There were so many good points but one real disappointment. Let's start with the positives first.

1) The initial welcome was outstanding. We drove up and were met by the concierge team who took the keys, emptied the car and parked in our free, marked parking place (due to the blue badge). We registered and by the time we were shown to our room the luggage was already there.

2) We had one of the ground floor suites with walk in showers (they are rooms 3 to 6) and are situated behind the bar and are really convenient for the main areas of the hotel. They have a nice seating area, a good bathroom and their own terrace area overlooking the main terrace and the outdoor swimming pool. We had room 6 and were very happy .....one minor improvement would be a grab rail along the long wall of the shower, which would make it totally safe for elder clients. Another minor is the fact that the outside terrace had not been cleaned and had weeds and cobwebs ....so easy to rectify!!

3) The overall service at the hotel is excellent and most of the staff take a real pride in the hotel. The Indian maitre d' in the Garden restaurant is very professional, as is the gentleman who looks after the main lounge, the concierge, the bar staff and the reception staff. All very friendly, interactive and wanting to make one's stay pleasant.

4) The Garden Restaurant, which is supposedly the lesser of the two restaurants was excellent and caters so well for the typical needs of the clientele ....well cooked, traditional, up market food of high quality provenance.. So there was Dover Sole and excellent steaks, salmon for main course ....asparagus or smoked salmon and crab for starters. Not trying to be over pretentious but good solid fare and an excellent wine list.

And now to the big disappointment ....the supposedly better Mirabelle Restaurant and we are foodies that regularly dine in Michelin level restaurants.

1) It is set in a beautiful setting with a lovely ambience.

2) The lady maitre d'was very welcoming and very attentive.

3) The situation deserves to be at least one star Michelin but is instead two rosette AA ....and very lucky to be that!!

4) We had the lemon sole and the quality of the fish was superb and entirely ruined by the lemon sauce ..... it consisted of samphire, capers and lemon.....all acidic and all salty and it seemed to have been further over salted and was greasy as well ...it tasted dreadful and completely over-powered the delicate sole. Any self respecting chef would have known that and my wife and I suffered for a day with indigestion and acidity. It was so bad that it would have been pointless to complain as it could not be rectified ...we would have been given the same again!!

5) The dessert choice was dreadful and we declined (if in doubt look it up on the menu)....nothing with any flair.

So a lovely stay not to be spoilt by a bad meal and management accepting lower standards than they should in their premier restaurant .....with the right chef this should be Michelin star level!!

We will certainly return but stay in the Garden restaurant and glory in the wonderful ambience and service that is all so evident at the White Palace....The Grand.

My family and I have been coming to The Grand for over 20 years. Yesterday we reluctantly came back home after another wonderul stay. From the moment you turn into the entrance and see that beautiful building , you know life has just got a whole lot better!! A very warm welcome from the legendary concierge team who are always outstanding and we arrived with our two black Labrador’s . Our room was lovely and spacious with a gorgeous comfy bed and a bag of doggie goodies were also in the room. Our dogs also enjoyed room service and Gilly who looked after us was amazing and sorted out everything we needed. We enjoyed dinner in The Garden Restaurant, both had a delicious rib eye steak and must mention the Cocktail Bar team especially Olivia who mixed up some seriously good cocktails .

We really enjoyed using the health club, especially the outside pool which has always been a real favourite over the years. Chris and his team were so pleased to welcome us back and they couldn’t do enough for us.

What sets this beautiful hotel apart from others is the genuine welcome and hospitality you receive from the staff. Nothing is ever too much trouble and they will always go out of their way to help with anything .

I could go on and on but to me The Grand feels like home. It is a very special place and after a very difficult couple of years, it was so lovely to be back in our special place.

The hotel offers a peaceful calm environment, with outstanding staff whose attitude and standard of service is the basis of a great experience. The quality of food wherever you eat is excellent, and the afternoon tea is superb.

We were in a ‘comfort room’ on the Spring Break offer - the room was very large with a huge and comfortable bed, large comfortable arm chairs, tv, coffee machine as well as kettle etc, good shower and nice Molton Brown toiletries.

Everything was spotlessly clean.

We loved the heated outdoor pool and also the indoor pool, hot tub ( yay a hot tub that is hot enough! ) and steak room and our treatments in the spa were absolutely terrific - amongst the best we’ve ever had.

The attention to detail making sure every small thing is right and the personal touch in the way staff conduct themselves makes your feel like a valued guest deserves special mention.

There was some pleasant evening musical entertainment and opportunity to dance in the cocktail lounge too but plenty comfortable places to sit and chat if you wanted quiet.

My only criticism is that I do think the drinks prices are a bit high, and I would have expected a small fridge or drinks chilled in the room.

I left feeling a hundred times better than when I arrived - what more could you ask for?!

Just back from short visit, a real pleasure. Love the hotel, have been before but not recently. Great location, over the road to a green, the promenade, beach and sea.
Excellent staff. Hotel has wonderful feel of space with many lounges . We had a room at the back of the hotel, very good room but bathroom small, excellent shower but in bath which makes it a bit awkward. Very quiet and evening sunshine.
We really enjoyed the Grand but have given 4 out of 5 for reasons of the food. Nothing to really complain about but I feel the price does not deliver the quality expected. Afternoon tea is a nice experience but sandwiches were two types of curried flavour and out of three cakes two were chocolate. Pastry and scones good but needs more imagination. We had room service in the evening. A pricy sirloin at £35 , not cook to my order but at 9pm I didn’t have the energy to send it back. The sides of mushrooms and onions were brought on open plates so were lukewarm.
The cooked breakfast was generally ok with well prepared poached eggs. However the black pudding was poor and in my partner’s meal the avocado had been mashed with vinaigrette..not good.
In summary we thoroughly enjoyed our stay and consider the staff to be friendly and provide good service.
However we urged the management to review the quality of your food ingredients ( I purchase both sirloin and black pudding that is much tastier) and encourage your chefs to widen their imagination.

Enjoyed three nights bed and breakfast, with a Spring by the Sea! offer booked directly with the hotel.

The highlights were the grandeur and character of the public rooms; the location facing the sea and the friendly, helpful staff.

Our Executive Seaview Room was spotless with a very comfortable bed. The breakfasts were OK but not 5* standard. For example, the cheese board was a cheese spread; there was not any salad with the cold meats; the full English breakfast was the most flavoursome of the cooked dishes.

Certain parts of the hotel are tired and in need of some work, especially for a 5* hotel. Our seaview room on the 3rd floor was extremely hot with a heavy duvet and the radiator in the bathroom on full pelt. Wardrobe was old fashioned. Dinner in the garden room was included but with a maximum price per person, therefore you can soon over spend the budget as a steak is over £30.00. There was live music in the evening and a few people dancing but this didn't start until 9:30pm. Breakfast was a bit strange. Due to Covid we were unable to help ourselves to the buffet and a staff member had to hand the food over. Cooked breakfast arrived promptly but why do hotels always have dreadful, tasteless tomatoes? Most of the staff were pleasant but there were some staff who obviously got out of the bed the wrong side when we stayed and were grumpy.

Overall disappointing visit. Hotel is stunning and full of character. Doorman very helpful with parking as not clear parking is free if one available and service outstanding. Drinks very expensive and food uninspiring for the price. No hot water in the morning.

When visiting Eastbourne ( twice a year ) we love to visit this hotel for a drink.
The building is stunning, and the interior is second to none.
However, on our recent visit, the service was not good.
On arrival we were immediately presented with the drinks menu, but from then onwards it went downhill. We decided on our drinks then waited and waited..
Another couple came in next to us, and immediately the waiter came over and served them, and completely ignored us! At the other end of the room, people were getting served on occasions but again, we were invisible . We waited over ten minutes of being ignored and unable to get anyones attention before finally getting up to find someone to serve us. Even when we had made someone aware, we still had to wait again…
Eventually I had to frantically wave at a waiter the far end of the room to finally get served.
This is a beautiful establishment and prices reflect the whole experience
of drinking here. So good service should also be second to none for all guests residential or not.
There was either a lack of staff on this occasion or lack of management for the staff.

Comfortable bed, Clean Room, Lovely breakfast - Home from Home !! Good variety of teas & coffee in room.
Smooth check in - Parking available
Fantastic location - beautiful hotel on sea front. Good public areas to relax in.
Spacious lounge for relaxing
I felt safe on my own

we booked the grand for our stay as we were showing our car at "magnificent motors" as we did in 2019. the Grand is luxury personified.
From the moment we pulled into the car park, where we were greeted by Chris and shown to our reserved parking space, to the reception staff who were exquisitely mannered. Our suite was classically appointed with a stunning sea view. But our best memory of this stay was experimenting in the cocktail bar with Harry, Olivia and their team. first class service from every member of staff, as usual. see you next year

The hotel and staff were wonderful, and the building is beautifully appointed. Breakfast was included in the room rate, and we both had a delicious naturally smoked haddock and poached eggs, in a portion that could easily have been a main meal.

My only criticism is that the room, whilst huge (!), doesn’t have blackout blinds. Sadly that meant we woke a little after sunrise.

Great 5 star Hotel. Loved it. The best thing about this place is the staff. They are all so polite, helpful and friendly. Nothing was too much trouble. We had a lovely room with a sea view. It had everything you needed, including dressing gown and slippers. Food in the restaurant was lovely. And enjoyed sipping cocktails in the lounge after dinner. For the more energetic, there is a lovely indoor pool and Spa. We only stayed for 3 days but didn't want to leave. Would definitely go back again.

Really fabulous hotel for some old-style quality. Extremely good customer service from reception to room service to waiting staff to pool attendants. So friendly and helpful and professional - they really looked after us and we were only visiting for one night. Just a delightful hotel on a grand scale which still has all its charm. Very comfortable rooms and beds and I slept so well. Peaceful and quiet as well. Spacious rooms. The swimming pools really made our stay though as did the steam room. So quiet every time we used them. I loved the outdoor pool- felt like being abroad to swim outside in a perfectly heated pool but the weather was a bit drizzly! Felt like the height of luxury. Eastbourne is a good place to get away to if you want lots of peace and quiet and to walk to Beachy Head or walk the South Downs. Endless space and no-one around! If you want to get away from it all for a few days then it's ideal. Strongly recommend and would go again.

Excellent hotel, very friendly staff who couldn't do enough for us and very professional. Room size was good the only reason I marked it down was because there was no fridge. We will definitely be going back again.

We ate in the Mirrabelle restaurant. The service was exemplary and the food served was of a very high standard. One in our party was in a wheelchair and the staff were superb in accommodating her needs. The quality and service offered all round was superb and I have no hesitation in thoroughly recommending it.

Went to celebrate a special occasion and had the champagne afternoon tea. Service was faultless and all the staff were fantastic. Needless to say that the food and drink was fantastic

So so so good. Room amazing, location amazing. Staff SUPER AMAZING. And we met really friendly locals.
Only downer was the food in my opinion.. I like alot of flavour, so expensive food with tiny portions that have basic flavour, is not really my thing. But the staff and chef are really accomodating and pay attention to feedback. And there are amazing restaurants in the area too! La Locanda Del Duca for example - excellent local italians.
And aside from that.. it was just an amazing experience! Deffo recommend!

Spa day, delicious food for lunch, good choices available. A swim, jacuzzi and steam room followed by a massage. A great girls day out.

Looks very grand but inside it's a bit dated. However room was comfortable and all of the staff were very attentive and accommodating. Breakfast was good too.

Wonderful spot for lunch in the bar / lounge
Good choices and always consistently good service and food
Can’t beat the sea location on a sunny day especially
As nice with the elderly and young customers I take

Such a great time for a friends birthday! As soon as I walked in I couldn’t believe how STUNNING this venue was! Top class

A fantastic hotel. Very relaxing. Worth paying the extra for great service.

Beautiful hotel and the staff are fantastic. Highly recommended for special occasions

Tasting menu and wine flight experience in the Mirabel restaurant. A very enjoyable and customer focused experience. The food and wine was amazing. We never felt rushed and when extra time between the courses was requested this was not a problem.

Beautiful day having tea 🍾 and cakes at the grand