In a stunning Grade II listed building, on the quieter end of the scenic Brighton coastline, is the impressive Mercure Brighton Seafront. Near Hove, this building’s beautiful exterior is matched with ease by its boutique styled interiors and a set of six seriously good event spaces inside.
This brilliant building went through extensive interior renovations in 2019, which saw the interior brought back to life, all the way from its incredible roots in Victorian England. Now, the interior is classy, elegant and clean – we loved it!
There’s 116 bedrooms, with many offering stunning views of the sea, the rooms are bright and airy, and also continue this boutique, regency era feel with premium finishes throughout!
The venue’s renovations also saw it add a brand new space to the fold, The Terrace area is a brilliant outdoor space that comes fully equipped with heaters, in case the British weather lets you down (whaaat?!), with room for 30 Pax. This was a lovely addition to the venue’s plethora of already amazing spaces! 30 spaces each side – 60 in total.
The entrance to this hotel is stunning, like not many others. Turn one way for stunning views of the sea that sprawl out for what seems like forever. Turn the other way to enter this incredible venue. There are 20 car parking spaces outside, as well as multiple specs for the all-important coach parking, if you’re bringing along a team - these are along Kings Road or Madeira Drive. Another touch we loved was the private rear entrance, this was perfect for loading in and out when holding an event here, a great solution when setting up for the big day! Or when groups are needing privacy, they can go from transport / coach to into the hotel without being spotted!
If you’re anything like us at the Delegate Wranglers, with a love for incredibly designed venues, then you’ll be properly wowed when you walk into this colourful and eclectic entryway. The main event here is the original staircase that’s survived the decades upon decades of this venue’s history, it’s got gorgeous cast iron detailing which complement the tinge of royal blue that splatters the walls. The monograms NH across the stairwell echo back to the venue’s original name, The Norfolk Hotel.
The Plethora of bedrooms here was a genuine treat, this is a lovely sized hotel, it’s big, but not overbearing, meaning it can still pack in character across each of its beautiful floors. The Privilege Seafront rooms really stood out to us on our visit, with upgraded amenities like a HD TV and Nespresso machine, the biggest upgrade about this place is the view. Beautiful large windows and a vast balcony make for an amazing escape with incredible sights over the English Channel - with the ambient hum of Brighton in the distant background!
Like so many venues in this amazing, forward thinking city, Mercure Brighton go above and beyond when it comes to sustainability. We liked the thinking behind their new Environmental Charter that focuses their sustainability efforts around three key pillars: Stay - transforming operations sustainability, Food - using more traceable supply chains and reducing waste and Explore - to offer visions of travel that have a net positive impact on the local environment. We loved the last one, any incentive that continues to facilitate Brighton and its amazing natural spaces - we’re into it!
Venue Address: 149 Kings Road, Brighton, BN1 2PP
Venue Website: https://www.mercurebrighton.co...
Sales Contact: Gayle Martin, Area Director of Sales - South
Phone Number: 07974890718
Email Address: info@mercurebrighton.co.uk
Distance from nearest airport: Brighton Airport - 6.7 miles, 20 mins. Gatwick Airport - 28 miles, 38 mins
Distance from nearest railway station: Brighton Train Station, 1.4 miles, 9 mins
The most brilliant facility at Mercure Brighton Seafront is Coastal, the venue’s main restaurant. The restaurant is brand new, tastefully designed, bistro-styled and incorporates the amazing terrace space, as well as a brilliant bespoke bar that serves a wide range of exciting cocktails!
Coastal’s dishes focus on local inspiration and their menus cover breakfast, lunch and dinner. The interior of the restaurant, as well as the bar, are enhanced with the same boutique design philosophy as the rooms and reception. Deep, rich colours are enhanced by gold detailing on the lights, chairs and walls - meaning the room really “pops” this an exciting space for some high class dining.
When not opting for a dining experience in the main bistrot area, the ballroom makes an amazing spot for a large scale dinner or buffet alongside your event. This is a really impressive space… but we will leave that bit for the meeting space highlights!
While there’s no leisure facilities onsite, the team at Mercure Brighton have done a really good job harbouring (pun intended) great relationships across the city's seafront, with local beauty rooms or spas. These can be perfect options to include into an away day that features a stay at this hotel, or for a wind down after a big event. These facilities can be combined prior to a wedding at Mercure Brighton seafront, with the aforementioned ballroom being a really special place to celebrate tying the knot! Not just that, but the famous Brighton Bandstand is directly opposite the venue and can be booked for an unforgettable wedding looking out over the horizon!
The meeting spaces here at Mercure, as across the chain, are smart, effective and provide the perfect grounds to do whatever you intend to do, productively, whether that’s have fun at a dinner, celebrate at an awards, or get down to business at a board meeting. This said, and as fantastic as the spaces already are, the team told us about their commitment to constant improvement and never resting on their laurels. With this in mind, there’s a soft refurbishment of all meeting spaces commencing in Q4 2024, so all of their facilities stay to the high standards the hotel continually sets for itself.
Something really different about the meeting spaces and event system at Mercure Brighton Seafront is their choice to give back to partners who opt to use their spaces, with their meetings and events wellness rewards program! Through the program, they offer up to £1,000 in wellness vouchers when you book a meeting or event with us before 31st March 2025, the wellness vouchers are proportionate to the amount of space hired, meaning that even smaller events can guarantee some wellness credit - we loved this idea.
MEETING SPACE HIGHLIGHT : The Ballroom
As we might have hinted at before, we love this room. With genuine, elegant, Regency Era decor, this room comprises regal creams and golds, that really raises the bar of what a big, beautiful ballroom can be. The high ceilings make this space open and even more functional. It even features centrepiece chandeliers and gigantic wall mirrors that give the impression of a truly infinite space! The room has its own private bar which makes a fantastic step aside from your event, whether that be a large scale training session or a conference, this sophisticated space can do the job, and more! There is also ample space for registration desks outside, which could alternatively be placed in the lobby area, by the aforementioned stunning staircase.
Location: Main Building, Ground Floor (on a Mezzanine)
Natural daylight - No
Room size: 190 Sq. m
Theatre style layout – capacity: 110
Cabaret style layout – capacity: 80
Dinner – capacity: 120
Drinks reception – capacity: 150
AV equipment - LCD Projector/Screen, PA System (£170 w/VAT) Flipcharts
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MEETING SPACE HIGHLIGHT : Coast View
This space offers brilliant views over the seafront, which we could honestly talk about all day long. With space for up to 60 for a civil ceremony, this L shaped room really packs a punch in its mid-sized, high ceilinged footprint!
Location: Main Building, 5th Floor
Natural daylight: Yes
Room size - 81 Sq. m
Theatre style layout – capacity: 60
Cabaret style layout – capacity: 24
Drinks reception – capacity: 70
AV equipment: LCD Projector/Screen, PA System (£170 w/VAT) Flipcharts
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MEETING SPACE HIGHLIGHT : The Norfolk Suite
This is the most intimate space available at the Mercure Brighton. Brilliant for important meetings or interviews that may require confidentiality, the downstairs location means that if the staff didn’t show off the space, you’d be completely secluded. This space is very versatile and can provide for any business solution, when we were visiting, TV teams were using the space!
Location: -1 (Mezzanine)
Natural daylight - No
Room size - 99
Theatre style layout – capacity: 40
Cabaret style layout – capacity: 30
Drinks reception – capacity: 50
AV equipment - LCD Projector/Screen, PA System (£170 w/VAT) Flipcharts
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Summary
This is a great versatile venue with the added bonus of wonderful wedding capabilities, we even saw a wedding at the bandstand and couldn’t help but think how beautiful it all looked - bringing that fun back to one of the most beautiful and historic hotels on the waterfront sounded like a brilliant solution. The close proximity to Hove means this hotel is a special haven away from the chaos of central Brighton, the bustle is at an arm's length, so that you can have a special, peaceful time - did we mention the views…?