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~ Hotels in Brighton ~ Guesthouses in Brighton ~ Bed and Breakfast in Brighton ~
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Latest News and what's happening ...
... the family at the back have returned...
... 3 chicks hatched 20 June 2008 ...
Blog Spot
http://avalonbrighton.blogspot.com/
Guardian Unlimited Review:
Don't just take our word for it... checkout www.travel.guardian.co.uk/hotels
What do you get in a B&B?:
Here's what you get at the Avalon:
- A tray with fresh tea / coffee / biscuits on arrival
- Free wireless broadband in all rooms
- A litre glass jug of filtered water
- Fairtrade tea / coffee / hot chocolate making in all rooms
- DVD players and flat screens in all rooms*
- Eating out / entertainment advice and assistance
- From end of May 2008 - L-Occitaine toiletries (5 star stuff!)
- Newspaper delivered to room (just pay for the paper on your bill)
- Huge range of breakfast choice - special diets catered for
- Kids up to 14 free in family rooms (age 14 - not number of them!)
- Dogs more than welcome and advice where to go walkies
- OS Maps loaned for free for the walkers
- Restaurants or theatres booked
- Use of laundry if staying for more than two days
- Free seagull updates and window visits
- Avalon notepads in rooms
Why pay £450 when you can get all this for under £100?
New Look:
Don't look for the blue canopy, blue door or blue-tipped railings anymore. We now have a dark red canopy and a shiny black door and railings. Just so as you don't walk past ...
Dogs:
I wasn't sure whether to call us 'dog friendly' or 'pet friendly'. I thought the former better for two reasons: most people with pets only tend to bring dogs, and I'm not sure what else people might bring. I imagined the inner doorbell going at 3am with a worried guest telling me that Rambo is missing and may have switched rooms, Rambo being a fully grown tarantula, or prize python.
Therefore we are a dog friendly Brighton guest house where mainly well behaved dogs are more than welcome. Recent visitors include Rocky the Italian greyhound and Bertie the wire-haired dachshund (a German dog brought up in France by an English owner - wow that's almost the whole continent in two dogs). Also here to celebrate New Year was Charlie the terrier - a Battersea fellow - then Mutley and friend, a beautiful pair of border collies rescued in Ireland.
We've had Diskit, Ellie the blind collie, Dark Star and Elijah (woh! a mightly pair of poodles), Pebbles - another poodle with several outfits per day.
Keep them coming... Charlie the Jack Russell on 16 / 17 May was very sweet although continully exhausted by all the activity!
Breakfast:
Books:
I'm going on the lookout for interesting books for the rooms. In addition to the usual stuff about serial killers etc, I've found 'How to Survive Bird Flu - a Practical Guide'. This includes a fascinating chapter on how to barricade yourself into your house for several months. Do you get the idea? Anything as long as it gets a quizzical: 'What?' I want a guide to the architecture of British crematoria. Must keep looking...
Latest (May 2008):
The Bird Flu guide has flown so we must hope it does not arrive and spread. If it does I've ordered 'Places to hide in England, Scotland and Wales'. Failing that: 'Death redesigned: British Crematoria and history of the landscaping and architecture' could be useful. For a more 'Boys Own' type of book, you can follow some early 20th century adventures in: 'Roger the Scout'.
Bird News: WHO'S BEEN FEEDING ERIC AND THE TWO BLACK-WINGED GULLS ARE BACK?
Frederick and Rosemary are back for the summer. They've been surveying their annual nest and the neighbours - new and old - around them. Eggs will be laid, challenges set, fights fought and so on. The black-winged gulls are different from usual herring gulls. They are more ferocious and have yellow rather than pink feet. You'll see them soon enough or, if not, certainly hear them. The lady who lives at the house has tried shooing them away with a broomstick (!) but they are not easily moved!
MAY 3 UPDATE ON ERIC (the one who taps the King Size room window) - he's not been seen for some weeks - I hope he's OK. This is the nesting, mating, brooding, hatching season (for seagulls, that is). There are many couples who have moved back in to the neighbourhood after a winter away, presumably somewhere nice. Where do they go?
Perhaps Eric squatted one of their patches while they were away and has now had to leave.
There was another large turkey-sized seagull on our rear flat roof banging angrily on the landing window asking to be fed. I think I recognise him (or her) from last year and the year before though. I'm not sure what to call this one.
May 31 Update:
MAD PIGEON!!!!!!!!!
There was a pigeon, tonight, in our yard who instead of eating the usual toast and pigeon treats decided to throw himself (or herself) against the French window of our dining room. I suppose there must be an element of the pigeon community that does not conform to standard pigeon behaviour.
20 June:
The mad pigeon has been taken in. Eric seems to have left the neighbourhood. Fred and Rose are taking it in turns to sit on eggs (they have their chicks weeks later than herring gulls - many of which already have chicks the size of medium oven-ready chickens.
As part of our environmental endeavours we have put up a nesting box ('Room 10' - not en-suite but own entrance) and a couple of fat ball feeders.
Goldfish
We've survived two years without a pet so we're gonna get one. Please email brian@avalonbrighton.co.uk with suggestions of names. I've only had two goldfish before - both won at the fair and both lived about two or three years (that's how well we look after these guys). The first was Monty and the second Humphrey. That was back in 1972 - 75.
FIRST SUGGESTION - 'Ava'. Nice one! We could have a second goldfish to keep her company called 'Lon'. Geddit?
Low-energy bulbs:
Most bulbs - but not all - are now the low-energy kind. The lights offer the same degree of illumination but last longer and use a lot less electricity, helping save the planet let alone the electricity bill! If you cannot tolerate the light they give out (a small number of people get headaches) let us know when you book and we'll put standard lighting back in the room for the duration of your stay. Some lights (and we've heard nothing about this yet form the lighting people) can only be 'normal' energy - chandaliers, picture lights etc. Let's have a good chandalier equivalent please.
Update; There's a halogen 28W bulb inside a normal candle bulb which offers over 40W illumination which works really well in chandaliers. Every little helps.
Art:
The 'Boutique' trend for blank walls (doors, bedding, carpets etc.) is almost over, rooms and corridors should start to remind you of home rather than an airport lounge. We're contacting different artists whose work we like and will get samples of their work up over the next few months. Our dining room has a Jazz / Blues theme at the moment. For stunning landscapes and sunsets see Wendy Puerto's work on her website www.wendy-puerto.co.uk. Not only that she's got a gorgeous Staffie called Oliver.
Discounts and the Credit Crunch:
We can knock a bit off for stays of three nights or longer. Remember, Brighton carries on running every day - not just at weekends. All those restaurants and bars are still open - only you have a bit more space to move around and you get served quicker! And if you don't - vote with your feet! Credit crunch my eye - we are all the 'economy' and must not get talked into a recession. If we have a year's slowdown that's a year of your life you've missed enjoying yourself!
Parking
We have hotel parking vouchers which cost £5.00 per 24 hours of parking restricted time.
For instance, if you arrive on a Saturday at 1.55pm, you scratch of a start time of 2.00pm, and the voucher entitles you to park in the space until 2.00pm on the Monday (Sunday doesn't count because there are currently no parking restrictions on Upper Rock Gardens). That's a massive saving on buying the tickets from the machines on Upper Rock Gardens.
You can park in designated spaces in Zone C (basically Kemptown and Queens Park). However some roads immediately north (3 minutes walk away) have spaces on the street costing £3 for 11 hours as long as you buy your ticket from the machine just before 9.00am. Sadly, paramilitary death-squad style attendants will pounce if you are a little too relaxed about timing ... I have the Penalty Notice Appeal Form to hand for any parking tickets. It is my pleasure to issue these with advice and a Thesaurus for alternatives to jumped up, arrogant, etc.
Collect the parking permit on arrival - even double park while you collect it if you have to if there's no room outside but don't pull up in the bus stop (unless you're a bus) - it's an instant ticket. We'll suggest likely nearby places for parking.
Or come to Brighton by rail, sea and air. More and more people are travelling to Brighton by train and it's 49 minutes from London. (after a few beers it takes about 12 minutes). It's just over an hour from St Pancras or Ashford International Eurostar terminals too.
From the station the number 7 bus (heading for the Marina) drops you right outside and the route was recently shortened so it's only about a 5 minute trip, traffic lights permitting. From the coach station at Pool Valley we're roughly 6 minutes 34 seconds walk away. If you're a lone female arriving late we'll happily meet you there and help you back with your luggage or there's a taxi rank nearby.
Brighton's bus service is as good as those you find on the continent. And as for taxis - make sure you are ready if you call one because they are usually here in a couple of minutes.
Rambling on...
Summer is a fantastic time for country walks. The Downs come alive with bleating lambs and butterflies and cool breezes of the Channel as you admire the views over the Weald. Those little country pubs wait with their flower strewn gardens, cool beers or wine and ... all a bus ride then a ramble from our place. And you can come back and enjoy the comfort of the city with its bars and restaurants and theatres. We have a favourite walk we'd happily share with you that takes you no further than about 5 kilometres away but you'd swear you are in the deserted hills of some far off country. Then a little while later you are in Rottingdean - a short bus ride back or a delightful stroll along the undercliff for a few cocktails in the Marina while you daydream about owning one of the stunning boats moored there.
Civil Partnerships
Lots of couples have had pre-Civil Partnership nights at the Avalon and hit the town in a big way. If you are thinking of coming to Brighton for a pre-partnership night or weekend away, needing accommodation for your family and friends if you're having a local ceremony, or looking for a romantic getaway afterwards, give us a call. Our Four Poster, Imperial and King Size rooms are just the ticket for getting you underway on your new life together.
Tripadvisor
All our reviews are genuine and unsolicited. We don't get friends or people who've worked here to write reviews for us or write them ourselves. That's why we have poor ones as well as good. Any place, however good, will not please everybody. If someone is 'amazed' that they get soft towels, free hot chocolate, shower gel, a map of Brighton or advice on where to eat or drink from the owners of their hotel or guesthouse then they must never have left home before. What you get at the Avalon is as good as anything comparable and in most instances much better. And if things are not to your liking, tell us - we welcome constructive comments and suggestions and will work harder than anyone to put them right.
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