coolest place to stay

Geographically, it makes no sense to separate St Leonards from Hastings. The two towns are so close you can hardly see the join. But though they tend to get lumped together as one big Hastings, St Leonards-on-Sea is quite a different kettle of fish.

With one foot in 1066, Hastings is the warty old seadog; St Leonards, born in the 1820s, is the bright young thing. ‘It’s all cornicing, high ceilings and lah-di-dah,’ says author and journalist Kathryn Flett. ‘The two places are as different as Brighton and Hove