Eastbourne hotel wins a worldwide award

An Eastbourne hotel has won a Travellers’ Choice Award on TripAdvisor.
Chris and Caroline Harwood SUS-201014-162959001Chris and Caroline Harwood SUS-201014-162959001
Chris and Caroline Harwood SUS-201014-162959001

Ravilious, a boutique townhouse hotel, has made it into the top 10 per cent of hotels worldwide.

Every year, TripAdvisor looks through the ratings and reviews of users to work out which hotels are the best.

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Chris and Caroline Harwood, owners of the Blackwater Road hotel, said, “We are thrilled to receive this award from TripAdvisor and to be in the top 10 per cent of hotels worldwide is overwhelming.

Ravilious hotel SUS-201014-170329001Ravilious hotel SUS-201014-170329001
Ravilious hotel SUS-201014-170329001

“Like everyone in the hospitality industry, it has been a struggle since closing in March, but we were delighted to re-open in July and since then we have been working hard to build up our business again.”

The hotel offers seven bedrooms in a refurbished Victorian townhouse overlooking the Devonshire Park, and is in the centre of the town’s cultural quarter.

Chris and Caroline have owned the Ravilious since January 2019, Chris specifically came from a different background – the pharmaceutical industry.

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Caroline, who has worked in the hospitality industry since college, said, “We both grew up in Eastbourne and wanted to run a business together in our home town. As soon as we saw Ravilious we fell in love with it.”

Since re-opening in July, Caroline and Chris said the hotel has been busy from people having ‘staycations’.

Caroline said, “At the start, the majority of our guests were from London, they were desperate to get out of the city and wanted to be by the coast and the South Downs.

“Now we are seeing staycations from guests who have had to cancel their overseas holidays and are coming to Eastbourne for the first time – and they’re loving it here.”

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The size of the hotel means that social distancing is much easier, as they can stagger breakfast sittings. It is also part of the Eastbourne Covid-ready scheme in order to keep up with all the latest guidelines.

Caroline said that what guests often compliment the hotel on, and what has therefore helped it win this award, is the size of the rooms.

She said, “We have larger than average rooms. The Ravilious is a Victorian building with lots of original features as well as a modern twist, this appeals to our guests.

“We want guests to have a home from home experience when they stay with us.”