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The Grand Hotel - Eastbourne

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A romantic slice of old-school weekending

If you want to earn your stripes as a true British weekender, you can do little better than staying at The Grand Hotel. A magnificent, white, Victorian behemoth of a seaside hotel, it’s the stuff of PG Wodehouse, Agatha Christie and dirty weekends, boasts a veritable British who’s who of past visitors, including Charlie Chaplin, Edward Elgar and Winston Churchill, and serves up a high tea that will get you wanting to wave your Union Jack like a scone-fuelled maniac.

When the sun shines, the elegant white facade, fancy balconies and outdoor pool surrounded by posh sun loungers, could pass for a hotel plucked straight from the French Riviera - luckily, the inside is just as impressive for the fifty weeks a year when it doesn’t. This is no run-down seaside conference-centre-style operation, far from it. Having undergone huge renovations to keep things up-to-date, the Grand’s interiors are glorious - cavernous reception and dining rooms, with pillars, balconies, big fireplaces and chandeliers. Creams and whites keeps things light and airy, helped in no small part by some fantastic views out to sea. There’s a real air of nostalgia about the place, some might say old-fashioned, but The Grand is all the more special and romantic as a result.

This vast hotel has over 150 rooms, from the cosy deluxe bedrooms to the jaw-dropping, wallet-busting Presidential Suite. If you’re after those famous sea views, you’ll be looking at the mid-to-upper end of the bedroom scale, but it’s worth it. Even on the days when the sun has not so much as forgotten to put his hat on, but has resigned it to the back of his ‘summer’ wardrobe, the waves crash, the seagulls hover and your room at The Grand seems the cosiest place in the world.

For such a big hotel, it’s no surprise that there’s plenty more on offer. Big indoor and outdoor pools, a health spa with sauna, steam room, jacuzzi and loads of lovely spa treatments. Eating at The Grand is particularly special, with two award-winning restaurants to choose from. The Garden Restaurant serves up mouth-watering Brit classics, made with lots of local and seasonal ingredients, while Mirabelle takes its inspiration from more continental cuisines. Both are great, but what is really unmissable is The Grand’s afternoon tea, served in the hotel’s stunning salon and accompanied by a glass of bubbly. Fantastic.

Where is it?

The classic South Coast seaside resort at Eastbourne is not universally considered to be a cool and funky place to visit. But the Sussex town that for years has been unofficially known as ‘God’s waiting room’ is undergoing something of a weekend break renaissance. Less frenetic and brash than its coastal neighbour Brighton, it’s a place to enjoy the sea and Eastbourne’s award-winning beaches,or to stroll along the historic pier - voted the most popular in Britain - to the newly-restored camera obscura at the end for some fab views of the unspoilt seafront and famous Carpet Gardens. For a weekender who just wants to be beside the seaside, it’s perfect.

It’s also easy to escape on foot and enjoy some truly stunning coastal scenery. The rolling South Downs come to an abrupt and dramatic end at the cliffs right next to Eastbourne, including those at Beachy Head - unfortunately most famous as the UK’s top suicide spot, but actually a jaw-droppingly beautiful place to be. You can walk from the town up to the clifftops (a bit of an uphill struggle, but there’s a great pub at the top...) and join miles of paths through the lovely Seven Sisters Country Park and up into the gorgeous South Downs. For a great day’s-worth of a country walk, join the South Downs Way at the Western edge of Eastbourne and head for the very pretty village of Alfriston in the Cuckmere Valley, 12 miles away. For maps and full directions, visit the brilliant Walking Britain website (www.walkingbritain.co.uk), which also lists lots of other lovely (and shorter!) walks in the area. If two wheels are more your bag, hire a bike and get some great ideas for the best local cycle routes from Wheely Good Fun (Tel: 01323 479077) on The Royal Parade.

If all this sounds far too energetic, and lounging on the beach isn’t your style, then why not watch others break out a sweat? The International Womens’ Tennis Open (www.lta.org.uk Tel: 01323 412000) is held each summer at Devonshire Park, a 15-minute walk from the centre of town. This year’s tournament runs from 14-21 June and promises some of the best players in the world today.

Otherwise, a quick trip in the car (or on the bus) from Eastbourne is all it takes to reach some great places to visit. The famous, 235-ft Long Man of Wilmington (www.sussexpast.co.uk Tel: 01273 487188) stands on a hillside six miles outside of town, while the beautiful parkland and landscaped Elizabethan gardens around the 15th-century Herstmonceux Castle - a proper fairytale of a place (www.herstmonceux-castle.com Tel: 01323 834444) are nine miles to the north-east.

Drive twenty-five minutes inland from Eastbourne, and you’ll find the very pretty village of Glynde, sitting in the rolling Rother Valley. Home to the magnificent Elizabethen manor house, Glynde Place (www.glynde.co.uk Tel: 01273 858 224), open to visitors on Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays throughout the summer, it’s also a great place to visit in September, when the luscious Glynde Food and Drink Festival boasts the best in local producers, including some great examples of English wine. Of course, Glynde is most famous for more cultural reasons - the musical mecca that is Glyndebourne (www.glyndebourne.com Tel: 01273 815000 is less than 3 miles from the village. The world-famous Glyndebourne Opera Festival runs throughout the summer, where music-lovers dress up in their best togs to listen to some of the best opera in the world and picnic in the operat theatre’s stunning grounds during the interval. It’s all very English, and a must-do-in-your-lifetime event.

If you choose to stay at Eastbourne for a slightly more ‘quaint’ seaside sojourn, you might be purposefully be avoiding the Weekenders classic destination that sits half an hour along the coast. If the colour and buzz of Brighton is too strong to resist however, it’s easy to pop over to get your fix. For the best in where to eat and what to see there, read The Weekenders Guide to Brighton.

Where can I eat?

Both the Garden Restaurant and Mirabelle at The Grand really are no brainers of an eating option. Not only are they the best restaurants in town, but there is nothing like enjoying an amazing meal and a bottle (or three) of vino, safe in the knowledge that your bed is within stumbling distance.

If you are looking for alternative places to eat however, there are plenty of lovely places within easy reach. Eastbourne itself is not exactly the gastronomic capital of the South Coast, but offers some yummy gems. Pomodoro E Mozzarella (www.pomodoro-e-mozzarella.co.uk Tel: 01323 733800) is a popular, authentic Italian that serves up some really delicious dishes (it also offers a non-gluten option with all its pasta dishes...). Buzzy Okto (www.oktorestaurantbar.co.uk Tel: 01323 430880) is a stylish little bistro, with a regularly changing, vibrant menu and puddings to die for.

A little further afield, but definitely worth the effort, is The Hungry Monk (www.hungrymonk.co.uk Tel: 01323 482178) in the pretty village of Jevington, 7 miles from Eastbourne. A super-cosy, 14th-century country pub, it offers mouth-watering British dishes, made from lots of lovely local and seasonal ingredients. The puddings are also amazing, which is no surprise - the Hungry Monk claims to have invented Banoffi Pie back in 1972. Sitting in rolling South Downland, it’s also perfect for pre or post-walk indulgence.

For a real treat of a meal, drive the 15 miles to St Leonards-on-Sea and the wonderful St Clement’s (www.stclementsrestaurant.co.uk Tel: 01424 200 355). Run by Nick Hales, previously of Le Caprice and L’Odeon in London, this smart bistro has been given great reviews by the national press and deservedly so. Fresh, local and seasonal ingredients, including lots of great Hastings seafood, are used in mouthwatering and unpretentious menus that make for a relaxed, but very special, evening out.

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There’s a real air of nostalgia about the The Grand, but this masterclass in old-school seaside luxury is all the more special and romantic as a result.