Hotel Review: Railworks 1

This month Sussex Business Times were tasked with reviewing one of Beatnik Breaks’ venues for our readers.  This property is a perfect venue for the readers of Sussex Business Times, it being the ideal hosting venue for large corporate parties. 

The location is ideal, only 5 minutes’ walk from Brighton station so it is perfect for business stays in Brighton.  The property is a cool conversion of Brighton’s former New England railway maintenance depot. It retains the former railway arches, which are placed directly over the dining space. 

We were lucky enough to attend with a large group after a corporate event.  Deceptively large, this space consists of seven en–suite bedrooms, each sleeping up to five people.  The décor is impressively minimalistic and has a trendy feel to it, whilst containing all the useful tools a business client would need.  Plenty of storage, day beds, a desk, 40 inch TV and charging ports all add to the comfort and convenience for anyone wishing to combine work and leisure.  Each room is en–suite with a double shower and is meticulously clean.   

We all settled in to our respective rooms, increasingly jealous of the chosen few of our party who nabbed the top floor executive suite with a wet room and a four person hot tub.   

Perhaps the true unique selling point of this hotel is the massive open plan dining area on the ground floor.  The images do not do this space justice.  It contains two huge tables and allows for a dining space for up to 34 people.  There is large screen TV which would allow for presentations or workshops.  The kitchen is an artisan built, solid cedar, chef’s kitchen and is one amazing space.  The perfect way to entertain your guests.   

We were lucky enough to use the space for a private wine tasting event and we were certainly assisted by the facilities at this venue.  Enough plates, bowls and most importantly wine glasses for all of us made life significantly easier.   

We arranged for a ten person wine tasting event and we used only a fraction of the space available.  This venue is very private and it was easy for our guests to let their hair down and relax in the large living space on the ground floor. 

Our evening ran very smoothly and we were able to use the large television for some music afterwards, before retiring to our rooms.  The beds were clean and comfortable and everyone reported a very good nights’ sleep. 

We catered for ourselves for breakfast and again this was easy due to the large downstairs area and huge tables.  Our guests were all thoroughly impressed with the venue.  

It was very easy for each of us to then continue to our respective work days, as the venue is right in the heart of Brighton, near to the Lanes and the station and so perfect to continue a working day without travel into the city.  

Our corporate event ran so smoothly at this venue and we will definitely be returning.  I would recommend this for a private chef / dining event.  The beauty of Beatnik Breaks and their experience so far is that they are also able to arrange all of this for you.   They offer the service of you being able to create an event and plan for your choice of private chef to prepare, cook and present your meal in front of you.  Whatever your profession, and whatever your theme of evening, they can cater for this and the space means that everyone is comfortable and able to retire to their rooms at any given point.  Their website indicates they can arrange anything from a Mexican street food buffet to a seven course taster menu with a Michelin chef.   

The handover of keys was made very easy and therefore check out was a breeze. 

Railworks 1 is a truly hidden gem sitting right under our noses in the heart of Brighton.  This would be the first place I would go to for a truly private corporate event which can be tailored specifically to your own tastes.  Unlike the standard hotels, you can choose your room, the style of evening, your own food and better still your own entertainment.  It is a stylish, clean, perfectly maintained boutique hotel with a focus on socialising for networking events.