The Grand Hotel

Playwright Dennis Potter described The Grand as a "huge, creamy palace". It's certainly grand but it isn't stuffy. With 152 rooms, including 23 suites, 30 "junior" suites and 99 rooms, there are lots of accommodation options, starting at £190 for a 'deluxe' bedroom (up to £535 for any families with presidential ambitions).

Children aged 3-12 share their parents' room for £10 a day and there are special rates for older children who want their own room (and parents who'll pay to get a bit of peace).

Our suite (for two adults and two teenagers) had interconnecting bedrooms separated by bathrooms and a living room. So everyone got a bit of privacy but we had a central 'family' area for reading, watching TV and leaping up excitedly as the Red Arrows flew over as part of the Bleriot centenary celebrations.

As you'd expect in a five-star hotel, the service was excellent. Thought has gone into welcoming younger guests - there are special steps to ensure they're at the right level at reception for filling in special children's checking-in forms. And they get a pretty exciting goodie bag, complete with camera.

For babies and younger children, bottle warmers, sterilisers, cots and high chairs are available; for bigger kids, DVD players and films, board games and unlimited internet access for children who can't do without access to Facebook , MSN etc (and parents who can't do without access to Mumsnet).

The bedroom decor is a bit chintzy for some tastes, but it's Very, Very Comfortable and the hotel is so solidly built that everything is slightly muffled - once you're in your room the only thing you can hear is the sea and the seagulls. (And in our case some rather territorial pigeons who regarded the balcony as their suite.)

There are indoor and outdoor pools (the latter is nicer) and a staffed children's room, plus special events for holidays - children's New Year's Eve parties, Easter egg hunts in the grounds etc - and a children's 'High Tea' menu for little 'uns who can't sit out grown-up mealtimes at weekends and during school holidays.

Said grown-ups who've taken advantage of the babysitting service (for under ones) have a choice of two restaurants, one of which, The Mirabelle, pops up in the Good Food Guide and has been voted one of the top 50 restos in the UK.

Simply tearing up and down the Victorian hotel's long and beautifully proportioned corridors would enchant many toddlers, but once you've exhausted the hotel's attractions, beautiful Beachy Head is a shortish (but steep) walk to your right and the manifold delights of Eastbourne's pier are a shortish (but flat) walk to your left.

Other things to do in Eastbourne include the Fort Fun Theme Park, Rocky's Adventure (soft play), American Adventure Golf (crazy variety), Treasure Island (another adventure park) and the Dotto Trains (dinky, train-y buses that trundle along the sea front).

You're also in striking distance of Pevensey Castle, Herstmonceux Castle, the Cuckoo Rail, Hampden Park, Drusillas Park and the Observatory Science Centre, plus lots of other attractions. We dragged ours to the restored monument to Art Deco, the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill on Sea.

So if you fancy shelling out for some retro glamour (jazz bands on the veranda, film-set foyer etc), head for the White Palace. Our teens thought it was the perfect setting for a Miss Marple-type mystery, but the food and service are firmly 21st century.