Finding the right place to stay in Brighton might sound easy, but there are a lot of considerations. You want to be near the seafront, so you can get views of the beach. However, go for the central area and you will be too close to the nightclubs, meaning you will suffer from a lack of sleep.
The location of the Hilton Brighton Metropole is perfect, as it gets quieter as you turn right from West Street in the direction of Hove. It’s just beyond the buzz of Brighton centre, so no long queues outside, while you also have a calmer section of the beach, which is nice when you don’t want all the crowds.
On arrival, the reception handed out warm freshly baked cookies to each person checking in, one of those nice little touches you don’t expect but really makes you smile.
But the biggest winner for us is finding somewhere that is dog friendly…
Dog Friendly Hotel
We’ve stayed at a number of dog friendly hotels and this simply means you won’t get turned away with your beloved pooch. But the Brighton Hilton went beyond this, they astounded us with their attention to detail.
In the room was a dog bed and two bowls, while the dog bed was so soft they both instantly jumped and slept on it.
On the door was an added sign to the usual ‘do not disturb’, being ‘I have a furry friend inside’, ideal if you want cleaners to be aware of a dog in the room.
You’re not allowed your pets in the main restaurant area, for obvious reasons, but they had a terrace area where we ate dinner, meaning you can watch the sun go down and enjoy the sights of the sea, the i360 and the West Pier.
The Room
Firstly, I have to start with the view. Directly facing the West Pier, this was a stunning view of an iconic image of Brighton. With floor to cieling windows, it was breathtaking to look out, whether near the window or relaxing on the bed.
There was also a balcony area, which I found myself naturally gravitating towards every five minutes.
The bed was enormous, we love an oversized bed so this one was perfect, especially as we inevitably had to battle for space with two dogs jumping up, therefore we didn’t feel squashed at all.
The bathroom was a good size, with a strong water-pressure shower. It was perfectly clean, which is more than can be said about every hotel I’ve visited in Brighton, so a big tick there.
They also provided full size bottles of shower gel, shampoo and conditioner. That might sound like a minor point, but I do hate it when you get these tiny bottles that you have to make spread out over a few days.
Now, I have no intention of staying in watching TV all day when in Brighton, but it’s inevitable people will want to watch TV in their hotel room. So I thought it was worth mentioning how huge the TV was. Long gone are the days of those box TV’s you’d get in the room, this was a nice big screen with high definition.
Metropole Bar Dining
As mentioned earlier, we sat out on the terrace as we had our dogs on us, but if you’re pet-free then you can take a seat inside which looked really nice and cosy.
We went for a three course meal, as each serving looked equally tasty. I went with the Gochujang cauliflower wings to start, coated in toasted seeds. This was easily one of my favourite bits of the whole meal, seriously I would return just for these. We once had gorgeous cauliflower wings at CurryLeaf in Kemptown, but they eventually stopped serving them, so I was delighted to see these on the menu.
Raquel went for the British Charcuterie plate, a delectable mix of cold meats, house pickles and Dorset Coppa. She loved every bite, much to the disappointment of our two dogs below.
My main was the grilled Lock Duart salmon and tomato orzo. I’ve not really eaten orzo before, but I was really impressed. The salmon was cooked to perfection. To be honest, I was really tempted to have the chicken murgh makhani, but I know I always will sway towards a curry, therefore I tried something a bit different and loved it.
Raquel opted for the chicken, mushroom and tarragon pie, served with creamy mashed potato, braised red cabbage and gravy. Whenever pie and mash is on the menu, Raquel jumps instantly for it, so I knew there would be a smile on her face.
I finished off with a sticky toffee pudding, a dish I didn’t realise I liked up until a year ago when I realised it tastes just like a syrup sponge pudding, one of my favourite desserts. It was beautiful, the clash of the warm cake with the cold ice cream, with the smoked salt offering a unique twist.
Raquel opted for the chocolate fudge brownie. The best compliment I can give to the dish is I didn’t even see it go, I just looked up and it had disappeared, so I didn’t manage to sneak my spoon over in time.
Breakfast
It might sound silly, but the breakfast is always the thing I get most excited about when staying in a hotel. In fact, I almost always filter out hotels that don’t offer a breakfast, it just sets my day off right with unlimited latte and a wide selection of food to nibble on.
They had the usual English Breakfast offerings, plus the bakery goods (croissants were amazing) and fruit selection.
But the stand-out was the chefs cooking up egg dishes. There were omelletes, poached eggs (which were cooked to perfection), boiled and fried eggs, all made right in front of you.
The juice station was also better than most, with the cloudy apple juice really hitting all the right notes. There were a couple of coffee machines, so the queue didn’t take too long to get my morning latte, but I made sure to be sat facing them so I can jet over whenever the queue dies down.
