The bedroom at the rear is a compact space dominated by the bed, but with adequately sized wardrobes. These apartments are built for all seasons, with air conditioning – a godsend in the summer heat – and underfloor heating in the bathroom on colder days. There’s no bath but the shower is spacious and comes with White Company bathroom products, and I was very pleased to see a remote control Roca smart toilet.
My friends were in Suite 2 upstairs…in what were once servants’ quarters… had the same sea views, albeit from a smaller living room sans bow windows. The next morning they joined me in my suite for breakfast. Though the apartments are not a hotel, Sigma Plus can arrange food deliveries from local company Antipasto By The Sea. Their delicious brunch grazing platters include Greek yoghurt with chocolate and orange compote; freshly baked pastries; croissants filled with tomato and ham or cheese; bagels; fresh fruit. We devoured it while sitting around the large marble-top kitchen island. Had I wanted to make my own breakfast, the well-equipped kitchen had all the utensils I needed, including an induction hob, a coffee machine and milk frother, pods of artisan coffees, and teas from producers such as Bird & Blend.
Afterwards we made a full-bellied foray into town. Despite its placidity, Regency Square’s city centre location was the perfect launch point to explore Brighton. Everywhere is reachable by foot. The pebble beach is just a two-minute walk away, as is the i360 Observation Tower, visible from our apartment window. We took a ride on it, elevating 162 metres into the air above the beach for panoramic views of the sea, the city and the Sussex Downs behind it.
James French
A few minutes walk to the east are The Lanes and its narrow, twisty streets lined with small independent shops. I took a nostalgic spin on Brighton Pier’s spinning Waltzer amusement ride, perused vintage posters at Brighton Flea Market in bohemian Kemp Town, and rented a bike and cycled to the quiet village of Rottingdean a few miles to the east. Dinner was at Burnt Orange, one of the town’s best restaurants, which serves sharing plates of wood-fired, Mediterranean dishes like flamed sea bream on leafy outdoor tables. Another dinner was at recently opened Crazy Goose, the new brasserie-style eatery from the team behind The Salt Room/Coal Shed/Burnt Orange.