The road into Camber crosses flat land dotted with windmills, marshes and small cottages, with vast moody skies ahead. When we arrived, Storm Goretti had just departed, leaving the landscape soggy and cold with just a few hopeful patches of sunshine.
The village of Camber is a funny sort of place; quiet and unassuming during the colder months, with the now-abandoned purple Pontins holiday park casting a gloomy spell on the village. In high summer, the roads leading to Camber Sands are choked with cars – on some days it feels as though the entire capital has been tipped on to the groaning beach.
The recent headlines from Camber have only contributed to the winter gloom – a recent environmental disaster made the news after millions of plastic microbeads were discovered scattered across the endless dunes sparking a massive clean-up effort. And yet the miles of glorious golden sand – one of the only sandy beaches in Sussex – is undeniably delightful, and just nestled behind the dunes is a splendid hotel, The Gallivant, which proclaims that happiness is a place, right here, in Camber.
Why stay here?
The hotel seems to lend itself less to the idea of gallivanting around, but more to hunkering down and getting cosy. If you crave peace and quiet, with a touch of luxury and close proximity to a fabulous beach, this is the hotel for you.
It’s close enough to the capital for a quick getaway for Londoners, and it has a vibrant, old-school glamour to it, without being kitsch. It’s a small hotel, all on one level, which gives it charm, as does the cosy fire and comfy retro chairs in the lounge, with many pooches resting contentedly when we arrived.
We loved the stylish square central bar with its plush, forest green bar stools, the vintage postcards, the beautiful drinks cabinet and the piano with Beach Boys music placed on the stand, just waiting for someone to sit down and play. Overall the hotel has the feel of a fine and exclusive members’ club, with a cake hour at 4pm and a complimentary glass of English wine on offer at 5. The snug, with books, board games and curiosities lining its comfortable seating, is the perfect spot for a nightcap or a quiet moment.
The retro ambience extends to all 20 bedrooms, which vary in size. Our garden room had direct access to the ‘coastal garden’ with a small deck and chairs and table. We liked the fun, framed vintage swimsuits on the walls and black and white photos of surfers and beach babes, the vintage books stacked on shelves, digital radio and smart TV. Our garden room was fairly small, but snug and stylish too, with a gorgeous dusky-pink tiled bathroom filled with Bamford toiletries. Our only complaint would be how warm the room was at night – a feature of so many hotels these days, which go out of their way to make you feel luxuriously snug at all times, but which can be a bit stifling. The scattered cigarette butts over our terrace slightly detracted from the gorgeous greenery. Whoops.
Eating and drinking
The ex-Bibendum chef Matthew Harris’ new restaurant Harry’s has received rave reviews, and with good reason. The menu was refreshingly different from what one might expect, with snails and crème brûlée hinting at its French brasserie influence. A smoked eel starter with punchy remoulade got us off to a good start, followed by a glorious chicken kiev and fishcake. This was followed by a wickedly rich Saint-Émilion au chocolat for dessert, and a brilliant wine list – the hotel has one of the largest English wine cellars in the country.
Breakfast is a homely affair, but also with a slightly special spin on what you might expect. There’s the option of boiling your own fresh, local eggs and toasting your own homemade bread, before a breakfast tray is placed on your table, featuring smoked salmon, hams, pastries, yoghurt and compote. The coffee, like in so many other fine establishments, seems not to have caught up with the general quality of coffee now on offer in most independent coffee shops, but you can’t have everything – and there was a recovery station offering homemade shots of ginger and turmeric.
Things to do
For such a small hotel, there is plenty to do. The hotel offers yoga classes in the Open Space studio, which are also available to locals, and wild yoga on the beach during the warmer months. In fact, the hotel has many thoughtful offerings to complement its surroundings, including the opportunity to take a beach bag with cocktails to the dunes to watch the sunset, raclette Fridays and an oyster happy hour on certain days. There is also a beach hut mini spa for treatments, and the hotel will lend you wellies for inclement weather. The quaint town of Rye is an eight-mile drive away, as is Rye Harbour, and there is a great selection of vineyards, among them Tillingham and Chapel Down, to be discovered in these parts.
The verdict
This is a charming hotel for those looking for something small, stylish and coastal. Harry’s is a real gem of a restaurant, worth the visit alone, and the extra, thoughtful touches make The Gallivant stand out as a must, whether you’re looking for uproarious gallivanting, or something a tad more gentle.
Felicity was a guest at The Gallivant; thegallivant.co.uk
Nestled behind the dunes, this luxury hotel is a great place to hunker down and get cosy