Eastbourne hotel named the sixth 'most unusual' hotel in the UK
Belle Tout Lighthouse, on Beachy Head, was named the sixth most unusual hotel in a new poll.
According to research by Betaway Casino, more than 800 of the hotel’s reviews on TripAdvisor included words such as ‘unusual’, ‘eccentric’ or ‘quirky’.
The lighthouse, which was built in 1832, has undergone a lot of transformations. It was decommissioned as a lighthouse in 1902 after wartime shelling and even starred in a James Bond film. It was later bought as a private family home.
In 1999 the Belle Tout Lighthouse was moved inland due to fears coastal erosion would see it plunge over the edge. In 2010 it was transformed into a bed and breakfast by current owner David Shaw.
David spent nearly a million pounds on the transformation. He said, at the time, "I bought Belle Tout with my heart and not my head".
Number one in the unusual hotel list was the West Usk Lighthouse in Newport.