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Hilton Brighton Metropole hotel rebrands to DoubleTree after refurbishment

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If you live in London then you probably have a love / hate relationship with Brighton. It’s the only resort on the south coast with a half-decent rail connection to London and despite the shingle beach there is enough to keep you busy for a weekend.

What Brighton has historically lacked is a decent points hotel if you don’t want to pay for your stay.

  • Marriott has nothing
  • the less said about the eyesore that is Holiday Inn Brighton Seafront the better – a recent Tripadvisor review says “I stay in IHG / Holiday Inns all over the world on a regular basis and this was undoubtedly the worst of their venues I’ve visited and an embarrassment to the brand” whilst others talk of mould
Doubletree Brighton Metropole

We recently covered the new Staybridge Suites hotel that has just opened near to Brighton’s railway station. Click here to learn more.

It is described as 10 minutes from The Lanes and 20 minutes walk from the pier.

Don’t be fooled by the ‘suites’ element to the name. Whilst all rooms have a seating area and some basic catering facilities, they are relatively small at 21 – 27 sq m, with the corner suites coming in at 30 sq m.

As a brand new hotel you can hopefully be assured of a far higher quality of room than any other points hotel in the city. My wife is staying here in July so I should get some feedback then. The Staybridge Suites Brighton website is here.

Doubletree Brighton Metropole exterior

The Hilton Brighton Metropole rebrands today

There is now a second good points option.

The Hilton Brighton Metropole is seafront and an interesting Victorian building but has needed help for some time. (Both photos above are of this hotel.)

Luckily it has recently been through a major refurbishment. This is just about complete, apparently, and today the hotel will rebrand as DoubleTree Brighton Metropole. This is still a Hilton brand so your points earning and burning, and Hilton Honors benefits, won’t be impacted.

Note that, according to our forum, there is construction work behind the property where the same owners are building a Maldron hotel. Recent reader feedback is good though.

How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards

How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (September 2024)

There are various ways of earning Hilton Honors points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Hilton Honors Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Did you know that the Virgin Atlantic credit cards are a great way of earning Hilton Honors points? Two Virgin Points can be converted into three Hilton Honors points. The Virgin Atlantic cards are the only Visa or Mastercard products in the UK which can indirectly earn Hilton Honors points and they come with generous sign-up bonuses. You can apply here.

You can also earn Hilton Honors points indirectly with:

and for small business owners:

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The conversion rate from American Express to Hilton points is 1:2.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Hilton Honors points. 

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)

Category

Hilton Honors

Comments (40)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Travelling Folks says:
    10 May10 May 09:19

    We stayed at the Hilton Brighton Metropole in January, in a refurbished room (sea View). The bath room had not been refurbished or even given a fresh coat of paint/silicone around the place. Was informed that was the case in a majority of the room as far as the bathrooms are concerned

    • His Holyness says:
      10 May10 May 11:17

      😂 that’s very Hilton

      • TGLoyalty says:
        10 May10 May 14:27

        That’s very Brighton metropole! Probably why it wouldn’t have made Hilton standards.

        • His Holyness says:
          10 May10 May 18:45

          What standards? 😂

          • His Holyness says:
            10 May10 May 18:46

            *and its STILL managed by Hilton

          • TGLoyalty says:
            10 May10 May 20:21

            Management doesn’t mean the hotel is willing to spend enough

            AFAIK Hilton funded most of the refurb costs. The operator is literally sweating the last penny from their asset.

  • BA-Flyer says:
    10 May10 May 09:47

    Diamond recognition and general service is patchy at the Brighton Hilton / Doubletree. I was refused an upgrade, even though the app showed better rooms available. The next morning I was told they had changed their minds about the late checkout, and wanted me to leave at the normal time.

    The ‘refurbishment’ of the nearby Holiday Inn only includes the bathrooms, and even then, it’s been done as cheaply as possible. I only returned for a second stay because of the £75 Amex offer, and regretted it when I saw the room and breakfast offering.

  • David S says:
    10 May10 May 10:01

    Stay at the Malmaisson down at the Marina instead. Always a brilliant stay down there. And free parking

  • Guy says:
    10 May10 May 10:28

    I stayed here a few weeks ago. Refurbished room, refurbished bathroom, new aircon system. It had been really well done. My only gripe, no fridge in the room!

    Didn’t get chance to check the pool out. Construction still taking place (and visible) in parts of the hotel, lifts on the pool/car park end still boarded up etc.

    • brian says:
      10 May10 May 11:22

      Use of the pool requires advanced reservation as it’s also used by the public. Some might find this problematic but given I was there with my 3 year old I was less self conscious given there was a toddler swim class happening in one end of what it a small enough pool.

    • Daniel says:
      10 May10 May 12:57

      Sadly the pool area has not been upgraded

      • JohnTh says:
        10 May10 May 16:58

        Actually it has had a facelift recently with new flooring, but not that obvious!

  • Journeying John says:
    10 May10 May 12:42

    As a Brightonian, the branded hotels locally are an embarrassment… The “refurb” doesn’t include ’70’s bathrooms, stained carpets or the appalling damp at the back of the property, just some (partial) fresh paint and replacement of broken furniture.

    Avoid! Brighton has some wonderful places but none are the main chains.

  • MrHandBaggageOnly says:
    10 May10 May 13:29

    We also stayed at the Metropole and few weeks ago and enjoyed our stay.

    The previous time we had stayed (several years ago) the hotel was feeling old and run-down. Now it has had a proper refurbishment it is looking good. I also do not understand the move to Double Tree, as it seems worthy of the Hilton brand. The Front of House Manager commented on my TripAdvisor review “…we will soon become a DoubleTree by Hilton hotel, which will offer more benefits and rewards for our loyal guests like you.” Apart from a DT cookie on check in, I can’t think of anything else that would offer more benefits and rewards.

    Due to being Honours members we were able to jump a sizeable check-in queue and we were upgraded to a king room with a sofa bed (which had already been made up, even though we didn’t need to use it) and we could even see the sea (just)! The room was very large, as was the bathroom (which I felt could do with a couple more hooks around the basin and the shower).

    Breakfast was very good, mainly down to the amazing omelette that was cooked to order for me, but the other choices in the spread were decent.

    We also liked the hotel bar, which had a good selection of drinks and we would be happy to spend time there. The chap behind the bar was also happy to let us use or drinks vouchers for non-standard spirits, but I guess that could be different depending on who serves you. We had full expected to be told would could only have beer or wine!

    We would stay again.

  • Clayton says:
    12 May12 May 04:06

    Had to pop into the office for a meeting on Tuesday and to do some F2F time with the team. Whilst in the uber, and due to the traffic being terrible as usual, we stopped opposite the Metropole and I saw the Double Tree branded. My immediate thought was “Oh how the mighty have fallen”

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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