Hotels in Brighton

Brighton has more beds per head than almost any English city outside London, which is good news for choice and unhelpful for narrowing things down. The first decision is not really price but position, because the city is small enough that everywhere central is walkable and different enough between districts that the wrong choice can colour a whole weekend.

The seafront along Kings Road is the classic option. Big Victorian and Regency hotels face the water, sea-view rooms cost noticeably more than those at the back, and everything a first-time visitor wants is within ten minutes on foot. The trade-off is noise: the stretch closest to the Palace Pier is busy until the early hours at weekends, and rooms at the front catch traffic as well as gulls. Ask for a higher floor.

Just behind the front, The Lanes and North Laine put the restaurants, bars and independent shops on your doorstep. Hotels here tend to be small, converted and full of character, with narrow staircases and no parking whatsoever. They suit short city breaks where you intend to walk everywhere and eat late.

Kemptown, east of the pier, is where Brighton's guest houses and B&Bs cluster, in the grand Regency crescents around Sussex Square and Lewes Crescent. Prices are lower than on the seafront proper, breakfasts are usually better, and the walk into the centre is a pleasant fifteen minutes along Marine Parade. Regency Square and the western seafront offer a similar mix of converted townhouses with the considerable advantage of a large car park underneath the square.

Hove is the answer for families and anyone staying more than two or three nights, with quieter streets, the lawns and the beach huts, and easier parking. Brighton Marina and the residential streets around Preston Park are cheaper again but need a bus or a longer walk. Whatever you choose, book well ahead for May, for August, and above all for Pride weekend, when rates across the city roughly double and the cheaper places sell out first.