No. 124 by Guesthouse, Brighton

Style

Shingle and ready to mingle

Setting

Prominent on the promenade

The first sign of the fun you’ll have at No. 124 by Guesthouse, Brighton – an opening-in-autumn South Coast outpost from the Guesthouse group – is a disco ball glittering over the entryway. These three restyled Victorian and Georgian townhouses bring Brighton’s playful personality out, with games, cocktails and pizzas on the terrace and record players in rooms. The iconic West Pier opposite may be sombre, but there’s seaside jollity in the Palace Pier-inspired decor, free-snack-filled pantry and Brighton’s buzz on your doorstep.

Facilities

Rooms

32, including three suites.

Checkout

11am. Earliest check-in, 3pm. Both are flexible, on request and subject to availability; this can be guaranteed for a £50 charge.

More Details

Rates don’t include breakfast (around £20 a person), but guests get to raid the pantry full of sweet and savoury treats (homemade cakes, ice-cream, crisps, sweets, fruit) for free.

Also

One of the Guest Rooms is adapted for accessibility with a roll-in shower, there's a lift and a ramp can be provided for the steps at the entrance.

Free Internet Access

On-Site Restaurant

Room Service

Spa

At the Hotel

Lounges, games room, winter garden, vinyl library, pantry and terrace, and free WiFi. In rooms: air-conditioning, record player and vinyl, Bluetooth Roberts Radio, smart TV with streaming services, coffee machine (with compostable pods) and tea-making kit, mini fridge with fresh milk and water, beach bags and towels to borrow, refillable water bottle, and Frette bathrobes and slippers.

Our Favourite Rooms

The Hideout Suite is the one to sequester yourself away in, with its own hot tub, a pantry stocked with free goodies to raid, a bath tub to laze in, and a walk-in wardrobe. And you get extra seclusion with your own secret entrance along the seafront. Otherwise go alfresco in the Lookout Suite with a balcony. Whichever room you choose, you’ll find a record player with vinyl and eye-catching artwork made by locals; plus you’ll have the right to raid the hotel’s communal pantry for snacks and drinks whenever you fancy.

Spa

You’re at the beating heart of Brighton, but the BPM will lull in the multi-level FieldTrip Spa, opening early in 2025. Hidden away in the hotel through a wildflower-flanked entrance (with more meadow-aping stretches within). In the cave-like space, treatments (massages, facials, tailored therapies for men and mums-to-be) use all-natural, sustainable products and are very soothing, but with the signature ‘Copper Cove Experience’, you and your knight (or dame) in shining hot-tub will soak, sort out your knots and sip English sparkling wine together.

Packing Tips

Bring soft coverings for sitting on the pebbly beach if you don’t want to hire a deckchair, and Brighton’s where you can road-test your most out-there outfits, so pack for dressing to the max.

Also

The hotel will have beautifully outfitted rooms for meetings, private dining and events too.

Children

Some rooms will take an extra bed or have a sofa-bed, and kids will enjoy this stay’s sense of fun, plus Brighton’s colourful and classic pastimes.

Gallery

Food & Drink

Top Table

Slice of pizza in one hand, drink in the other, sun above and sea rolling on for miles: the terrace is exquisitely placed, with the iconic West Pier in view too. If you’d like to get a little closer, you can get a picnic for the beach on request.

Dress Code

Although the architecture says ‘pop up a parasol and cluck over how terribly sad it is that the Prince Consort passed away’ the hotel’s attitude is far more free, easy and all-accepting.

Hotel Restaurant

The Pearly Cow restaurant’s fire-and-ice dining concept may sound like a work of fiction, but it will serve up good times, no drama. You’ll find just-caught shellfish chilling on ice and meaty lobster rolls at one end of the scale and flame-licked meats at the other (with chips you’ll scarf down like a determined seagull). Or a mix of both, as in signature eat: 45-day-aged beef-fillet tartare, with oyster cream and Exmoor caviar on charred sourdough. When the sun’s out, take to the terrace for wood-fired pizzas and Mediterranean small plates, and give in to grand old seaside tradition with afternoon tea. Occasionally there’s live music here too.

Hotel Bar

Killer cocktails in the laidback bar or lounges get a competitive edge when you rummage around in the games room first, but – should things get too heated – there are various aspects of those calming sea blues, too.

Last Orders

Breakfast will be from 7am to 10am, lunch and afternoon tea from noon to 3pm, dinner servings from 5.30pm to 9pm. Pizzas will be paddled out on the terrace from 11am onwards. The bar closes when everyone's gone to bed.

Room Service

Dine in-room during restaurant hours.

Planes

Of London’s airports, Gatwick is the closest, either a 40-minute drive or hour-long direct train ride away.

Trains

The city is well-connected by train, with frequent Thameslink services from stations across London, and links along the coast. The hotel is a 15-minute walk downhill from Brighton’s main train station – you may be fine to roll your wheelie case down, but the hotel offers a free pick-up service (and they’ll even bring you brollies if it’s raining).

Automobiles

Aside from the odd incline, Brighton is easily walkable (and very eco-minded, so you’re best sticking to two wheels over four). You’ll only need a car if you plan to explore the wider area and South Downs National Park – the closest charged parking is at Regency Square.

Worth Getting Out of Bed For

No.124 must be lucky, because the hotel won the lottery of locations in Brighton. Walk outside and you’ll see the dizzying shaft of the i360 tower and its shiny doughnut that ferries visitors up and down it; and the skeleton of the West Pier. Cross the road and go down some steps and there they are: the (pebbly) beach and the sea. Amble along and you’ll find various attractions: live performers at Brighton Music Hall, the Upside Down House, cricket batting-cages, basketball and volleyball courts. Further along is the Palace Pier with classic fairground rides and arcades for time/money wasting; pirate-themed mini golf, a zipline, Volks Electric Railway, and the curious Brighton Flint Grotto. Further into the city, the Royal Pavilion shows that the Victorians did have a sense of humour (when it came to OTT decor anyways); the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery close by is an offshoot. Further along, the bustling Lanes are home to indie shops, the Theatre Royal and Komedia for a variety of live shows. Or have a more meditative time following the Undercliff Walk; watching starling murmurations over the West Pier when in season (October to March); or seeing what niche, vintage or foreign film is being screened at White Wall Cinema.

Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt

This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .