Hotel of the Week: The Gallivant, Camber Sands

Sadly, George Clooney has long gone…

When Hollywood superstar George Clooney tucked into a fish finger sandwich at The Gallivant Hotel this summer, he generated the kind of buzz about the place that PRs can only pray for.

Of course, the locals – and visitors to Camber Sands – have been on to this little gem, nestled behind sand dunes just outside the picturesque town of Rye on the East Sussex coast, for quite a while now.

Silver fox Clooney was taking a lunch break during shooting of his new WWII drama, Monuments Men, when he was spotted and sparked a local then national media frenzy. Camber’s two-mile-long golden sandy beach doubled up as the beaches of Normandy where Allied troops landed on D-Day.

Pulling up in front of the hotel, you can see why an A-lister would be drawn here. The Gallivant’s bleached-out, single-storey exterior, peeking out from behind a row of sculptural Stone Pine trees, gives the place more than an air of über-cool Miami motel.

But even in high season, you don’t have to earn Hollywood megabucks to stay in one of the 20 bedrooms here. Prices start at a reasonable £150 per night for two people, and The Gallivant has several doggy-friendly rooms – with outside access – so your pooch can come and take the bracing sea air too.

We’d spent the day browsing the many antique and bric-a-brac shops that line the cobbled streets of Rye, so we were more than ready for dinner when we checked in. After quickly depositing overnight bags in our room – first impressions were good; more detail later – we headed to the restaurant.

Small and intimate, The Beach Bistro restaurant overlooks the back of the sand dunes, a view that can’t fail to soothe even the most frazzled of nerves. The feeling of calm was enhanced by the super-friendly waiting staff – who were just the right side of attentive.

And the food was really first rate. We enjoyed huge locally caught scallops; a dish that can easily be destroyed if it is overcooked by just seconds – and spicy devilled crab. Turns out our waitress knew her wines too; her recommendation of a white produced by the local vineyards of Chapel Down was a winner. We managed to squeeze in a crème bûlée and rich chocolate tart too before making the – thankfully – short wobble to our bedroom.

The hotel underwent a refurbishment fairly recently, so everything still feels quite fresh. Our twin room was done out in a classy palette of muted Farrow & Ball colours – think washed-out beach chic – and had nice touches including drift-wood style shelves and mirror frames plus a retro-1970s telephone.

Unlike some of the teeny-tiny single beds you’ll find in other hotels – one little rollover in the night will see you end up on the floor – The Gallivant’s are generously-sized and very comfy. The complimentary dressing gowns also had a wonderfully high fluff factor.

However, while we weren’t too bothered not to have a mini bar to raid, we were a tad disappointed with the complimentary tea and coffee situation. There was just one tea bag per person – we counted! – and nasty UHT milk portions – yes, George and his  film crew might have spent the summer here filming a war drama, but that’s no excuse to make guests feel like they’re on rations!

Our tiny niggle was quickly forgotten at breakfast, however, when we tucked into freshly-made French toast smothered in fruits of the forest, maple syrup and whipped cream. My cafetière coffee was good, too, and made up for the poor effort in our room.

As we checked out, another guest was complaining (loudly) – to the (super-patient) receptionist about the patchy wi-fi connection. The area seems to be in a bit of a signal black spot; something the owners of the hotel have limited control over. We felt Mr Tetchy was missing the point somewhat. This is a place you come to kick-back, not to fret about the FTSE index.

It’s also a place loved-up couples come to tie the knot. Alice, the In-house wedding planner, was starting to dress the permanent marquee on the side of the hotel – which can cater for up to 150 guests – for a wedding later that day. The hotel’s marketing blurb boasts that it’s just ‘A hop, skip and a jump’ to the beach and on average, there are two weddings a week held here, all year round.

Of course, we couldn’t leave without taking a little hop, skip and jump ourselves to the beach. A five-minute scramble over the top of the sand dunes and you’re rewarded with a magnificent beach which at low tide seems to stretch out forever.

We strolled for an hour or so, joined by locals out with their dogs, sea birds lazily catching thermals overhead, and daydreamed we were walking in Gorgeous George’s footsteps.

By Rachel Roberts

Thegallivanthotel.com