Drakes Hotel | A Curious Group of Hotels

Drakes is a great choice if you want to be close to the main venues in the centre of Brighton but like to be able to escape the bustle when you can. It is only a short walk down to the end of the pier yet, especially with a room at the rear, is really quiet. There is a slight element of inter-room noise though not enough that I would mark it down from my overall rating. Helpful contact before our visit was useful to sort out parking and time of arrival. There is space for 4 cars in front of the hotel at £25/day which I think is reasonable given its location. Our car remained there all weekend with no issues. Very helpful staff on check-in, at breakfast and in the bar. The latter is a very pleasant little bar that was to our mind surprisingly underused. Breakfasts are made to order and are of a high standard.

Lovely hotel, great location for the seafront, pier & shopping. On a bus route too which helped. Nice welcome by staff, very friendly & helpful. Car park is next door, worth the £25 charge. No lift at the hotel & stairs quite narrow, spiralling but there is a luggage lift. Nice decor and facilities although our bed was very hard, but some may prefer that. Breakfast was good but mainly cooked with lots of egg variations so would recommend to eat out. Beautiful views, a nice stay.

What a wonderful stay at Drake Hotel. Everything about the hotel has an air of quality, comfort and friendliness. Our room was very spacious and the split level down to the bathroom was a lovely touch. The decor was luxurious. The staff were wonderfully friendly and the breakfast choice and quality was superb! We will return to experience the Drake's superb standards in the future.||Thank you!

The view from the room was fantastic. The noise from the road wasn’t great. Our room had a lovely deep bath which we couldn’t use. There was a wet room in the toilet with slight doors so little privacy. If you used the shower the toilet paper got wet. The luxury soap did smell amazing.

My wife and I had a lovely short stay at Drakes while visiting Brighton. The room was lovely and bright, with good decor and a great ensuite. The views over the seafront were great and the staff were wonderful. We interacted with 3 different members of staff on our stay and each of them were extremely friendly and made us feel very welcome. Would stay again, next time for longer! Keep up the great work guys, thank you for a lovely trip.

I am notoriously hard to please (don't think you can count a hotel 5 stars if there are dust, marks or stains) and very aware of the declining quality of hotels. Drakes couldn't have been more perfect.||We stayed in a marvelous room, which was beautiful.||Bed was huge, and incredibly soft. Free standing bath tub in the window to watch the sea was impeccable. Some people moan that you can be seen, but honestly when you are in your so low no one can see anything.||Staff couldn't do enough for us, so helpful and we loved the 24 hour cocktail bar! ||I would stay here again in a heartbeat.

With spectacular views across to the famous landmark Brighton Pier and one of the best beds I have ever slept this was a really great place to stay.||Would thoroughly recommend anyone who wants to enjoy a classic British seaside break in comfortable surroundings.||We received a free upgrade which was a lovely surprise too! Fab seafront hotel with a relaxing atmosphere.

We loved this bright room with stunning sea views and bathtub in one window. Quirky design but it worked really well. Comfy bed, helpful staff and easy parking.

This hotel is literally top of the range in Brighton and room rates start at £100 (midweek) to reflect this but boy the standard is top notch. I have included pictures of the best room which is a staggering £325 on the weekends! Now I begin to see why no-one had reviewed this thus far. The restaurant attached has been awarded the best food in Brighton so the all round package is evident. In January it is £70 per person for a 2 course meal, breakfast and a room for the night which is the best deal I have ever, ever heard and one which you should definitely take full advantage of. Room massages and personal shoppers are a couple of the extra services you can have whilst here and with all the activities they have set up with other companies so that you get a cheaper price, everything is set up for you here. This in my opinion has to be the best hotel in Brighton and Hove!

If you're looking for understated boutique chic, look no further. I've stayed here a couple of times and each time has been such a treat. The bed is massive with a load of cushy cotton pillows to sink into. The rooms have huge free standing baths in them which could easily fit three of you! If it was your lucky night... But seriously, if you run it deep, you'll have to hold onto the sides from fear of going under! A disco wetroom! If I wasn't such a safety loser I'd have did my TIIING. The doors are made of glass which is glazed but still pretty see through which could be slightly unromantic in certain situations... The staff are fab, can't do more for you and still not at all over the top. Digital radio come iPod speakers to whack on some tunes for a boogie in ya new plush room! They also have a load of DVDs to choose from that you can borrow which is a cute, personal touch. No fridge for storing fizz or treats :( The cocktails are delish but pricey. MAKE SURE YOU BOOK INTO THE RESTAURANT!! Again, pricey but well worth the monies. It's right on the seafront so you can ask for a sea view. Pretty much smack bang amongst all the bars and clubs, restaurants and shops. This is definitely Brighton's best hotel. The price-tag reflects it!

I really enjoyed my stay @ Drakes. This little (independent?) hotel only has 20 rooms, but they work hard to make it feel special. Most rooms have a freestanding bath tub, and they all come with white company toiletries, dressing gowns and slippers. Attention to detail is high, and sweet toothers like me even get a few pieces of Brighton rock thrown in. Our room was quiet, which was great, but unfortunately lacked the sea view. From the positioning of the hotel (a really great location just minutes from the pier), if you did get a sea view room, it would be bloody lovely. Bed was comfortable, room was quite small but well lit. Staff were friendly, and I love that you check in at the bar. It made me think, why does anyone have a normal reception desk, when you can have a bar check-in and nab a cheeky margarita whilst you pick up your key card?! Said bar is open 24/7 so of course it made sense to pick up a late night drink at 2am. Just because. I would recommend Drakes to friends travelling down to Brighton. It was a fun place to stay, with a central location and a friendly vibe. As a bonus, you'll get extremely fit here walking up the copious amount of stairs, ain't no lift in this joint. Probably a good idea to balance out the excessive number of cocktails you're likely to consume.

The smartest address in Brighton. Drakes was one of the first proper boutique hotels to open in Brighton. They were also one of the first to fit free-standing baths in the guest rooms. I love the consistency of their design. It is followed through out the hotel. The converted town house is ideally located in the classier part of Brighton - away from the chain pubs and stag/hen nights. Sea facing rooms all have views of the Palace Pier and ferris wheel. Even the largest rooms have very small bathrooms. And 'wardrobes' are just rails fitted to the walls behind a retractable partition screen. The bar area is compact, with tables very close together. Breakfast was delicious. We had it as room service and also in the restaurant in the basement. We tried to book dinner there, but the place had no space available. But the kitchens also serve room service, which was actually a much nicer way to have dinner. There is no lift, which means a multi staircase hike to the rooms on the higher floors. Some of the staff we encountered were a bit young and clueless. They operated a slightly hit and miss parking facility on the forecourt at the front. It was done on a first come - first served basis. The hotel has recently put it's prices up, which isn't great for an impromptu weekend away. It seems obvious, but the best rooms are those with sea views, however, these are also the noisiest.

Right across the road from the sea on the front of Brighton. Marine parade, no signage on the building just a tasteful little fountain out front in the small parking area out front. U can arrange next door parking with the front desk for a nightly charge. There is a well regarded restaurant on the premises but didn't eat there. Small bar is able to make lots of interesting cocktails but seemingly no beers on draft. Rooms on 3 or floors are not served by a lift but luggage has a lift for it on its own. At October time of writing front of building is being cleaned so is draped with scaffolding so check progress in that. Room configuration is slightly funky so check accessibility. Really liked the subtle lighting that came on in my bathroom when accessed. But the shower head was above my toilet seat. Funky!

I stayed here recently with my boyfriend on a brief stopover in his hometown of Brighton. I was a bit taken aback when the cab pulled up, as it's a small hotel that you would miss if you blinked. But once you get inside, it's a very beautiful, elegant place to stay with a pretty good location. It's about a 5 minute walk to Brighton Pier, and maybe 10 minute walk to the lanes. The check-in times are pretty strict, although early (2 pm), but I was able to sit in their lobby bar area and have some tea while I waited for my room. Lovely hotel, look forward to staying there again when visiting the in-laws...

Drakes Hotel is one of many places in Brighton playing the luxury game. Doing so with ease it offers rooms that strike a delicate balance between indulgence and homeliness. Each room is nice enough to make you feel special but not so extravagant that you couldn't imagine living in such a place. I'd call it aspirational design. The prices reflect the quality, as you won't find anything under £100 per night, however, it's not like you're likely to be disappointed. They also offer a range of additional services including in-room massages or even a personal shopper who'll take you round Brighton. The cocktail bar and restaurant are perhaps the biggest attractions but the former is only open to residents.