So after the hassle of being scammed by a spa con (see my post below). I researched spa hotels in Brighton a little more thoroughly, and settled on Lansdown Place, which is a boutique hotel in Brighton… Well, the website says it is-in fact it is in Hove, about 20 minutes walk from the centre of Brighton at a brisk pace, but lets not nit-pick!
The hotel is billed as a 4* luxury boutique hotel, and was the nicest looking one I could find in the Brighton area for a spa break. I specifically wanted to be in a fun town rather than a retreat style manor hotel spa, because I wanted us to go out and have some fun at night too after the rotten year we’d had. At the time my Mum was also due to emigrate to Hong Kong, so I was pretty sad about that, and wanted us to have a blast together before she left.
Standing on Brighton Beach
We got the train down, since the hotel offers no parking, and Brighton is a nightmare to drive to or park in. Although it was April, the weather was stunning and we decided to walk (not appreciating quite how far it was from the train station).
Unfortunately all of the twin rooms were on the top floor, facing away from the sea and the new renovation didn’t appear to have extended all the way up to the top floor hall ways; but the rooms were nicely decorated, even if the shower was bloody awful (you almost had to run in loops to get wet!) Also, I think even the best rooms in the hotel didn’t really have a sea front view, and on the plus side it was less than a minute’s walk away.
Never mind, if that was really all I could say to be negative about the place, then in fairness it’s not too bad! £545.00 bought us:
- 1 night stay in the hotel
- Breakfast
- a facial,
- an uplifting eye treatment,
- a full body massage,
- use of the spa facilities
- Lunch
- and a bottle of Bubbly in our room
The treatments were in the basement spa, and we were able to have our treatments together in a dual treatment room together which was really special, since we had wanted to spend the time together (this was the last weekend I would get with her before she emigrated). I opted to have all of our treatments on the one day (Saturday) after we had spent the Friday hitting the shops, restaurants and bars… That way, we could leave feeling relaxed and pampered, rather than undoing all of the good work of those lovely spa treatments; although, I think that another night there in the hotel might have been rather more lovely than catching a taxi and then a train home immediately afterwards!
Meal at Terre a Terre
Over all, I’m not sure I would have called the hotel itself ‘luxury’, but it had a certain Asian influence to it’s decor and did feel shabby-chic. Both by Mum and I enjoyed our stay, and the little bar. If you wanted something light, contemporary and airy, this would not be the place for you, but it did feel clean and had a certain charm to it.
There were also plenty of fun bars and restaurants to dine at in Brighton, and during our visit, I discovered one of my new favourite restaurants, called Terre a Terre. It is a stunning vegetarian restaurant, which would normally put me off, but the food was really inventive and exciting and I didn’t regret the omission of meat or fish in the slightest… In fact a large percentage of the people who regularly dine there are non-vegetarians, and if you ARE a veggie, this is rated in the top 10 vegetarian restaurants in the UK, and really shouldn’t be missed if you’re ever in the area!
Lansdown Place Jazz Bar
Emma’s Spa Rating – 7/10. It didn’t quite measure up to my full expectations, as I felt the website did over sell the ‘luxury’ aspect of it, but to be fair, it was reasonable value for money. As a twin room guest, I did feel like a bit of a second class citizen in the hotel, and although I’m pretty sure we were told that the hotel was newly refurbished, it was definitely a little bit shabby around the edges in the hall ways, etc.
The bar was lovely though, and we were pleasantly surprised to find that they had a happy hour and live jazz music playing in the evening. It was right up my Mum’s street, so I know it won her vote, and since it was her Christmas present, it was a job well done for me!
The other good point was that you didn’t have to have their fixed spa package. The spa were pretty flexible, and would let you tailor your package with treatments to suit your own preferences. I would probably book again, and I would definitely recommend this if you are looking for a spa weekend that isn’t a total escape from civilisation!
Useful Tips
- Take Shampoo and conditioner into the spa with you, we had oil massaged into our head during the massage and facial, and I prefer using my own brand of hair products to ones I am unfamiliar with
- Take a hair band in with you, if you have your head massage before you eat lunch, you will want to tie your hair up to avoid looking like you dunked your hair in a deep fat fryer whilst you dine. My Mum didn’t and felt quite self-conscious
- Take Flip Flops and a bikini or swimsuit into the Spa, so that you can make the most of the facilities (including the sauna and steam room in our case)
- If you want to have treatments together, ask at the time of booking if they have a dual treatment room available.
Emma's Bucket List 
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