BACKGROUND Lansdowne Place is a boutique hotel in a peaceful area of Hove, on a quiet street a few hundred metres from the seafront. It’s been a hotel since 1854 although only part of the Rezidor Hotel Group for just over a year, and there is no Park Inn signage yet. The hotel has a sister property the Radisson Blu (Royal York hotel) in the centre of Brighton.
WHAT’S IT LIKE? A revolving door leads into a large lobby with high ceilings and grand old staircase and the reception desk straight ahead. There’s a great sense of character as you stroll around and there are a few refurbishments going on over the coming months to lift the look of the hotel. The purple carpets in the corridors and lobby area being replaced by August and the room keys will all be converted into key cards (which also means the large slightly tired-looking room doors will be replaced and repainted black).
WHERE IS IT? In Hove by the seafront, it’s about fifteen minutes walk into Brighton centre and less than five minutes in a taxi from Brighton station.
ROOM FACILITIES? All rooms are different shapes and sizes but all are spacious with flatscreen TVs, 24-hour room service, safes, King or Queen sized beds. My room was on the top floor (fourth floor, room 409). The bathroom was on the right as I entered and it had rain shower in the bath and basic Park Inn branded toiletries and a heated towel rack. The space opened up into a lovely sun-filled room with three huge windows (which you could open a little to let the breeze in). There were lovely heavy red curtains, a desk and mirror and tea and coffee making facilities. There was a large wardrobe and two armchairs and a small coffee table. The TV looked small for the size of the room (and had been mounted in the far corner away from the bed). I could see the sea from my windows and the room overlooked the front of the hotel and the peaceful flats below. Wired internet access is available in the room for £5 a day.
MEETINGS AND BUSINESS FACILITIES There are eight newly refurbished meeting rooms in the hotel – the largest of which, a T-shaped ballroom, – can accommodate up to 250 people and opens out onto a pretty courtyard garden. The Regency room is a lovely space, which can hold 50 people theatre-style and opens up onto the hotel bar as well. Wifi is charged at £5 a day throughout the hotel. Two of the meeting rooms are on the lower ground floor but still have daylight. There’s a couple of computers for use in the lobby and staff will help with any other requests.
RESTAURANTS AND BARS The main restaurant is The Grill, and it is a pretty light room with big windows and peacock feathers as décor on table. There’s a big red banquet seat along back wall. The restaurant is popular with locals and has a seasonal menu and offers two courses for £12 and three-course for £15 (lunch and dinner). Breakfast is also served here – it’s a buffet with proper thick slices of bacon, and field mushrooms and ‘real’ sausages (rather than the boiled button mushrooms and hard bacon and frankfurter sausages I have avoided at many other hotels). There was a small selection of meat and some slices of cheese and yoghurt and Museli, as well as bread rolls, toast and fruit. Coffee and tea are served at the table. On the other side of the lobby from the restaurant is the Peacock bar with ‘the longest sofa in the south east’ – a long black leather and very funky seat. There’s a large screen for sporting events and live jazz on Friday nights from 8pm.
HEALTH AND LEISURE FACILITIES There’s a spa on the lower ground floor with ESPA products. There are eight treatment rooms in total (two of them are couples rooms) and all of them have showers. The treatment menu offers a huge range and massages and facials are popular as well as the signature two-hour holistic massage. There is a very small gym next to the spa but I went for run along the seafront.
VERDICT This is a good option for anyone who wants a quiet hotel, peaceful and away from the busy centre, but close enough to walk. The refurbishments over the summer should lift the public spaces a little and make it feel a little more modern. A lovely hotel with great character and friendly staff.
FACT FILE
HOW MANY ROOMS? There are 60 rooms from single, to standard to deluxe and three suites (two Junior suites and the Emperor Suite, which is 50sqm and features a bathtub in the bedroom and walk in wet room).
BEST FEATURE? My room was spacious and light with huge windows and the breakfast was great.
PRICE Online prices for mid July were £85 for a standard room but there are also Business traveller-friendly packages from £120 including breakfast and wifi access.
CONTACT Lansdowne Place Hotel, Lansdowne Place, Brighton, East Sussex, BN3 1HQTel: 01273 736266; lansdowneplace.co.uk
For information on more Brighton hotels and holding meetings and events in Brighton see Meet in Brighton in Business Traveller’s July/August issue.
Felicity Cousins
