Sensitive souls may find the approach to Brighton Marina, a 10-minute cab ride from the Palace Pier, a bit upsetting. Leaving behind the Regency facades and seaside jollity, you enter a concrete vortex of flyovers, graffiti-scrawled tunnels, and multi-storey car parks. The taxi pulls up outside a soulless shopping centre. You stare miserably from the car window. St Tropez it ain't. Why are you here? Enter through the glass door marked Hotel Seattle and take the lift to the first floor and all will become clear.
Misgivings evaporate as you step from the lift into a bright and breezy reception area decorated with colourful plastic rocking chairs, comfy leather sofas and two shop-window mannekins dressed as sailors. The theme is nautical but nice - ocean liner chic meets Habitat... kind of. Wander into the colourful Saloon, an inviting lounge area decorated with retro-style armchairs and model sailing boats, opening out onto a sundeck in the shape of a ship's prow. It's the perfect spot to sit with a glass of wine and watch the yachts coming and going.
Our kingsize room was white, light and airy with wicker chairs, cream leather bed, a Roberts radio and a TV with DVD player. The sunny seafacing rooms have balconies with big views of sea and sky (worth paying extra for; the rest have views of the shopping centre).
Be sure to leave time for a pre-dinner cocktail in the Black and White bar, an intimate and welcoming space, where friendly bar staff mix classic cocktails. Then it's down for dinner to Cafe Paradiso - a huge, airy space with industrial-sized ventilation shafts, glass chandeliers, a Hawaiian-style bamboo bar area and floor to ceiling windows looking out onto the marina: sounds odd but it works. We were greeted like old friends by the waiters.
Our fish dishes were well executed and the pizzas from the wood-burning oven looked tempting. Breakfast is served here too but if you prefer a more intimate start to the day, order a bento box in bed (choose from blueberry pancakes, smoked salmon bagels, greek yoghurt and honey).
Unless you own a yacht you might be forgiven for giving Brighton marina a wide berth. But that would mean missing the Seattle. And that would be a shame.
· Hotel Seattle, Brighton Marina (01273 679799; www.aliashotels.com). Double rooms from £95. Breakfast is £13.50. A two-night weekend break costs £255 per room (two sharing) including breakfast and £40 to spend in the hotel.
