Often dubbed ‘London by the sea’, Brighton is England’s much loved hedonistic seaside city. Nestled on a South Coast shingle beach and backed by amusement arcades and Regency-era buildings, Brighton has always been a place that’s plays by its own rules, and that’s what I’ve always admired about it. I also love how many beautiful and unique Brighton boutique hotels there are in the city, so when eviivo and Snooze – voted England’s funkiest bed and breakfast – invited us to stay, there was really only going to be one answer…
Brighton is an easy day trip from London only taking an hour by train or a little more by car (traffic and train delays permitting of course) and Snooze guesthouse is located in Kemptown, one of the city’s “villages” which possessives a distinctive flavour of its own. Historically known as the artists’ district, it’s a charmingly lively but somehow still relaxed area with an eclectic mix of envy-inducing bow fronted Georgian town houses, interior design shops, artisan food stores, gay bars, and beautiful Regency crescents.
Snooze itself is equally eclectic. Occupying one of those much envied Georgian town houses, its elegant pure white exterior belies the visual feast that awaits inside. For starters, the reception/breakfast room is a pure of explosion of colourful kitsch – vintage movie and music memorabilia is crisscrossed with bright pop art, retro furniture and even a graffiti style mural on the ceiling.
My suite was a spacious loft room with a raised bed adorned in leopard skin print and surrounded brown beige walls accented with bright pop art. From the cute Love Heart sweets and Brighton rock left out on the bedside table to the monochrome mosaic bathroom, each detail was perfectly thought out, all with an unmistakable sixties/seventies vibe – sleeping there felt like being on the set of Boogie Nights or Velvet Goldmine!
The other rooms were equally as unique and splashes of colour awaited me at every which way turn – old lockers converted in wardrobes and retro advertisements and art embellished the bright funky walls. All rooms are individually decorated, are frequently redesigned to offer visitors a new and fresh experience each time they stay, and all seemingly take inspiration from cult films and vintage popular culture – Boogie Nights, Mad Men, Goodfellas, Quadrophenia the list goes on. I even spotted a room that reminded me of Coronation Street’s Vera Duckworth’s front room circa the 1980’s. Genius.
The next morning I filled up on tasty veggie breakfast and fresh tea served in purposely mismatched crockery (retro of course!) and then ventured out to explore the rest of the city. I’ve visited Brighton many times now and it’s a place I know I’ll never tire of. Their obvious love of the outlandish, the carnivalesque pier, the warren of alleys and stone paved streets flanked by independent boutiques and cool eateries, and the bracing salty air always offers a welcoming feel of familiarity.
After a slow meander through the narrow bohemian backstreets of the North and South Laines and a quiet moment in one of the city’s vintage tea rooms I headed to the pier. Brighton’s kitschy main pier is a true assault on the all the senses, with air filled with the aroma of burnt sugar from candy floss machines, the shrill sounds of shrieking seagulls and the sight of the candy striped helterskelter and rickety roller coasters balanced precariously on the iron girders of the sturdy Victorian structure.
The evening ended with a stroll along the pebbled shore edged by impressively turquoise waves, eventually arriving at the derelict burnt-out West pier just as the sun was setting. I watched the nightly dusk ritual of the gentle babble of starlings before they nestled in to roost on the remains of the striking and hauntingly beautiful structure. Brighton always seems to soothe the soul…
About eviivo 
The eviivo suite was designed to allow small, independent hosts and hoteliers to keep control of their business while allowing them to tell their own unique story as well as selling their own rooms online. Set up to allow owners to manage all their bookings in one place it was created to make overbookings, payment issues and time-stealing admin tasks a thing of the past. They also hold an annual awards ceremony to recognise properties who excel in all areas.
This post was brought to you in partnership with eviivo and Snooze, although all our opinions are our own. All words by Becky and video and all images are by Gary Nunn.
26 Comments
I.T.
3 July, 2018 at 9:23 amIt looks like great place to visit! Love the video too 🙂 🙂
Explorer Whiz
26 April, 2018 at 1:29 pmSimply wow! Both the video, the post and the photos 🙂
Travel Roady
6 February, 2018 at 8:22 pmBrighton is an awesome destination. The images are very beautiful and eye catching. I hope i would travel this place once a day and turn my visuals into reality. Great job!
Thank you!
Sam
24 October, 2017 at 12:55 pmAbsolutely stunning photos – looks like such a lovely place! And they have a veggie breakfast too, yay! As a vegan traveler, I’m always on alert for veg options. And Brighton has so so many! We spent 2.5 weeks house sitting in Brighton this summer and absolutely fell in love. It hadn’t been on our radar much before, but while we were traveling around the UK, people kept telling us we had to go there – I’m so glad we listened! I have to say I enjoyed it much more than London and next time I’m back in the UK I’ll beeline straight from the airport to Brighton, maybe even stay at Snooze for a night!
Sharmaine
10 September, 2017 at 1:45 pmOh my god, I am so going visit Snooze! This has to be one of best ones I have ever seen!
https://moncheriebomb.blogspot.com/
Gabby
10 August, 2017 at 8:34 pmYour videos are so inspiring! I love this one!
-Gabby
Raquel | Living Wellbee
30 July, 2017 at 10:14 amuau funky at its best 🙂
Great article, now I really need to go visit Brighton
Agness of eTramping
17 July, 2017 at 7:07 pmThe pictures are simply breathtaking, Becky!
Mimi Swaby
6 July, 2017 at 6:57 pmThis looks and sounds like such a fun place to stay! If I’m ever in Brighton will definitely be going here xx
http://www.mimazine.co.uk/
Becky Moore
16 July, 2017 at 8:34 pmIt was so much fun, so quirky and cool!
cho thuê bàn ghế
6 July, 2017 at 9:42 amLove this article, what fab photos too!
Becky Moore
16 July, 2017 at 8:33 pmThank you!
Laura
24 June, 2017 at 4:23 pmThis looks like such a funky place to stay! I love the vibrancy of the place it’s ever so unique! Brighton is a great area and always so nice to get away to the sea.
Thanks so much for sharing.
Laura!
http://www.shehearts.net
Becky Moore
16 July, 2017 at 8:33 pmYes so true, one of my favourite places in the UK!
Emma Brown
9 May, 2017 at 9:41 pmA great post on one my favourite cities in the world, I lived in Brighton for a year once and this bought back so many fond memories of the place. The video is just pure class, I lurrve it!
Becky Moore
10 May, 2017 at 2:36 pmIt’s one of my personal favourites too, thank you! 🙂
Scott Balaam
9 May, 2017 at 8:56 pmGreat photos and video, Brighton is such a cool city and you’ve captured it so well. Need to head back there one day soon!
Becky Moore
10 May, 2017 at 2:37 pmThanks Scott, hope you do make it one day soon – the summer is a great time to go too!
Tuğçe Makarnacı
9 May, 2017 at 8:45 pmVery funky and fabulous video, what a fantastic videographer you have on your team. Brighton looks like a really fun city to visit, especially the pier.
Becky Moore
10 May, 2017 at 2:37 pmYes we’re very lucky, Gary is very talented!
Kenn Jing
9 May, 2017 at 8:41 pmLooks soo cool, the decor is fab!
Becky Moore
10 May, 2017 at 2:37 pmYes so quirky and fun we loved it!
Katarina
9 May, 2017 at 8:38 pmThis place looks so special, I love Brighton too. Does it get booked up quickly?
Becky Moore
10 May, 2017 at 2:38 pmYes it’s very popular just make sure you book a few weeks in advance 🙂
Suze
5 May, 2017 at 11:57 amI love the quirky decor here and I can see how it could win an award for quirkiness! Brighton is such a cool place to explore and this hotel fits the town perfectly
Becky Moore
10 May, 2017 at 2:38 pmYes it summed up Brighton as a whole beautifully!