You know you’re onto something when a hotel has a private beach, elegant eatery with the option to dine al fresco and beautiful rooms each boasting their own impressive views of the South Coast. The Relais at Cooden Beach with uninterrupted views across the English Channel has added some long-awaited elegance to the Bexhill sea front.

It’s as if the hotel was designed for sunset, considering it resides right on the beach, which is a soft shingle (preferable to the peddles along the rest of the coast – when you know, you know) and when the tide is out you can even see the sand and pop for a paddle.

However, the hotel has a private stretch of sand as well as gardens but Muddy recommends taking your spot at the restaurant which has a Miami Beach club vibe with floor to ceiling windows for that indoor outdoor feel even on rainy days.

In 2024, the hotel opened their spa, cementing their place in the hierarchy of beachside hotels in Sussex. For a retreat from reality you can lounge by the indoor pool before heading off to a treatment which uses Pelegrims products made with extracts from by-products (grape skins, seeds and vines) of the wine-making process. So you can enjoy an extra glass at bar relatively guilt free!

One of the spa’s signature treatments is the Seaweed Leaf Body Wrap that uses ingredients foraged from the hotel’s private beach. There’s also the Meno-Pause & Restore Spa Day curated to support women going through the menopause. The treatment menu also features of the usual culprits. 

You have not one, not two, but three spots to choose where you’ll have your pre-dinner drink(s), for summer, opt for Retreat on the Beach with Rathfinny where guests can sink into a deck chair on the beach with a glass of Rathfinny – an award winning Sussex Sparkling wine producer. On Saturdays throughout the summer a DJ will take to the decks with chill-out tunes from 2-10pm while a BBQ is served from 12-6pm – and you can imagine you’re in your own luxury Ibiza villa.

On sunnier days you can set up residency for the night at the Terrace on the Beach restaurant serving BBQ, small plates, salads, sandwiches and classic British coastal dishes. For the cooler months book in at The Rally Bar and Restaurant that offers afternoon tea, Sunday lunch, as well as an impressive a la carte menu.

Now for the rooms. Selected rooms have views stretching out from Pevensey Bay towards Beachy Head but the top rooms understandably have the widest panorama. It’s got all the touches of coastal charm, from the interiors to the circular fireplace. Bliss.