November 21, 2013
It’s not all slog as a hotelier in Eastbourne
Some suggest that for hoteliers the hours are long, customer demands relentless and the financial rewards rather limited. There are, however, certain perks to the job and I’m not necessarily talking about unlimited access to sausage, eggs and individually-wrapped chocolates.
Last week saw our belated post-summer/Pre-Christmas bash and the arduous task of entertaining all those connected with The Guesthouse East and Exclusively Eastbourne (our sister Holiday Rentals business).
Which restaurant to choose? How many bottles of red? Can we really manage another pudding? Decisions, decisions.
To celebrate the arrival of Sandra, our French intern, we chose Exquis, a rustic bistro just a few minutes from the guesthouse, with a lively atmosphere which became livelier still by the second round of drinks.
Now the wrong side of 40 I’m not sure how often I can manage these events but it’s nice to say thank you for all their hard work throughout the year.
Having tested most of Eastbourne’s cafes and restaurants (and pubs and clubs…) we can at least point you towards our recommendations with a degree of confidence so feel free to let us know what you’re after while spending time with us.
Don’t forget that there’s usually something worth experiencing at one of the four theatres in Eastbourne (all within 5 minutes walk from here). Again, we try to sample whatever we can so often we’ll be able to give you a nudge one way or the other (we won’t mind revealing if we had to bail out at half time if the show deserved it).
The Holly and the Ivy arrives later this month (hot from rave reviews in both The Guardian and The Times) so I reckon that will be a must-see, while Screaming Blue Murder Comedy Club returns on 29th November to the Winter Gardens and they’ll be buffing their Christmas baubles for the Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet performed by the Russian State Ballet and Opera on consecutive nights at the start of December.
But perhaps we won’t have time to enjoy the frivolities since we’ll be dusting off the decorations and refining our mince pie recipe in preparation for the Christmas arrivals.
I can only hope that I’ll leave you a glass of the chosen sherry. Unfortunately I always feel compelled to check that it’s of the appropriate standard.