Designed by John Whichcord Jr. and built in 1864, it was intended for members of the upper classes visiting the town and remains one of Brighton's most expensive hotels.

During the 1984 Conservative Party conference the hotel was bombed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) in an attempt to assassinate the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.

The Grand Hotel was designed by the architect John Whichcord Jr. and built in 1864 on the site occupied previously by the West Battery at Artillery Place,[2] one of Brighton's 18th-century coastal fortifications.

[6] The hotel was bombed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) in the early morning of 12 October 1984 in an attempt to assassinate the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, during the Conservative Party conference.

[7][8] Thatcher insisted that the conference open on time the next day and made her speech as planned in defiance of the bombers,[8] a gesture that won widespread approval across the political spectrum.

The hotel has hosted many famous guests, including ABBA, who partied in the appropriately named Napoleon Suite on the first floor following their 1974 Eurovision Song Contest win with their performance of 'Waterloo'.

[11] Other famous faces who have performed in The Grand Brighton's Empress Suite include singer Jessie J, Rizzle Kicks, The Saturdays, Adam El-makbachi, Elbow and Sugababes.