A Wonderful Weekend Away at the DoubleTree by Hilton Brighton Metropole

Brighton Metropole Hotel

It’s hard not to feel happy in the vibrant and colourful seaside resort of Brighton and Hove (even when faced with high winds, like we were, a couple of weekends ago) and especially when your weekend home from home is now a sumptuous family room with a sea view at the Victorian hotel, Double Tree by Hilton Brighton Metropole.

hotel lobby

Built back in 1890, this majestic hotel and spa situated on the seafront holds happy memories for my family and I as we reviewed it back in 2020 (which feels approximately twenty years ago thanks to the pandemic) and of course prior to their recent, whopping 26 million refurbishment.

We as a family have had a refurbishment/ extension of our own since then too, with the addition of Florence, who is now 20 months old!

portrait of a toddler

Florence was certainly living her best life during our fun weekend away.

laughing toddler

Isn’t the hotel-and Florence- delightful?!

I couldn’t stop taking photos of either of them (!), the latter for our family archive (this blog), the former, for some home decor inspo for our new house.

hotel interior design

The ocean blue palette against the grey marble floors and warm terracotta furnishings reminded me of Cyprus, the island my parents are originally from, and of course the stirring waves on beautiful Brighton Beach.

What a tranquil space.

Metropole bar-brighton

Our vast, chic and spotless (not for long) room provided us with ample space for our brood of kids, teen Oliver, tween Xander and toddler Florence, with a fold-out double sofa bed the boys slept in top to tails, a travel cot for  and the youngesst and a qeen size bed for Peter and I.

family hotel room

Perfection.

huge family room at the Double Tree Hilton Brighton Metropole

Florence spent so much time in the castle den the hotel thoughtfully included by our bed, she would have slept in there if we’d let her!

The balcony overlooking the sea made me want to move to Brighton! Alas, no more moves here after our fair share!

room with a sea view

We also enjoyed complimetary local Brighton Gin; Appletisers, water, tea, coffee, and chocolate boxes the children appreciated the most!

complimentary hotel drinks

Our room also boasted ceiling-high cupboards in the corridor (always a must when travelling with a toddler) and an ensuite bathroom the size of an adjacent flat with the most powerful of power showers (the kind you never want to get out of, just ask my teen).

ensuite bathroom orange bathroom

I must mention before I forget (which happens a lot thanks to baby brain)- that all of the hotel staff  went above and beyond to ensure our stay was smooth-running and comfortable be it creating individual dishes at meal times for Florence accomodating her allergies to tidying the room every time she threw baby crisps on the floor so we could take tidy photos to share with you and even making my evening Espresso Martini decaff so I could sleep at night. Everyone was so kind and attentive and not just to us, we observed the same treatment towards the other guests staying there too.

Cheers!

hotel drinks

What did our days look like?

After a mega hotel breakfast which offered everything you could wish for to start your day right from cereal to hot pastries, cooked food, fresh coffee, seasonal fruit, bespoke dishes (the creamy oat milk porridge with berry compote was delicious) and more, we weren’t sure we would need lunch and we didn’t, skipping it in lieu of a snack instead!

mother and daughter

(Thanks for the complimentary dress Phase Eight)

The winds were milder in the mornings (we arrived late on Friday night and left on Sunday evening) so that was when we hit the famous pebbly beach for a brisk stroll and marvelled at the Upside Down House before a spot of ice cream (vegan and otherwise) and some souvenir shopping (the boys bought some leather bracelets they took approximately 40 minutes choosing ;)).

We even made some feathered friends.

seagull

The biggest win was discovering the King’s Road Playground nearby with plenty of shade to shield us from the wind.

playground

The kids seemed to while away hours playing together there, the boys mostly preventing fearless Florence from harm as her favourite pasttime in playgrounds appears to be launching herself from the highest climbing frames and slides.

I’m so proud of my boys who are so patient and considerate with their little sister. Age gaps really are awesome!

As the wind picked up speed, so did we, right back to the hotel for a (kind of) collective nap whilst Florence slept (the boys played on their phones) before embarking on another epic feast at dinner in the Metropole Bar (as a wedding reception was being hosted in the 1890 fine dining room) for delicious, seasonal and local food spaning artichokes on sourdough toast, cauliflower and chicken wings respectively, cauliflower soup, fried chicken strips and chips, a cheeseburger, stone baked Margherita pizza and onion rings. Dessert was Eton Mess.

The Manager kindly insisted we try almost everything on the menu!

Double Tree Hotel in Brighton soup  cauliflower wings chicken wings veggie pizza chicken and chips

Eton Mess

The next day saw us relish the hotel breakfast once again (with a side dish of cuteness as two people recognised me in the lobby and said my work has helped them on their motherhood journeys) then it was time to burn off breakfast and the ego boost (!) with a walk through town inhaling the positive energy Brighton possesses in buckets and spades. Get it?!

Seriously, I love how principled the locals are.

We lost track of how many passersby were wearing campaign badges and t-shirts advocating for a fairer world be it women’s rights or climate change. What a city.

After that brief pause in eating, it was back to it with an afternoon tea to finish all afternoon teas with a selection of pastrami, cheese and tuna finger sandwiches, warm and fluffy scones with clotted cream and jam and homemade tarts and pastries, and retro sweets, cupcakes and cake pops for the kids in their own children’s afternoon tea. The yum emoji was definitely invented for times like those!

afternoon tea afternoon tea children's afternoon tea children's afternoon tea

We literally rolled out of the Metropole Bar and right into the Health Club (balance, baby) for a swim and a spot of the steam and sauna time for me, before setting off back to Yorkshire, fed, happy and full of sea air. Wow.

Brighton beach

Thank you Double Tree Hilton Metropole for the most wonderfully rejuvinating weekend away.

This was a complimentary press trip but all words are honest.

A Wonderful Weekend Away at the DoubleTree by Hilton Brighton Metropole

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