The best hotels in Brighton with parking facilities, from the seafront promenade to North Laine

These are unusual times, and the state of affairs can change quickly. Please check the latest travel guidance before making your journey. Our writers visited these hotels pre-pandemic.

Perfectly-sized for a short break, Brighton promises everything except dullness. Check out its eccentric pubs and quirky live music venues, dawdle around North Laine’s indie shops and flea markets, then grab a fill of invigorating sea air along its promenade. This is a city that really does have it all. With one exception: finding places to park in Brighton is a challenge on these tightly monitored streets. Help is at hand, however, with a clutch of excellent hotels offering spaces, so here’s our pick of the best hotels in Brighton with parking, featuring the top places to stay for sea views, great food and charming interiors.

Hotels with private On-site parking

This Grade II-listed Georgian townhouse has refined dove-grey and pale-blue colour scheme with honeyed oak detailing, a marine theme and fabulous sea and pier views from all but one of its 10 bedrooms. Try and bag the rooftop balcony seaview room, which boasts a tiny sheltered terrace accessed by a wooden staircase, from which you can enjoy views onto the promenade and the sea itself. Also worth booking are the generously-sized Deluxe sea-facing rooms on the first and second floors. The downside is that Marine Parade is a busy road but parking on the hotel’s forecourt is free when booked online – one of the few hotels in Brighton with free parking on site.

? The best hotels in Brighton

Drakes is only 10 minutes' walk to the Royal Pavilion and The Lanes, and diagonally opposite Brighton Pier and the beach. Interiors ooze sass and character while remaining sympathetic to the building’s Georgian footprint in room scale and floor-to-ceiling windows. You'll also find attractive additional Poirot touches in elegantly curved ocean-liner styled walls and rippled stucco, European elm panelling and fabulous Designers Guild diavore cushions and bed throws. There is also a cool cocktail bar and restaurant. The hotel has parking facilities for 15 cars on its forecourt and at a neighbouring car park (￡15 for 24 hours).

? The best boutique hotels in Brighton

Spread over two wings, The Old Ship faces the promenade just west of the pier. A very attractive outdoor terrace with rattan sofas and heat lamps fronts the hotel and offers a perfect spot for seaside coffee or cocktails. Out of the 154 generously sized rooms, 40 have sea views, and the refurbished ones carry a fresh seasidey appeal. Painted in pale pastels and featuring modish wallpaper, they offer huge beds, prettily patterned easy chairs, bamboo wardrobes and chests of drawers. Underground parking is available at the hotel on a first come, first served basis and costs ￡25 a night, including valet services.

? The best London hotels with parking

With North Laine’s warren of narrow streets on the doorstep, My Brighton is the place to stay if you’re seeking Brighton’s boho scene. My Brighton is awash with citrus colours, porthole cut-outs, curvy walls and Lego-style linoleum flooring. Feng Shui is the thinking behind its design, so don’t expect any straight angles. Each room features a colour-changing mood crystal and every floor is colour-coded by paintwork and swirly carpeting. Private parking is available at the hotel on a first come, first served basis: Sunday to Thursday from ￡21 per car per night, and ￡31 Friday to Saturday.

? The best budget hotels in Brighton

Enjoying uninterrupted ocean views, this Victorian-Italianate beauty is located between Brighton pier and the ruined west pier. Opened in 1864, this is Brighton’s grandest dame among the city’s plethora of seafront hotels, and a refurbishment has vastly improved the look of both bedrooms and public areas. Spacious rooms now feature subtle Farrow & Ball colour notes, Twenties-style furniture, sumptuous bedding and nautical touches rendered through silver starfish lamps and Brighton-themed photography. Private on-site parking is available at the hotel on a first come, first served basis but costs ￡35 per car per night.

Hotels with discounts for public car parks

For Brighton, this is an affordable upmarket hotel, based by the marina, and a good option if you don’t fancy Brighton’s somewhat noisy town centre. It has contemporary sea-facing rooms with balconies and terraces, and a buzzy bar and large restaurant, also with terraces (so you can make the most of that seaside air). Although the marina is rather disliked by Brightonians, in recent years it has developed into a lively entity with numerous restaurants, shops and bars and interesting harbour boardwalks. It's 10 minutes’ drive east of the pier, there are regular bus services into town and Malmaison offers free parking for guests in the nearby multi storey car park.

? An insider guide to Brighton

Behind this rather stylish chain hotel is North Laine – the boho district for flea markets, independent stores and cafés. From the outside, ibis presents a sleek white-and-steel addition to an otherwise grungy road. Inside, the reception area segues into the bar and beyond, Fogg’s café, where nice seaside touches include grey seagull wallpaper and metal wave-effect ceiling. As with the bedrooms, the décor is standardised throughout – think blond wood, scarlet and grey colour schemes and simple bucket chairs. The NCP North Road car park is a five-minute walk from the hotel and costs a discounted rate of ￡13 per 24-hours for hotel guests.

? The best b&bs in Brighton

Ship Street, where Hotel du Vin & Bistro Brighton is located, is a narrow road in the heart of The Lanes and leads directly onto the seafront. Parking can be tricky but NCP Brighton Centre Russell Road car park, a three-minute walk from the hotel, is discounted by 20 per cent for hotel guests. Space dominates inside this former wine merchant’s store, with lots of exposed brickwork and leather club chairs in the roomy split-level bar, and a strong Parisian feel to the brasserie. Bedrooms have a chic, seaside-feel; splash out Beachy Head for a rolltop bathtub in the bedroom, a superking-sized bed and an enormous double shower room with twin monsoon shower heads.

? The best Brighton hotels with a sea view

Diagonally opposite Brighton pier and backing onto the Town Hall and The Lanes, the hotel's location is pretty much spot on. The exterior may look concrete-bleak, but the hotel has made the best of its spacious atrium inside, with smart burgundy, turquoise and charcoal grey-toned armchairs, white-sprayed willow arrangements and a contemporary-style second tier panoramic bistro. Rooms are generously sized, and a fifth are sea-facing. Unusually for Brighton, the triple glazing manages to eliminate traffic noise. The Lanes car park is located underneath the hotel and has a lift with direct access. It costs a discounted rate of ￡20 per day for hotel guests.

? Brighton's best nightlife spots

Hotels with Vouchers for on-street parking

Vouchers are bought by the hotels from Brighton & Hove City Council and made available to guests to allow on-street parking. These are valid for 24-hours from the time of parking.

New Steine hotel faces an attractive grassy square just off St James’s Street and is well placed for the independent cafés, antiques shops and colourful pubs of Kemp Town. The 20-room property spans two townhouses and has the feel of a charming French guesthouse, with quirkily old fashioned décor that has a slight Seventies' feel to it. Walls are adorned with framed Sixties' pop posters and prints by local artists, and regular exhibitions are staged in the adjoining bistro, which also has a small bar. Rooms aren't enormous, though there is a sizable basement suite with its own patio. The hotel offers vouchers for on-street parking at ￡8 for 24 hours.

? The most romantic hotels in Brighton

With bright rooms rammed with colour and cool vintage finds, and a bonkers Michelangelo-style fresco by local street artist Aroe, Boogie Nights comes to Brighton in this retro b&b in Kemp Town. Expect reclaimed fairground signs, huge papier-maché heads and more classic gig posters than you can shake a rhythm stick at. Breakfast is served in the ground-floor reception-cum-breakfast room, or if you're staying in a suite, by room service. The hotel is located on St George’s Terrace, one of the quieter side streets in the neighbourhood, and is only 15 minutes’ walk from the city centre; vouchers for on-street parking are priced at ￡9 for 24 hours.

? The best seafront hotels in Brighton

This upmarket adults-only hotel is situated in Kemp Town – about five minutes’ walk from bohemian St George’s Road with its flea markets, restaurants and independent coffee bars, and 10 minutes from the heart of the city. Behind the cream fa?ade is a quietly elegant small hotel with muted neutral tones and rich, velvet furnishings. Ceilings are high, stairways are narrow, as is the Georgian way, and its pale-grey halls are scattered with colourful, offbeat scenes of Brighton by local artist, Lyn Rohde. There's no official parking, but staff are well-versed on where to park and can provide 24-hour vouchers for ￡14.

? The best things to do in Brighton

Guest and the City joins a number of cool-looking b&bs that have sprung up on Broad Street in recent years. Where rooms are compact, they have kept the walls white and uncluttered, the blinds black, and the odd bright colour note relegated to cushions and rainbow stripes. There are two feature rooms with leaded light murals depicting seaside images of Brighton. Behind these are fenestrated balconettes where you can relax over a drink without getting cold, and gaze across to the Brighton Wheel. The hotel offers vouchers for on-street parking at ￡10 for 24 hours.

? The best shopping in Brighton

Charlotte Street, home to Paskins, is one of the more attractive Kemp Town streets, lined with smart guest houses and just a short stroll from the pier. You do need to be a fan of Art Deco here: though generally small in size, many of the rooms feature themed wallpaper, 1920s junk shop finds, and period furniture. The result is a cosy individual look nicely offset by ultra-modern shower rooms. Breakfasts are a big part of what makes this b&b so great - it was one of the first vegetarian-friendly hotels in the city, though all tastes are now catered for. They offers vouchers for on-street parking at ￡10 for 24 hours.

? The best beach hotels in the Mediterranean

This stylish b&b in a beautiful whitewashed Victorian villa is on Bedford Street, a quiet back road leading to the seafront, yet just minutes away from the antique shops, quirky pubs and independent cafés of Kemp Town Village. Inside, it's all cool, clean lines, beach-themed prints and candy-striped carpets which bring a fresh and contemporary boost to the traditional b&b blueprint. Downstairs, the modern breakfast room has a fun vibe with a candy striped feature wall, lime-green banquettes and yet more Brighton-themed artwork (food is top-notch). The hotel offers vouchers for on-street parking at ￡10 for 24 hours.

Contributions by Tracey Davies