The Grand Brighton hotel review… don’t let it be said that I don’t take my bespoke on a budget mantra seriously. Not only do I apply it to my home decor and DIY projects I meticulously plan our family trips with getting the best value for the least money in mind. As a result, we personally tested three of the famous Brighton seafront hotels so we could compare them fairly and share the highs and the lows with you.
After our disappointing stay at Hilton Brighton Metropole, we moved next door along Brighton seafront to The Grand Brighton. This is the one I’d really been looking forward to, as Mr D and I stayed a few years ago on our own and said at the time, ‘imagine how cool it will be when the kids are old enough to come on trips like this’. Fast forward a few years and here we all were at the gorgeously historic and iconic Brighton hotel that, lucky for us, had recently undergone a £17 million refurb!!
And within about 30 seconds of walking through the door, we knew we were going to have a wonderful stay.
The difference between the two hotels is immediate. At the Metropole, we stood in a 45-minute queue while staff gave the impression they couldn’t care less before chucking a cookie at you and handing over the room key. It was SLOW yet seemed chaotic and really impersonal. Here, the second you walk in off the seafront the vibe is so different. There’s somebody to greet you, there’s a concierge, staff in suits asking if they can help carry bags or park your car, people opening doors and checking whether you need anything. Very luxurious and amazing value when you consider the price we paid (more on that in a minute!)
We arrived about 15 minutes before check-in and instead of being told to wait around, they happily completed all the pre-checks and offered to ring us when the room was ready. We mentioned that we were staying for our anniversary and they gave us complimentary drinks vouchers for the Victoria Bar, which was such a lovely touch and one we were super grateful for.
Even better, our room was ready at 3pm instead of 4pm, so once we’d collected our bags from the bag room at the Metropole (cue another LONG wait in reception – arghh) we came back to the Grand and picked up our room key which is an actual key rather than a card, albeit an electric one.
The Grand Hotel Brighton Review – First impressions
The whole atmosphere here is calmer. Even though the hotel is large and Brighton was absolutely rammed because of the heatwave, it never felt stressful or overcrowded. It was peaceful and people were relaxed and smiley (unlike the grimacing going on next door!).
That was probably the biggest thing we noticed compared to the Metropole. There’s no chaotic atmosphere, no packed lobby full of people dragging suitcases around, no feeling like you’re part of a conveyor belt of guests being processed through the building.
As i mentioned, the hotel had a £17 million refurbishment completed in 2025 and it really shows. It’s all in beautiful condition and incredibly well-maintained.
There are gorgeous historic features everywhere including exquisite wall panelling, huge staircases, marble details, ornate coving, cornicing and architraves that instantly transport you back to the era these grand Brighton seafront hotels were originally built in.
It doesn’t feel over-modernised or stripped of character. It still feels grand and historic, but fresh and luxurious at the same time. There was a beautiful table with a gorgeous flower display in the middle of the chandelier adorned lobby – such a treat.
The Grand Brighton Hotel review: The room
We booked a superior queen room rather than the family junior suite because there was quite a big jump in price between the two categories.
The room is technically designed for one child rather than two, so it is smaller than the junior suite family room we stayed in at the Metropole. But despite being smaller, everything feels far more luxurious.
The fittings and fixtures are beautiful.
There’s a fridge, which we didn’t have at the Metropole, a lovely tea drawer, luxury soft furnishings, high-end linens and really expensive-feeling finishes throughout the room.
Just like at the Kimpton Fitzroy, there was real milk (makes me so happy!).
The bathroom especially is gorgeous.
There’s marble everywhere, a beautiful shower and a really luxurious feel to the whole space. It’s the sort of bathroom you actually want to spend time in rather than just quickly use before rushing back out.
The lighting completely makes the room
The lighting here is just off the charts. Everything is antique brass, including the switches and sockets, and it all matches beautifully. There are floor lamps matching the wall lights above the headboards, pull-out twistable reading lamps in antique brass, table lamps and a huge statement ceiling light, all tied together with cream linen shades.
The fittings feel chunky, weighty and expensive rather than flimsy hotel lighting that’s just there for practicality.
The layered lighting makes such a difference to how luxurious the room feels. It’s warm, soft and relaxing instead of harsh and clinical.
As somebody obsessed with interiors and lighting at home, I could have spent ages looking at all the details because it’s exactly the kind of high-end boutique hotel look people try to recreate in their own homes.
No sea view in the budget family room.
The downside of our room is that we didn’t have a sea view and I’m not going to sugarcoat it. We did miss having that gorgeous view. It was bad timing that we had stayed at the Hilton Metropole, the day before with the most spectacular Seaview ever and then went to the room with frosted glass and absolutely no view at all. Had we done it the other way round I don’t think we would’ve missed the Seaview nearly as much particularly because there are so many places you can sit and taking that for you within the hotel and immediately surrounding area. However, if a Seaview is make or break for you then the budget family room is not for you a you can obviously pay more and book one of the sea-view rooms here instead.
Air conditioning during the heatwave
Considering we arrived during a proper heatwave, the air conditioning deserves a mention because it’s brilliant.
The room stayed super cool the entire time and we never once felt remotely warm, which made a massive difference for sleeping comfortably.
It is slightly noisier than the air conditioning at the Metropole, but realistically you probably wouldn’t even need it for most of the year outside summer anyway.
The Victoria Bar
We used our complimentary drinks vouchers in the Victoria Bar and again, it reinforced how much calmer and more luxurious this hotel feels.
There are gorgeous velvet chairs, beautiful lighting and really comfortable seating areas where you actually want to sit and spend time.
Even when the hotel is busy, it still feels relaxed rather than chaotic.
I love that when we were sitting in the bar, there were lots of people with their dogs at their feet, taking in the view and just enjoying the relaxed vibe. This is such a cool place, often with hotels you wouldn’t want to stay in the bar and it’s better to venture out and visit a specific bar or restaurant. However, if you do stay at the Grand Brighton, I do recommend popping in for a quick drink on your way in or out and looking up at the ceilings and cornices etc – beautiul. But you know i’m obsessed with interiors!
Security observations
One small negative from a security point of view is that there isn’t an additional internal catch or security fixing on the inside of the room door.
It’s something that could easily be resolved and probably wouldn’t bother most people, but as somebody who notices these things after some previous hotel experiences, it stood out to me. When I stay in hotels alone and there isn’t an additional security catch on the door. I just put a chair inside the door which obviously wouldn’t stop someone opening it, but it should create enough noise to wake you up if they did.
That said, there are none of the adjoining room issues we experienced at either Hilton Brighton Metropole or Melia White House, which already makes the room feel far more secure overall.
If you travel alone regularly, those portable additional door locks you can buy on Amazon are always worth throwing into your suitcase anyway.
Pool and spa facilities
One thing worth knowing before booking is that there’s no free guest swimming pool and there isn’t a children’s pool either.
Initially that did feel like a downside and to be honest, both myself and Mr D thought there was a pool there, so I don’t know how it both got confused about that one! However, after the swimming incident at the Metropole the day before I don’t think the kids are overly bothered and we bribed them with an extra few minutes in the arcade on the VR machine so all was well!
For adults, there is a really fantastic spa where guests get a discounted day rate (£30 for 90 mins instead of £50). I’m going to write a whole separate paste on this because I think it’s really important to ascertain whether the value is really there when they charge additionally on top of your room rate.
Apparently £2.5 million of the refurbishment budget was spent on the spa alone, so I was really interested to see what improvements were made there. There’s a brand new hydrotherapy pool, wellness areas, sauna, steam room and showers. It was really nicely done, but i personally would have preferred a pool thats large enough to swim in rather than just float about.
The breakfast at the Grand Brighton
Overall, the breakfast at the Grand Brighton was spectacular in terms of experience and service and selection. We were greeted by the most enthusiastic and fantastic staff member. He was called Mauro and he was Italian and nothing was too much trouble for him. He could tell he prided himself in ensuring that all the guests had everything they needed the room where breakfast is served is truly beautiful. The proportions are so grand, the ceilings are so tall and the decor was thoughtful with gorgeous wallpaper and amazing panelling and ceiling cornices.
The lighting again was beautiful and there was a Seaview. When the coach departing with yesterday’s guests had cleared out the way the selection of food was vast and they catered for all allergies and dietary requirements. There was a brilliant selection of cold and continental food, as well as the hot cooked breakfasts.
The coffee machine was great.
They were juices, smoothies, flavoured waters, cereal, pancakes, muffins, yogurts and waffles.
The only slight downside was the flavour of the cooked food (particularly the sausages) didn’t quite live up to the grandness of the location or our expectations, but it was perfectly adequate.
The breakfast hall was amazing and I highly recommend it and we would definitely return and I can’t speak highly enough about the staff who go out of their way to make sure that you’re ready to start your day in the best possible way.
Would we stay again?
Yes, yes, yes! We loved our stay so much. It was such a gorgeous atmosphere and the staff were so friendly. It felt a little bit like going back in time (in a good way). We plan to return off-season and bag a family suite with a sea view and I’ll share all the details when I do!
A note about the staircase!
Our kids absolutely loved the amazing staircase at the grand Hotel Brighton, and one of the activities on our last night in Brighton was walking all the way up to the top of the staircase and looking down over the edge, slightly wobbly knees and appreciating how epic it is and how fantastic the hotel and decor is in general at the ground although there is a lift.
I highly recommend taking the stairs if you stay as you feel like you’re walking up an extremely grand staircase and it’s pretty magical.
