In December 2012, drjohn1 said:
Stayed at the Grand Hotel Eastbourne for a family New year with extra days before and after.
This is a truly beautiful hotel and if you wish to experience standards of care and excellence of a bygone era (yet due to its size capable also of discreetly (and quietly) hosting more modern functions (Nicki M, Bruno M, Ke$ha, Gaga, Psy etc!) if you require)), then this is for you!
The pleasant and friendly booking staff were very helpful over the months of preparation for the event, and no effort appeared to be too much in order to fulfill the most complex arrangements (Arranging a VIP lux car for granny to come for a few hours from her care home (all taken care of!)).
The hotel is situated in the most elegant part of the town, behind the peaceful region of the pretty Victorian seafront esplanade and gardens, remote from the bustle, yet close enough to easily reach the centre on foot or by hotel transport.
The beaches are renowned in summer for their family friendly nature and great swimming!
The presentation and view of the hotel is from another era and really quite unique and outstanding (an oasis of peace and tranquility!).
The great reception hall is something to behold, (it really does strike awe (in the older sense!)) and is a very elegant area to entertain, with a roaring log fire, a truly extraordinary tea service, with your cup poured for you (almost I imagine a ceremonial Geisha type experience) accompanied by musical and singing recitals
The bars, restaurants, and lounges are very elegant and spacious and can absorb family gatherings without trace, avoiding the feeling that you often get that you might be crowding others out.
Dining is first class in the main restaurant (dress code, as expected), and a discrete special restaurant is available with the highest level of modern dining for that extra special event! (We had to photograph the chefs creations (Sorry!)).
The function rooms are just a dream, and provide a setting that appears stylish elegant and romantic.
Entertainment (music and song) is provided with a gentle theme in the lounges after dinner and is of a standard that can be appreciated whatever your tastes.
If the ladies are "dressing up" then here is another place capable of acting as a most presentable (and affordable) backdrop for your fantasies!
The bedrooms are spacious and elegant, and the hotel is of a size such that the hallways are of sufficient dimensions to ensure a degree of privacy and peace rarely found in smaller hotels.
Room service was of a very high standard, and even our dogs were catered for with special cuisine and a waitress service! (Had to try that once!) (Tip: if your pooch is not acclimatised to the "Hills" cuisine, ask for the simple menu!).
The spa consists of gym treatment, treatment areas, an an elegant and inviting warm pool and jacuzzi area.
The pool and jacuzzi were very much enjoyed by all, easing away the aches and pains of life!
What is great about this hotel, is that in winter, if the weather closes in, the hotel is virtually a complete microcosm, where everything can be catered for (ie it is ideal for a family visit with the complete camel train of: dogs, kids, grannies, working dads, aunties, adolescents that need to have a constant 24/7/365 multi channel high capacity data link to the "hive" etc etc).
The family can get lost in the hotel and only meet up at key nodal points of the day!
The New Years Entertainments were, as expected, awesome (ie really and truly great!).
Two extraordinary multi piece bands played music with a modern theme (60's to Naughties) in separate venues, one for the hotel guests, and one for the "hoi polloi" (visiting guests).
If you are young at heart still, and have fallen through the "space time rift", (as our generation seems to have!) then the visiting guest venue will be for you! It rocks, and the guests are there to party!
The bands were really extraordinary (as expected for the price) and the range of their requests playable was impressive.
The hotel is themed for a time of effortless elegance gone by, and if you wish to sample this, I can think of no better place to stay or have a family function to be remembered, and that will encompass the needs, likes and tastes of all generations of the family!
The staff were extraordinary and no request was too much!
It will be interesting to see the development of this hotel as the new generations come through with changing tastes!
A place for that romantic stay, dream family holiday or event! (And at a not unreasonable or unacheivable price!).
The location is one of the best.
Eastbourne is a quiet residential holiday and retirement town (with a thriving heart) of great elegance, and is situated close to where the South Downs Chain of Hills runs into the sea at Beachy Head. (In fact the South Downs Way (80 miles from Winchester) ends only a mile up the esplanade from the hotel (an ideal place to rest and recuperate after your long journey!)).
The delights of the South Downs area from Beachy Head to behind Brighton are accessible and form some of the most beautiful and dramatic areas of the Sussex Countryside.
Brighton (Lanes, Shopping etc etc) is one hour, the ancient town of Lewes (Bill's Bistro, Harveys Brewery Shop, etc etc) is half an hour.
Alfriston, Birling Gap, Beachy Head, the river valleys (Jevington), Cuckmere, Ouse, Firle Beacon, Folkington, Fryston, Beddingham, Mount Caburn, High and Over, Wilmington (Long Man fame), Dyke, all have extraordinary vistas, and attractive village amenities.
Other places to visit are Glyndebourne (near Lewes), and Charleston Farmhouse (Bloomsbury experiment in living (Ladies really "groove" to this (Hopeless doomed romance!), (Gents, watch your credit card in the gift shop!)).
Further inland, try the picturesque and elegant Sussex Weald: eg The Roebuck Inn at West Hoathly is a good place to start here.
In the summer your dreams begin here!
All in all, a great and very special Hotel, for all seasons, and those rare and special events in the Journey of Life, and also those romantic occasions!
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk