The Grand Hotel is a

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

hotel, also known as the 'White Palace', located on King Edwards Parade,

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The 5 star hotel is part of an independent UK based hotel group, Elite Hotels, who also own Tylney Hall in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

and Ashdown Park Hotel near

Forest Row Forest Row is a village and a large civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The village is located three miles (5 km) south-east of East Grinstead. In January 2023, it ranked as Britain’s 3rd poshest village. His ...

Heritage

On 13 May 1874 the

Gazette announced that a local resident William Earp was proposing to build a hotel with a 400-foot frontage at a cost of £50,000. The result was the Grand Hotel, designed by local architect Robert Knott Blessley and constructed in 1875. The Grand Hotel is well known for its association with music.

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

corrected the proofs of '' La Mer'' between 24 July and 30 August 1905 in Suite 200, which is now known as the Debussy Suite. Eastbourne was also where

Frank Bridge Frank Bridge (26 February 187910 January 1941) was an English composer, violist and conductor. Life Bridge was born in Brighton, the ninth child of William Henry Bridge (1845–1928), a violin teacher and variety theatre conductor, formerly a ...

completed work on his suite '' The Sea'' in 1911.

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

was a visitor in 1926. The Grand Hotel Orchestra broadcast

palm court Palm Court may refer to: * Palm court - a large room, usually in a prestigious hotel, where functions are staged * Palm Court (Alexandria Hotel) - historic ballroom in Los Angeles, California * Palm Court at the Ritz Hotel - site of "Tea at ...

music live on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

from the Great Hall every Sunday night from 1925 to 1939 on the programme ''Grand Hotel''.'Grand Hotel' at ''Masters of Melody''
/ref> During the Second World War, Eastbourne was easy prey to air raids and the hotel eventually closed down and became a military headquarters. The hotel was taken over by the De Vere Hotel Group in 1965 and then by Elite Hotels in 1998 when a complete refurbishment took place. The tradition of live music and dancing continues.

Rooms

The Grand Hotel has 152 rooms, including 23 suites, 30 junior suites and 99 rooms. The hotel also offers conference and banqueting facilities with 17 fully equipped conference and meeting rooms of varying size. The largest is the Compton Room which can accommodate up to 300 guests in a theatre-style layout.

Fire

On 26 June 1995 there was a serious fire at the Grand Hotel. The fire started when workmen had been repainting, using blow torches to strip off old paint. The fire spread quickly partly because of hidden roof voids and the tar pitch in the roof. The hotel was evacuated and there were no casualties.

Notes and references

External links

Official Site
{{Coord, 50.760228, N, 0.283086, E, display=title Hotel buildings completed in 1875 Hotels in East Sussex Victorian architecture in England Eastbourne