Travel: Grand Hotel, Brighton

It is impossible for the visitor to imagine anyone doing anything dreary or difficult in this seaside city on England's balmy south coast. It is all about eating, drinking, what the young people call 'partying', strolling along the prom and shopping for vintage frocks and Union Jack tat.

The Grand Hotel, on the seafront, is an ideal base, and if real life must intervene, it is possible, from a deck chair, to use the free wi-fi on the beach.

Wining and dining? The King's Restaurant, twinkling with candles in the evening, has an impressive range of local produce on its menu. Seafood is, obviously, much in evidence but there are more unusual dishes such as Rose County carpaccio of beef and boar prosciutto, as well as economical cuts – Horam ham hock, East Sussex rabbit – cleverly cooked and beautifully plated.

If the panna cotta or English apple and rhubarb crumble don't appeal, there are half a dozen Sussex cheeses to choose from. But the King's does not let localism overwhelm the need for quality: the black pudding is from Stornoway.

Room service? Every one of the 201 rooms in the Grand is different. A sea view, and tiny balcony opening on to the promenade, certainly make leaping out of bed a particular treat.

The bedrooms keep their Victorian grandeur but add modern essentials such as Egyptian cotton duvets and free wi-fi. The bathrooms are shiny and modern with gorgeous grapefruity bathing products and fluffy white bathrobes.

Worth getting out of bed for? If the sun is out, Brighton fills up early. You need sharp elbows to get one of the free deckchairs on the pier, which are ideal vantage points for watching groups of shrieking kids run into the surf and alpha males zooming around on jet skis.

The pier also has twirling teacups for the tinies, waltzers for the teens, karaoke and ballroom dancing and every type of foodstuff it is possible to immerse in bubbling fat.

The surrounding beaches may be stony but that does not seem to put anyone off. If the pebbles become uncomfortable, there are bars, restaurants, nightclubs, whelk stalls and greasy spoon cafes along the edge of the shore.

Budget or boutique? The Grand is a big, proper hotel where people have been drinking decadent cocktails and enjoying luxurious afternoon teas since 1864. As the name suggests, this is an old-school establishment with a doorman, a battery of attentive concierges and a welcome as warm as the log fire burning in the front hall.

It has a sense of occasion that can be lacking among the Philippe Starck gnomes and asymmetric floral arrangements of groovier rivals. A wonderful sweeping staircase is designed for the making of a grand entrance.

For those who don't remember the Conservative Party conference in 1984, when the IRA bombed the hotel, there is a wall of press cuttings on the way to the powder room to refresh the memory. Five people were killed and the hotel was closed for two years.

Little extras? Brighton is an easy place to be parted from money. The high street's usual suspects somehow seem much more appealing when presented in a narrow, higgeldy-piggeldy square with seagulls circling overhead.

Then there are the Lanes, an addictive sprawl of alleyways – amass extra points from locals by using the authentic Sussex term 'twitten' –– and 'catcreeps' (steep stairways that connect various twittens) jammed with paisley-patterned cravats, 1950s sideboards, burlesque cushion covers, crystal healing jewellery and everything else in between. It's what Camden Market used to be like, with a salty tang in the air.

Naturally there are plenty of places to stop for a fair trade espresso or organic wheat grass shot. And should shopping pall, the delightful South Downs, which have just become a national park, are just down the road.

Guestbook comments? Everyone from Margaret Thatcher to JFK has stayed in the Grand and it is still a fixture of the party conference season. Walking along the corridors is like being an extra in The Thick of It.

All that was missing was Malcolm Tucker emerging, snorting and swearing, from behind a housekeeping trolley. Rooms start at 145 for bed and breakfast (www.devere.co.uk/our-locations/the-grand). Virgin Pendolino trains between Glasgow Central and London Euston take four and a half hours (www.virgintrains.com). London to Brighton connections take around an hour.

This article was first published in Scotland On Sunday, 26 June, 2011