The hotel uses the word deluxe to describe its basic rooms. If that is their definition of deluxe I can't think what standard would be. This is indeed a grand hotel with great public spaces, but some rooms need TLC. Peeling outside paint on a window that rattled through the night, small rooms - I couldn't use the desk as the chair wouldn't fit between it and the bed - and bathrooms that could do with a lick of paint.

A beautiful building in a beautiful surrounding. Whilst the hotel has excellent facilities, the real star of the show here are the staff. Everyone is incredibly helpful.

The breakfast was excellent and the room was generous. Leisure facilities were also excellent. My bed was a little soft but that could just be a personal preference.

What an imposing and impressive facade the Grand presents to the seafront at Eastbourne and it lives up to those lofty expectations. The inside is immaculately presented and the dining rooms and bars leave you feeling like you're a character in an episode of Poirot! the staff are helpful and friendly to a fault and I found the food and drink also top quality. Yes, it's pricey but I felt I was getting Value for money throughout my stay.

Treating the wife for her birthday. Following Covid-19 precautions. Tables were sprayed and wiped down, soon as cleared. Grounds very tidy, front door staff very attentive and helpful, welcoming.
Inside, very clean, sparkling, it's late afternoon for tea but very clean, no crumbs or piles of dishes, staff very charming and polite, I like this hotel.
Tea impressive selection, Dargeeling very floral and citrus tang. Never had it before had to look up if I needed milk, you don't, second cup better for it.
Piano playing, taped but good atmosphere.
Food: Somebody knows their trade here.
Upon presentation, was explained in detail, very good Service, felt at ease.
Finger sandwiches, no crusts, cut exactly to size, same size.
Salmon, soft dark rye I think, very good smoked salmon.
Cucumber, bread was made with cucumber in it so slightly green.
Cheese and chutney, tomato bread, looked and tasted lovely, all fresh, springy bread. Zingy tangy.
Mini quiches, Good Grief! I can't make them like this. Thin crispy pastry, soft melt in the mouth egg, perfect. I wanted to buy a few to take home.
Scones, two fruit, two plain, served warm, fresh, light and bouncy not too sweet. Big serving of clotted cream, nice jam, butter all excellent.
Macaroon with strawberry jelly, the 'roon
is sweet but the jelly sharp. Home made pattiseri, fruit, flaky pastry yum multi layer sponge cakes.
Bit if an epic review!
Well done Grand Eastbourne.

Popped in for some drinks. Exceptional service, amazing location and not crazily expensive. Good covid control too

We had a two night stay, and as we now have a dog we had food delivered to our room. The staff were all welcoming and helpful. Everyone was sufficiently aware not to try sharing a lift.

We enjoyed two lovely evening meals. Our only criticism would be to request insulated cafetieres with our breakfast!

Afternoon tea served in a very computable and pleasant lounge by efficient and polite staff. This really is one of the best afternoon teas one could hope for. The pastry chef is talented and produces top quality items, as good or better than other hotels. I have made a note for myself never to go to Eastbourne without having an afternoon tea at the Grand.

Staff welcoming and friendly. More care needed to provide customers needs and information this would enable a more fulfilling stay. Had I been aware the pool was open I would have made use of it
When I booked the pool was not open probably due to COVID. The breakfast was very enjoyable, hot toast woul have added to the enjoyment. The tea and coffee left a lot to be desired

Excellent staff. Professional & efficient attitude. Garden restaurant served excellent food.shame that dog owners allowed to use lifts.efficiently dealt with.no noise nuisance. Indoor swimming pool a bonus

What a beautiful hotel with amazing staff. It really is a 5* experience.
The hotel is very grand, the rooms are lovely and the breakfast that we ate there was good. We ate out for all other meals.
The location is great, it is a 15 minute walk along the promenade to get to the main part of town.
We went there for an escape and a change of scenery and it definitely delivered :)

Another hotel that does not allow you to smoke in their outside bar spaces despite no other person sharing them with you. For a smoker - not relaxing. The drinks and their olives, crisps and nuts were lovely and a reasonable price however. But I'd rather have them at home (and at a far cheaper price) with a cigarette than in that location unfortunately. They don't take cash either currently.

Nice hotel

WOW. What can I say. If you want to step back in time to Downton Abbey, this is the place to stay! Silver service, friendly greetings from all the staff around the hotel, amazing facilities, museum like building and luxurious rooms. Everything has been so well thought out. Blown away!

First class service throughout the hotel. All staff friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. Nothing too much trouble. Food in the restaurant very good and very reasonably priced. BUT…deluxe room at £225 per night b&b overpriced. The room was clean (not sparklingly so) but dated and careworn. Carpets looked a little grubby. Bed was comfortable. Shower was good, but situated over a bath with a clingy shower curtain for £225 per night? Really? Would expect a bit more luxury, particularly as these rooms are billed as ‘luxurious’. Come on, that’s pushing it!

The staff are really outstanding. Nothing is too much trouble and we felt very welcomed and cared for. Some of them were new and if they made any small mistakes, they immediately put it right. The food in the restaurants is very good, but the service in the Mirabelle was extremely slow on the night we ate there. The cocktails were excellent! I liked the pool area with a few loungers, and the the water was kept at about 30 degrees which was perfect. The rooms are large and comfortable. If you're used to staying in modern hotels, be aware that it's an older building and therefore some of the décor is a little old and shabby, and some of the bathrooms are tiny and don't have much storage.

There is so much that is wonderful about the Grand. We booked at the last minute so were only able to spend the first night of our short break here. These are some of the highlights:
-The staff are invariably helpful, polite and willing to help
-The room was amazing with stunning views
-The food was excellent and service perfect
-The massage in the spa centre was wonderful. Thank you Emily, you did me a power of good.
There are a couple of things that were less than perfect:
-when we arrived there was no parking at the hotel. We were told to find street parking, but it had to be in a very limited area or it would cost us a lot of money
-The pool was lovely. We booked timed sessions when we booked our room. Other people we spoke to didn’t and were unable to swim. Each slot was for 40 minutes. Most of the time the pool was nearly empty. I think more flexibility in booking would allow more people to use the pool
Terry and Heather

Afternoon tea - enjoyed a traditional afternoon tea . Catered for gluten free although scones were a little dry. Sandwiches were tasty and good selection of cakes. Service very good. Tea was freely refreshed. A nice treat!! Very traditional hotel with a feel of days gone by but we liked it.

Has a spa treatment, swim and lunch, was lovely

Just went for a afternoon tea but was amazing atmosphere Can't wait to actually stay at the hotel

Brilliant location; across the road is the beach and within a 5 minute walk is the pier. Nice selection of restaurants near to the pier (Recommend Gr-Eat - Greek cuisine)

At the hotel you can call ahead and reserve a parking space, staff will then help to bring your luggage to your room. We arrived a couple of hours before check in but the concierge took our bags and we were able to enjoy the spa facilities. The outdoor pool area is just as seen in the pictures - during COVID you are asked to book a 20 minute swimming slot but as it was a quiet Sunday, staff were happy for customers to use the pool without it being overcrowded. We both had a 40 minute back massage which was at an affordable price as part of our package (+£40) The indoor pool area is lovely, with a jacuzzi too.

The rooms were traditional, it was particularly hot the weekend we were there but each room was fit with a fan which definitely came in handy. Beds very comfortable. If you wanted to eat lunch, there was the option of two grand dining areas inside, however it would be nice to be able to eat on the terrace nearby to the pool during the day. You could have drinks by the pool and get it charged to the room but no food.

Breakfast was held in the dining area which was lovely. Hot food was served silver service style. Waitresses were accommodating but service was a bit slow.

Overall a lovely stay. Clientele were mostly older 60+.

Excellent Location and great pool and gym!

Doorman welcome, porters, reception, 1st class. Nice room. Brilliant room service. Slightly tired building especially lounge but worst of everything was the bar service pre dinner. No personality. Lack lustre. Disinterested. 14 minutes for drinks for two to arrive. Bar staff uniforms? Very silly. Would return to the hotel but avoid the bar. Ugh. Tony Perrin. June 2021.

Having never stayed here before we booked a 2 night stay to see if the hotel would be suitable for a larger family booking later in the year to celebrate our golden wedding anniversary. Unfortunately the answer was no. We were totally underwhelmed by the visit and truly felt it was generally style over substance. Whilst we appreciate the age and style of the building the condition of some areas left a lot to be desired.

The good:
good sized room and quality linens in rooms and restaurants
Selection of refreshments in room
Outdoor pool (a plus even though small)
Staff polite (particularly when they know they have got it wrong)
Cocktails are nice if rather overpriced.

The letdowns:
General condition of some of the furniture and carpeting in room and general areas needs addressing - looking worn and grubby
Bathroom - shower over bath very dated and awkward to use - not even hand rail fitted
Staff (particularly in restaurant) obviously train to be very polite but ended up sounding like robots - all using the same phrased terms and therefore never sounding very sincere
The biggest letdown was the entire restaurant experience. It was definitely not the 5 star silver service promoted by the hotel.
2 breakfasts, 2 dinners 1 lunch - all very bland, not even seasoned. Including a cut of lamb that was inedible ( yes we did tell them and got response if sorry about that I’ll tell the chef), small tail portions of over cooked fish and a cooked breakfast returned twice as incorrectly cooked and this was after Waiting around 40 minutes for breakfast to arrive. A good service would have offered to redo both meals but no - meaning partner has finished before I even started. It wasn’t a one off incident either - there were four tables surrounding us all querying how long they had waited. Tables left uncleared for far too long - it is not nice sitting to eat surrounded by 9 uncleared tables.
Plates being cleared before other members of the party have finished the course - not acceptable
The next corse being delivered before the staff realise the previous course had not been cleared yet????
They may pour your first glass of wine but you could die of thirst if you expect them to refill your glass at any time throughout your meal !!!
It’s all very well presenting the meal with the pomp and ceremony of removing a cloche but it did nothing for the taste and definitely didn’t keep the meal hot.

Added to all of this you are then charged a service charge for a service you are not actually happy with - and I might add I am not adverse to giving a very good gratuity well above 10% if I think it is deserved.

So no we shall not be returning for our family celebration and just how the rating of 5 star is maintained I dont understand.

Reminds me of that well known line from Pretty Woman - Big mistake, big mistake !!!!!!

Had a cheeky drink on the way home in great splendour

We leave this morning and will comment more when we are at home. Weather was superb.