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.

We returned for our 3rd and best visit. We booked a junior suite which was expensive but bigger than the standard rooms.
The hotel is looking tidier outside from last years September visit and much improved and so was the seafront area.

Apart from a couple of small issues in the Garden Restaurant at breakfast mainly due to tableware, so nothing major , the food and experience were excellent. Please do not revert back to a buffet breakfast a five star hotel should continue with table service for both evening meal and breakfast. Meals at night were actually the best of our 3 stays so well done. Evening meal was an occasion and nice to dress up if you wished and most did.

The outdoor pool was great and we were blessed with good weather. Doormen were always smiling and happy to help. The COVID rules were spot on and everything was clean and safe.

Looking forward to our return next year. Please do not change into a bland modern hotel and keep the bygone age experience which is very refreshing and dare I say it very colonial.

Hard to keep up a sprawling historic hotel like this so room was a bit rickety and less luxurious than the online pictures suggested. Ask for rooms on the lower floors - they will have bigger windows and higher ceilings than the third floor. Great location. Doorman is a five star first impression in full suit and very five star manner. Rest of staff is young and eager. Bar offers great nibbles with a drink. Late checkout was a measly half an hour. Leaving your car after checkout was also not really possible. Housekeeper was knocking on the door before our checkout time. After Covid lockdown give them some slack! But just know it's a historic seaside hotel not the Four Seasons.

Great location right on the sea front. Easy access to various tourist attractions. Lovely walks nearby. Easy access also to Birling Gap and Beachy Head either by car or bus. Great food either in hotel restaurant or bar.

Completely stunning. What a treasure! We have felt wonderfully relaxed and warmly welcomed. The hospitality here is genuine and authentic. There’s a kindness and there is care. We are overlooking the English Channel…just as Claude Debussy did of course. Sitting in our beautiful sea view room, excited about dinner this evening. There is an understood sophistication here. It’s not plastic. It’s not fashionable. It is established etiquette…so beautifully expressed within the building and by the staff. I cannot thank you all enough. This holiday is actually a holy day. Thank you.

To be honest I was disappointed with our stay. We had a de luxe room which was poky and not really worth what we paid; drinks in the bar were totally over the top and breakfast was underwhelming. The bacon had been sitting for a while before it got to our plates and it took a long time for us to be served, despite being told several times that breakfast was on its way. On the plus side the staff were helpful and friendly and the hotel is clean but it felt to me like it was trading on its reputation rather than providing value for money.

A grande dame of a hotel with excellent staff and an old-fashioned feel. Spectacular common areas, beautiful outside pool, amazing views and very friendly staff. Get a sea view, eat at the Mirabelle and relax in the cocktail bar away from the relative hubbub of the seafront