Pamper Yourself With a Stay in These Brighton Spa Hotels

The rooms in this 19th-century townhouse-turned-B&B range from cosy to compact – with faux-Belle Epoque furniture, soft grey carpets and beds with comfy mattresses, if little room for manoeuvre. But the location’s great – on a quiet street next to a park in Kemptown, a few minutes from the beach. The spa will make a weekend something special, with its organic, vegan-friendly products and its splendid choice of treatments, from waxing to couples massages.

More boutique B&B than hotel, the Charm presents a vision of high-ceilinged, lushly-carpeted comfort, with rooms decorated in contemporary soft creams, lilacs and olives a block from the sea and the Palace Pier. Upper floor rooms (note there’s no lift access) have partial Channel views and the front door is a five-minute walk from the Pavilion. The spa magically squeezes a steam room and hot tubs for two (one outdoors) into a restricted space, and the All-in-one (facial, nails and a massage) is good value.

Set in twin 18th-century townhouses overlooking a Regency square right next the beach, the Una is a seriously stylish guesthouse – scattered with gorgeous locally-sourced art (carved driftwood, industrial metal neoclassical figurines), and with jacuzzis-to-share (tucked into steel alcoves which glitter magically in candle-light) and a stylish cocktail bar. The smaller bedrooms are pokey, so upgrade to the upper floor – for huge windows, sea view balconies, acres of raw and polished woods and leather sofas you can sink into. There’s no spa, but massages can be performed in your room.

The tick list is reassuring: this branch of the chain is good-value, great for families (with a pool, cots, sofa beds and a kids menu in the restaurant) and excellent for room size (some of the spaces overlook the sea). There’s also a spa with sauna and steam facilities, which makes it easy to ignore the somewhat corporate feel to the hotel, and its office-block facade. Perhaps best of all, the city’s most fashionable restaurant strip is right outside.

Welcome to one of Brighton’s key landmarks, with its monumental balcony-lined facade, a lavish rococo lobby, the faux Jean Royère relax armchairs… The Grand is Brighton’s version of Monte Carlo’s Hotel de Paris, albeit with soft, modern hues and caperish bowler-hatted bell boys. The pebble-dash decorated spa is Brighton’s best – with a long menu of treatments, from Hopi Ear Candle and hot stone massages to painful-sounding but effective bee-sting facials.

The joy of staying here is in the front-facing rooms (with warm woods and curvy, cruise-ship art deco cornicing), which have some of the best views in Brighton – bay windows at the foot of your bed (or bath) have views over the shingly beach, the neon-lit Palace Pier and the sea. Bear in mind that you’re on Marine Parade, alongside some of the city’s brashest pubs and clubs. It can get noisy, especially at weekends. To heighten relaxation, book a massage in your room.

Boudoir silks and mirror-ceilings, a room entirely in mauve with a Vespa for a bedside table, Bloody Marys with breakfast… Behind its prim Georgian facade, the party-loving Pelirocco is rock-and-roll-rococo. One room is exclusively David Bowie-themed, another – as low-lit as a lava lamp, has a giant stencil of the Three Degrees looking out over a bubble-gum pink bedspread. It’s cheap too, a block from the beach and perhaps most-importantly for Pelirocco guests, close to Brighton’s nightlife scene. They can book massages for you to enjoy in your room, at your leisure.