Craving a weekend away in the UK but fancy something different from the usual monotonous meh?
Book yourself into the quaint, eclectic bosom of the brand spanking new Selina hotel in Brighton and you won’t be disappointed – especially if you’re rather partial to debaucherous, camp merriment.
I was invited to visit this sexy boutique hotel for a sunny weekend late summer and took my fun-loving chum Jess who was equally looking forward to experiencing extreme levels of post lockdown yay.
Before arriving, we learnt that Selina, the experience-led hospitality group for the modern nomadic traveller, opened this unique property on August 13th in the heart of Brighton’s vibrant city centre. Even more exciting, I also discovered that its friendly general manager Hugo Carvalho happened to be a friend I made 2 summers ago on an obscenely fun holiday in Ibiza.
When asked his thoughts about the vision behind Selina Brighton Hugo explained, “We’re thrilled to bring our unique Selina concept to one of the most exciting cities in the UK, and in such a thriving and bohemian neighbourhood full of culture, individuality and a place to cultivate hedonism and escape social restrictions. We are so excited to have finally opened our doors and provide a new hub for the Brighton community; a fairground for daring and unadulterated fun.”
Any hotel described as somewhere abundant in daring and unadulterated fun gets my vote every time, so I was intrigued to find out more…
Upon arriving, we marvelled at the modern yet quirky decor and numerous green plants dotted around – giving the hotel a pleasing “in touch with nature” vibe.
Our room was modern yet timelessly chic with a bluetooth retro looking “radio,” an insanely massive king sized bed, power shower and breathtaking sea views featuring Brighton’s iconic old pier.
A welcome pack was waiting for us containing 100% natural fruity hangover sweets, artisan beers and organic bath salts – perfect for soaking aching muscles after long walks along the promenade.
After getting suitably glammed up we made our way to the hotel’s stylish dining area and lounge bar where Lady Gala Bingo was starting – lead by the scandalously fun Ginger Phlappage.
As we gorged on 48 hour stone baked pizzas and tasty calamari, we played the campest, most entertaining game of bingo ever imagined.
We had all been newly released from the humdrum shackles of lockdown and this raucous display of pure fabulousness really did revive our entertainment-deprived selves to optimum levels.
Drag performances by the legendary Tayce and Margo Marshall were outstanding – including a mesmerising Beyoncé and Shakira finale which resulted in a standing ovation. The goth drag DJ Rodent played track after track of everyones favourite dance tracks, making it hard for us not to jump up and have a cheeky butt sway at our tables.
All this glorious pomp and tomfoolery aside, I have to say that the highlight of my evening was when my naughty friend Jess decided to tell Ginger that my favourite word was fanny – resulting in the whole audience being told they had to recite the word in unison numerous times – in different sentence combinations. Random, but fun times…
After a couple more cocktails and pleasant conversation with Hugo, who was bending over backwards to ensure the night ran smoothy and everyone was happy, we retired to our gigantic bed and drifted off instantly.
The next day we tore our sleepy selves downstairs as instructed by the hotel staff for a “yoga session unlike no other.” They weren’t playing as we were led to the very top of the British Airways i360 Tower opposite the hotel.
As we practiced our downward facing dogs whilst perched 531 feet in the air, we reached new levels of zen as a lady massaged our auras with a sound bath as we gazed out over the ocean. From that moment onwards, standard yoga in a generic sweaty studio just won’t cut it for me. Thanks Selina. Thank you very much…
We returned to the comforting confines of the hotel to feast on one of the most perfect hotel breakfasts we have had the pleasure of eating (and Instagraming) before prying ourselves away to make our way home.
A retro cart had appeared in the charming lobby complete with a hardworking small business owner selling his homemade ice cream, so naturally we had to show our support by eating some. Probably not the best idea when we had no hands free and were lugging our suitcases and bags out of the hotel whilst trying to avoid false eyelashes flying off in the wind and hair getting stuck to freshly glossed lips. Ok, that may have just been me.
This weekend in one of our favourite British seaside towns left Jess and I filled with an invigorated passion for live entertainment and sassy staycations. During these challenging times, fun (especially camp) experiences in glorious UK hotels such as Selina Brighton are completely needed, and should be repeated, over and over again.