Where to stay in Brighton: the best neighbourhoods and hotels

King's Road runs along the top of the beach from the Palace Pier to the skeletal remains of the West Pier, and it is lined with Brighton's great Victorian hotels. Below it, the lower promenade is a string of fish-and-chip counters, bars under the arches and a carousel. The Brighton Centre, the city's main concert and conference venue, sits in the middle.

The Grand Brighton is the wedding-cake icon, a Victorian palace with 201 rooms, a cocktail bar and a restaurant. Next door, DoubleTree by Hilton Brighton Metropole, built in 1890, has a family programme with a kids' welcome and children's breakfast. The Old Ship is the oldest of the lot, in a building dating back to the 17th century, and the Mercure Brighton Seafront keeps its chandeliers and high-ceilinged ballroom.

The Lanes are what is left of the fishing village Brighton used to be: a tight maze of brick-paved passageways now filled with jewellers, antique dealers, pubs and some of the city's best restaurants. On the eastern side, the Royal Pavilion, the Prince Regent's fantastical pleasure palace of domes and minarets, sits in its gardens beside the Brighton Dome theatre.

Hotel du Vin, tucked between The Lanes and the sea, has a bistro, a terrace and a well-stocked bar. Queens Hotel is on the seafront at the edge of The Lanes, with rooms looking over the Channel. Leonardo Royal Hotel Brighton Waterfront has 204 rooms close to the Pavilion, with shops and a hair salon on site.

Between the station and the Pavilion, North Laine is Brighton's bohemian quarter: a grid of narrow streets with hundreds of independent shops, record stores, vegetarian cafés and pubs with tables spilling onto the pavement. It is the most fun place in the city to browse, and the beach is a short walk downhill.

My Brighton is a modern hotel in North Laine, a five-minute stroll from the station. Staybridge Suites, two minutes from the platforms, has studios and suites with kitchens. Leonardo Hotel Brighton is also steps from the station, with spacious rooms and a bar.

East of the pier, Kemptown is Brighton's most characterful neighbourhood and the heart of its LGBTQ+ community. St James's Street is all cafés, bars and delis; Marine Parade runs along the cliff top above the beach; and between them, pretty Regency squares open towards the sea. The pier and the Pavilion are five to ten minutes on foot.

Drakes, on Marine Parade overlooking the pier, has 20 rooms in a pair of Regency townhouses, many with freestanding baths facing the sea. The Charm Brighton is a boutique hotel with a full spa. Blanch House has 12 rooms and its own bar, and Legends is an LGBTQIA+ hotel with a bar and basement club, many of its rooms with sea views.

At the western end of the seafront, Regency Square is a handsome three-sided terrace of bow windows and iron balconies looking down to the ruined West Pier and the i360 observation tower. The Victorian bandstand is a short stroll along the promenade. It is quieter than the pier end, and the hotels have more personality.

Artist Residence is the arty one, with a restaurant, a café and a games room. Hotel Pelirocco has 19 playful rooms and a bar. Holiday Inn Brighton Seafront sits opposite the beach, moments from the i360, and The Brighton Hotel faces the bandstand from the seafront.

Locals like to say "Hove, actually", and you can see why they are proud of it. The seafront here is wider and greener, with the Hove Lawns, rows of painted beach huts and grand cream-coloured terraces behind. Church Road has a good run of restaurants, and central Brighton is a seafront walk or a short bus ride away.

Best Western Princes Marine is right on the seafront overlooking Hove Lawns and the Channel, a couple of miles from central Brighton. Langfords Hotel sits on a tree-lined avenue a short stroll from the beach and about fifteen minutes on foot from the centre. Charles Hope's serviced apartments, ten minutes from Hove station, suit longer stays.

Behind Brighton the South Downs rise in great green waves, and the villages tucked into their folds are some of the prettiest in the south. Alfriston is the standout, with a medieval high street and the Seven Sisters cliffs close by. Deans Place, a 25-minute drive from Brighton, is set in five acres of gardens there with an outdoor heated pool in summer.

Wingrove House, also in Alfriston, is an inn with a terrace and garden within a 15-minute drive of Seven Sisters Country Park. On the coast at Seaford, the Wellington Hotel is five minutes by car from the park and the beach.