NEW LEASE OF LIFE FOR COODEN BEACH HOTEL

BY PAUL GIBSON PHOTOS: JTP53 PHOTOGRAPHY

The Cooden Beach Hotel dates back to the 1920’s and has been a massive part of the history of Bexhill and Cooden Beach. The hotel was purchased in 2021 from popular owners James and Lesley Kimber by hotel chain giant, The Relais, boasts resorts in New York, Paris, London, Jakarta, Portugal, Bali and now, Bexhill!

Globally renowned hotelier, Grace Leo, who’s headed up the complete renovation of the Cooden Beach Hotel, has more than 40 years’ experience in creating five-star resorts in cities across the world.

Grace took some time, just hours ahead of the official opening night late last month, to talk to editor, Paul Gibson, about how she intends to make the Cooden Beach Hotel an experience to remember.

This building is nearly 100 years old. So, what attracted you to this particular venue? During the COVID lockdowns, I was looking around for one or two hotels to acquire and our brief is really to be near the waterside each time. We had just bought six months earlier, a hotel in Henley on Thames, which is in front of the Thames River. This hotel in Cooden Beach caught my attention. I remembered coming here for the first time and having James Kimber, the previous owner, show me around. I just thought how exceptional it is to have a hotel directly on the beach — no postcard shops, no fish and chip shops, nothing!

You discovered it during the COVID pandemic. So, what was the state of play with the hotel at that point?

It was very much at a point where I think the previous owners had intended to sell it, and it was already kind of dormant but everything was in fairly good condition. But in need of refurbishment. So, it was definitely the right time to do it. When we took it over, we hit the ground running. We literally bought it in April, and then by May, we reopened the Hotel.

It’s obvious there’s been a complete refit of this hotel. So, what would you describe as the biggest challenge you’ve had in the refit of this premises?

I think the biggest challenge had to do with the sourcing of products and supplies on the back of the problems caused by COVID. We used to be able to buy tiles from Italy, or from Spain, or from anywhere, but then, for us to bring anything from the continent had become a real challenge. There were pages and pages of forms to fill out. So we had to buy everything from Britain, even though they’re not British made, it had to go through an entity that’s trading in the UK. So, that was a huge lesson learned. Another big challenge was actually getting quality builders.

When you’re fully open here and Cooden beach and it’s launched and people are enjoying the resort. How do you think you will change? How would you think the hotel will help the local economy?

I certainly hope so. I think everywhere I have redeveloped a hotel, it has made that town or district prosper without a doubt. Because it brings a new audience, it brings the consumer in and those who are on the lookout for things to do. They would want to go around and explore Bexhill or Hastings or Eastbourne. With the presence of the hotel, we want to be a place where people want to come to, find those little boutiques or cafés that are a bit more local.

The previous owners were very embedded in the community, do you feel you will continue that?

Definitely. We’re very much embedded in the community. We do not exclude anyone. We’re investing in the town and hopefully, residents will feel the same way and they will come to use the facilities, the restaurants, the bars, and feel at home.

Unfortunately, the South Coast has had some recent bad press. In particular over the water quality. Do you think that will affect your plans?

I think it’s up to the community leaders here to actually make an improvement in the quality of the water and the quality of the environment. I think that’s perhaps a wake-up call for everyone because we have to preserve our nature and preserve what is important to us every day when we look out to that amazing sea. So I think it’s everybody’s responsibility to take care of that.