queues, overcrowding. The pool was gross, packed and should be swerved.

I think the key thing here is timing. If you stayed here outside peak summer, when Brighton itself is calmer and the hotel isn’t stretched to capacity, I suspect the experience would be significantly better.

But if you’re visiting during a heatwave or school holiday period, definitely:

• pay extra for the sea-view balcony room
• keep an eye on the balcony security
• avoid swimming
• arrive prepared for queues
• go early for breakfast
• and expect Brighton itself to feel very busy and loud

We won’t be returning as we much prefer the Leonardo Waterfront hotel which although is less old-style glamourous and much more modest hasn’t let us down before. We are off to stay at the Grand Hotel next door tonight so will report back on how that goes.