The Grand Hotel Eastbourne With A Dog: First Stop On A Drive From Europe

I spent my summer discovering Wales and Scotland, together with my partner and my senior dog. But before reaching any of these places, I first stopped at a historic English coastal resort, at one of the most iconic hotels: The Grand Hotel in Eastbourne. 

I’m not the one to tell you to spend your money at luxury hotels, but I will always appreciate a well-thought-out and memorable experience.

This hotel stay was so much more than a stay; it was a truly perfect introduction to the British lifestyle. For someone who had little real-life knowledge of British culture, this was a genuinely memorable experience, and I want to share with you what it’s like to have this experience at The Grand Hotel in Eastbourne.

Why I chose Eastbourne as the first UK stop

After travelling across Europe for a week, driving from Romania to the UK,  I wanted to stay at a nice English hotel to really get the sense of British culture. The kind of culture I only saw in movies and never felt before in real life during my previous visits to London. 

I love coastal stops, and I always feel at peace near water. Having a beautiful room with a sea view that’s both dog-friendly and offers all the English spoils, like a spa, a restaurant and a lounge, is one of the best experiences. At least for someone like me who loves experiencing a culture through trusted and established places. 

The Grand Hotel in Eastbourne is not just a posh hotel or a new Instagram-popular stop. Nothing of that sort. 

In fact, the Grand Hotel, also known as The White Palace, is a renovated hotel that, over the last century, has hosted many celebrities such as Winston Churchill and Charlie Chaplin. And that instantly sparked my curiosity. 

Eastbourne is the coastal resort that the Brits have always loved. It’s much sunnier than London, and it’s only 2 and a half hours by car. 

As for me, aside from a short couple of autumn visits to London, Great Britain was largely unknown to me. 

Also, Eastbourne is only 2 hours away from Folkestone, where I arrived after crossing the English Channel using the Le Shuttle train. 

As this was also my first day ever driving in the UK, I didn’t want to do too much, knowing I would already be overwhelmed by the novelty of driving a European left-hand-drive car on the left side of the road. 

Arriving from the Eurotunnel in the UK

Crossing the English Channel using LeShuttle was an adventure in itself, but I chose it because I was travelling with my dog and wanted to shorten the crossing time as much as possible. 

On my way back to mainland Europe, I chose to cross using the ferry. Check out my detailed review of the ferry vs Eurotunnel crossing with a dog.

The LeShuttle trip starts in Calais, France and takes you to Folkestone in the south of England. 

From Folkestone, I drove to Eastbourne, with a short lunch break in Hastings. 

This was my first time ever driving in the UK, and the first hours required my complete concentration, as there is much countryside on this drive segment. 

Adjusting to driving on the left takes a bit, especially when you are first learning to drive like that. I’m an experienced driver, but it did get quite tiring, and there is certainly a lot of novelty, as a lot of the traffic signs in the UK are different from what I am used to. 

I wrote an entire guide on how to drive in the UK as a European, which I recommend reading if you’re planning on doing the same, and especially if you drive your European car to the UK.  

I stopped for lunch in Hastings, where I also visited the famous hill facing the sea. I learnt about this place last year when I visited the Bayeux Tapestry when it was in France. 

I had seen the Bayeux Tapestry in Bayeux just before it was moved to the British Museum in London for its first visit to the UK in nearly 1,000 years. So seeing Hastings felt like completing the story in person.

I, together with my partner and my dog, wanted to see the ruins of Hastings Castle, but unfortunately we found out at the entrance that dogs are not allowed. 

That was unexpected, but we then continued our visit on the hill, and eventually we went for lunch at a fish and chips restaurant on the seafront. It was our first real fish and chips experience, and I was impressed by how massive the portions were. 

The rest of the drive towards Eastbourne was without any issues, but I drove with maximum precaution as everything made little sense to me and I was still adjusting to driving on the left side of the road. 

I set my GPS to get us to The Grand Hotel in Eastbourne, and I knew from a distance that we had arrived, as this massive white building catches your eye regardless of where you are going. It’s located on the main boulevard, facing the sea. 

The room and what to expect

Just in front of the Grand Hotel in Eastbourne, we found a parking spot. Went inside for check-in and were warmly greeted by the staff at the reception, and the check-in was very smooth. They did ask for a credit card pre-authorisation to have on record (to cover things like minibar charges or damage). 

Then we were off to our room. Note that rooms start at £245 for 2 adults. 

We got one of the larger suites on the first floor facing the sea. My first reaction was “wow”, given how the room really looked like I had just stepped inside an English film, and then I saw the balcony and the view, which ultimately blew my mind. It was in that moment I regretted that I was only going to stay for 1 night here. 

Obviously, my dog was over the moon and loved it the moment we entered the room. 

I felt like the room we got, which is definitely not the standard room, was far beyond our expectations, and we loved it. 

We also had a personalised welcome note waiting for us, fresh fruit, water, the coffee corner was fully stocked, and puffy white slippers and bathrobes to use. I just love hotels with bathrobes, and it seems most of them don’t offer them anymore. 

Travelling with a dog

In the room, it was waiting for us: the dog welcome package (Sir Woofchester pack), which was such a nice touch for my small senior dog. The dog fee, which includes this welcome pack, is £25 per night (with one dog per room).

The dog welcome package included a few sealed treats and a toy to take home,  and it also included a water bowl and a big dog towel to use during our stay. 

Unfortunately, most hotel restaurants in the UK don’t allow dogs in the restaurant area, but will gladly serve you in the lounge area where dogs are welcome. I completely understand it, and some people might not like eating with dogs around them. 

And just before dinner, our dog had an incident in the big lobby of the hotel, where he decided to pee all of a sudden. He never does that inside, but he thought the lobby of a 5-star hotel in the UK was where he should do it first. I suspect he smelled something in the corner of the lobby, and another dog had probably done the same before him. But I’ll never know. 

I felt immediately embarrassed, but the hotel staff was very calm and told us not to worry and that someone would take care of it.  

We went outside for a short walk and upon returning, we were shown to our dinner table, and the incident area in the lobby had already been washed and dried, and there was no sign of the deed. The hotel has carpet in many of the common areas, and in the hallways, so I assume they are very specialised in cleaning it. 

The Grand Hotel Eastbourne experience and review

After checking in, we went for a walk on the promenade to explore a bit more of Eastbourne. We then had dinner in the lounge area, so that our dog could join us. 

The dinner was magnificent. I’m not a huge foodie and didn’t expect much from British cuisine, but this dinner was impressive. It might have been the wine, the presentation, the butter in the sauce, or the lovely staff. Or it was all of them. 

Although the menu isn’t huge, we were able to find options as we don’t eat meat. We had lovely haddock, wine and dessert. One of the most memorable dinner experiences from my entire 3 months in the UK. And it happened on the first night there. 

The staff who attended to us were lovely and tried their best to make our night memorable. 

Our table even had a candle, and it was arranged as a romantic date night, and it had a water bowl for our dog next to it. 

The next morning, we spent 1 hour at the indoor spa, where we found a humid sauna, a jacuzzi and a swimming pool. There was also a gym next to it, but we skipped it because we wanted to take a quick swim in the outdoor heated swimming pool. I loved that one, and it has the best view with the hotel in the background. 

The breakfast was brilliant.

It was here, in the Grand Hotel in Eastbourne, that I learnt how breakfast works in the UK.

You can choose what hot breakfast you want (English breakfast, pancakes, eggs, etc.), and it will be served. Then you have the buffet for pastries, toast, cereal, and beverages. Everything was delicious. I went for an omelette and also asked for the pancakes (I chose 2 things from the hot breakfast list), while Edy had a veggie version of the English breakfast, which was such a huge portion. 

We went for one last stroll along the promenade before continuing our trip to the south of Wales, where we spent 1 month in Pembrokeshire. 

Eastbourne itself as a first taste of England

Given all the English films I’ve seen, I could only assume that a well-established holiday spot like Eastbourne would be full of imposing buildings. 

And it was. The entire boulevard on the promenade is full of historical buildings and hotels. 

The views are truly the kind of sea view only England would grant, and the cliffs that you see at one end of the resort are a reminder that England has a raw, weather-beaten coastline that’s been shaping itself for millions of years.

I enjoyed the stay, and if anything, I wish I had more time to relax and enjoy it more. The morning before our departure, the weather changed for the better, and the entire promenade was full of warm morning sun. Everyone was walking their dog, being respectful and enjoying the weather. 

The town was in full preparation for the summer months, as the high street was recently redesigned and had become a pedestrian area. 

I made a video of this entire experience. If you want to see what Eastbourne looks like to a first-time visitor and what my experience at the Grand Hotel in Eastbourne was, then go watch it on my YouTube channel:

Is staying at The Grand Hotel in Eastbourne worth it?

Yes, staying at The Grand Hotel in Eastbourne is worth it, even for 1 night. 

I’m not an advocate for fancy and luxury stays when perfectly comfortable options are available. 

But staying at the Grand Hotel wasn’t just a luxury stay; it was a memorable first night in the UK, where we were welcomed with our dog and offered some of the best service I’ve seen in a while (and I have been to hundreds of hotels from all over the world). 

As a traveller of more than a decade, I’ve come to truly appreciate hospitality, and can spot from a mile away the false or pretentious hospitality some might offer just to take your money. 

I believe true and valuable experiences are worth the money. And if that experience includes great staff service and warmth, a stay designed to take care of all the tiny details a traveller might have to worry about, lovely meals and basically a solution for any issue, then that’s the experience I want.