Shop Smart for a holiday you can afford

Sometimes, you just need a break or a change of scenery.  Did you know that being stuck in the same old routine and never leaving your comfort zone can actually damage your mindset?  Perhaps, you have just got in a rut of every-day-ness?  A short break can not only help you to relax and unwind, but it can actually help you find clarity, and reset your mind.  

Life is challenging that's for sure, and with the cost of living seemingly spiraling, you have more worries than ever.  You would love a holiday, but worry it's expensive and the niggling feeling of being trapped arises?  

It doesn't have to be this way.  If you really want something you can get it, you just need to think smarter!  

Many accommodations offer smaller rooms that are fully equipped (the same as larger rooms) but with a much smaller price tag.  Do you need the space? Probably not, you will not really be in your room that much (except to sleep).  Most accommodations cheaper rates will have something excluded (oftentimes breakfast or meals are excluded) so whilst this is cheaper, it's not the best value because the price of adding that meal will be more than the price with it included.

So what about other meals?  Try looking for accommodations that have a specific guest eating area.  This means they are happy for you to bring your own food in, for example takeaway.  Better still they could offer a fridge and microwave like The Sheldon B&B in Eastbourne.  Imagine the £10 meal deal in a beautiful dining room with everything you need to make it special, but not having to wash up after!  

Instead of buying coffee out, use the refreshment tray in your room and bring your own travel mug.  The advantage at The Sheldon B&B in particular is that they stock Poulden Mills, which is specially formulated to work with the long-life milk, so it doesn't taste long life!  An extra nice touch here is hot chocolate sachets too! 

Parking can be costly in most seaside resorts, so look for FREE PRIVATE PARKING when you search!  Be careful to read that this is the case, as some properties will just give you a voucher for on street parking nearby which can be stressful.  

Wherever you choose to stay, always, always check tourist information for things to do in the area.  They can help with cheap tickets, travel and build a great urinary for you.  You can also think of things that are completely free... Walking, the beach, parks and gardens, piers and events.  Even off season most seaside resorts host various events and they are completely free!  

Most tourist destinations have an open top bus to hop on and off at the main attractions.  It's a great inexpensive way to get around and visit the most loved places in the area!  

Generally, its best to book directly with the accommodation so give them a call and they can help you to find the best option for you.

We hope you have enjoyed this blog and it's helped you to plan your next break with less worry.  

The Sheldon B&B

The Sheldon B&B

Find the best.... Last Minute Accomodation in Eastbourne

🦺For those times you didn't realise you would need a stayover, or an emergency situation crops up, you may need to book a last minute room.  To get the best for your needs it's helpful to understand how to get the best deal.

🗓️Same day bookings can be risky, you may not get the venue you wanted, or the room type you would like, but what you do know, is that the accomodation will try to fit you in if they possibly can!  Remember, they may have already reduced the price for the day, so they may not offer you a further discount.

☀️☔⛅⛈️🌨️🌪️🌡️Depending on season, sometimes last minute booking can be cheaper or even better than you imagined and sometimes if the resort is busy or running an event, it can be much more expensive (even for the smallest room).  One thing is for sure, properties all want a full house and they value your booking! 

📈The Sheldon B&B is no stranger to Last minute bookings.  This is down simply to scale... They rely on good reviews (reputation) to keep on page 1 of the booking sites, they simply don't have the budget to boost their ranking like a chain hotel would pay for.  Once the bigger properties sell out, they are there, ready to go?  Smaller properties have to be clever with their pricing (make sure they are competitive and take into account their unique features), their marketing (avoiding heavy commissions and using free tools for online marketing) and execution (making sure they maintain a great reputation).  You may pay a little more for a room than at a big chain.  Naturally, a smaller place will have higher overheads, will need to pay a little more to keep the good staff members and ensure they know they are cherished and of course, can't buy in the same bulk that the big chains can.  Equally, the big chains tend to be crafty and automatically scan the web using algorithms to set their prices.

☎️When you book, if you find a smaller property on a booking website/online travel agent, you should consider phoning them... Especially if you have a social need.  For example, You are a family with a younger child and a teenager.  The teen wants her privacy, but the younger child is too young to be left alone.  The perfect solution is an adjoining single and triple.  The Sheldon B&B have lots of options that simply can't be shown on-line because booking websites tend to be based on bigger properties and of course, they have to be very general to convert to as many languages as possible.  Also, by contacting the property, if they can't help, they will be far more likely to help you find somewhere nice nearby.

👛For same day and next day bookings the payment is taken at the time of booking and you can fill in your simple online check in at that time.  This enables you to use the free private car park, and, of course, if you arrive early, you are welcome to park (if there is a space) prior to checking in and enjoy Eastbourne! 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Always check the overall review score, because cheap is not necessarily good!  If you are not sure read 3 top marks and 3 bottom marks, it will give you a good idea of what guests liked or disliked.  The Best of Eastbourne gathers reviews from most of the major review sites, so it's a great tool to help you choose. 

🏆So, in summary, to get the best possible last minute rooms to suit your needs:

 

🔗Contact the property direct

📋Tell them what you need (shower/bath/quiet zone/adjoining/single/luxury/budget/special needs/dietary/with or without breakfast etc.)

🅿️Check the parking situation

🛌Know that if it is possible, we will upgrade you.

🔗Click here to book now

☎️Click here to phone The Sheldon B&B

Holidays need not cost a fortune....

 

Is it possible to beat the cost of living and still have a fantastic holiday?

💰💶🏧💵💳🪙As the cost of living bites everyone, you may be starting to wonder if you can ever afford to get away at all this year.  We have all seen the volume of international flights canceled this year and the heartbreak this has brought to so many, let alone the expense of adding unplanned hotel nights and additional meals to your stay if you are one of those unfortunate enough to get stranded.  

⚠ Our top tips:  Plan it carefully and use the tools available like Tourist Information and your visit Eastbourne brochure.  You can head to Visit Eastbourne and use the itinerary planner and you may find that gift vouchers will help you budget during your stay.  Remember that some key events are FREE, but bear in mind that the property you stay in may be slightly dearer, so a different event may suit you just as well.  Most properties offer an early bird rate and look for flexible bookings with free cancellation if you think you may have to cancel.  It is best to take out trip insurance if you can, if the worst does happen and your plans change, you should be able to claim back your losses.

SAVE ON OTHERWISE HIDDEN COSTS...

💰Eastbourne is actually a great destination for those on a budget.  The Sheldon B&B is a top pick for you because of the FREE private parking (this can be a hidden cost in most seaside accommodations) and they offer a choice of rooms from singles to family of 5 and luxury to budget options (You can take a look click here).  They offer a communal fridge and microwave in the guest eating area, so you can eat well, with a feeling of eating out, but obviously much cheaper, and you are much more in control of what you eat (especially if you have allergies or picky kids!).  Did you know that hidden parking costs and eating whilst on holiday can be more expensive than booked activities, so this is a real bonus!). They also offer many items that you can borrow for FREE during your stay such as baby and toddler equipment, fishing nets, buckets and spades, windbreaks, and more - which, if you are coming on bus or train helps you to pack lighter, but be assured you have everything you need from potties to sterilizers!  With a FREE playroom and lounge, you can relax whilst the kids play.  One of the things Sheldon guests really love is that you can borrow a baby monitor and sit outside the room on the big comfy couch whilst the kids settle into sleep and perhaps enjoy a drink or two, knowing they are safe.  Every family room has an information pack with ideas for you and the kids to choose from and we have a bright colorful display of activities in our family room hallway.  We only clean using pro-biotic cleaners, are low allergy throughout, pet-free, and are virtually plastic-free (including our toiletries!)  We have rooms highly suitable for children and adults on the spectrum.  Not all our rooms show online, so give us a call - we can usually help!

📢TOP TIP!  Every room has a refreshment tray, so bring your travel mug and water bottle and fill them daily, there are plenty of water stations around Eastbourne to top up your bottles for FREE!

➡️Download the Visit Eastbourne brochure.  If you visit the welcome building (near Congress Theatre) you can pick up the mini brochure, which also contains many free suggestions and coupons.  You can also pick up attraction leaflets for things to see and do during your stay, with experts helping you decide and plan your itinerary.  Don't forget to ask at your hotel's reception about where they recommend you eat!  The Sheldon B&B has arranged discounts at many popular eateries and can recommend a reasonably priced place to eat out, for the fussiest eaters, if you fancy a treat!

🚶‍♀️If you love walking or cycling you have arrived!  You can take a planned tour, a stroll along the prom, or a hike up beachy head!  Along the prom, follow the trail boards and learn about the things you have walked past and a bit of interesting history - it's all free (bikes can be hired daily).  The Cuckmere River is simply stunning.  There are inexpensive water activities and some free events take place in the seven sisters visitor center.  The Sheldon B&B can securely store a limited number of bikes for a small fee.

🏞️Parks and Gardens are the perfect places to relax and unwind or let the kids burn off some steam ensuring you all get a great night's sleep.  There is a super splash pad for the kids to cool off and trampolines too.  Simple games like frisbee, bouncy and beach balls, bubbles, balloons, floating paper boats on the lake, or making paper airplanes can be a super way to amuse the kids with no electronics involved!

🏖️The miles of the beach can not go unmentioned!  FREE suncream is available and you can keep the kids ultra-safe near the lifeguard beach.  Don't forget the lifeguards offer a wristband scheme, simply add your mobile number to the band and stick it on your child's wrist or ankle, if you did happen to get separated they will know who to call.  Also, totally FREE wi-fi is available along Eastbourne Seafront.  This is perfect for your Insta' uploads but also means you won't have to carry cash - all the seafront shops. markets and cafes can take contactless!  Whether you are paddling, skimming stones into the sea, building a fort, sunbathing, or playing frisbee, everyone loves the beach!  The rock pools are so much fun, can you find a shrimp or crab, make a seaweed garden, make a rock sculpture or chalk your design onto a black rock.

🛩️Eastbourne is also host to many FREE events!  From Airborne, magnificent motors, 999 day, festivals, beach life, and many more to our seafront market (interesting and remarkably good value for bargain hunters).  Currently, the big wheel is visiting and the circus, funfair, and icerink are all attractions that pop up from time to time!  Whilst not free, they are inexpensive if you are careful with your budget.  If you love art, then Towner Gallery is also FREE, and don't forget "open house", follow the trail of artists' houses in Eastbourne to meet the local talent!

🎰For sure, you will enjoy the pier.  There you will find crazy golf and a plethora of arcade games.  I should mention that again, whilst not free, some slots are only 2p, if you start saving your 2p's now, you could have some real, cheap fun!  You can hire rods and enjoy fishing off the end of the pier at reasonable prices

🎵If you love music, the glorious Winter gardens are hosting "Bandstand on tour" (tribute acts from all your favorites like Abba, Queen, Tom Jones, and many more!) whilst our beautiful bandstand is closed.  Book early for just £10 for adults and £8 per child.

🪂If you are into your activities, Beachy Head is fabulous for base jumping, paddle boarding, canoeing, walking, and more!  You can learn sailing, or take a trip out to sea.  We have Ninja warrior (for the super-fit),  The Axe bar with many more unusual and fun activities, and more venues like this planned!

🚌Getting around in Eastbourne on a budget is a cinch!  The open-top is £10 per adult and this allows you to hop on and off for 24 hours!  It's perfect for seeing all the best bits of Beachy head and allows you to spend some time in your favorite bits, enjoy a walk and rest a while!  Birling Gap, the visitor center, and the Seven sisters visitor center all offer free activities, snacks/lunch, and beautiful scenery.  The plaques tell you about the things you can see.  You can also enjoy the Dotto train that runs along the seafront from Hollywell tea chalet (great for rock pools and don't forget to make a wish at the holy well) to Sovereign harbor, where you can watch the loch in action, watch the drawbridges as the sailboats pass through, look at the fish that is caught locally in the fish shop or take a relaxing boat ride.  Glow balls is fabulous fun for adults and children alike!  The 12 "coaster" takes you to Brighton and for a day in Hastings is the 98 "the wave" - all the buses feature contactless and free wi-fi.  It is well worth a trip to Tidemills to explore a long-abandoned ruined village and explore the houses, hospital, and other buildings that once were - It's totally FREE!

👪For the kids, there are several soft play, both indoor and outdoor play spaces, and crazy golf too!  A trip to Eastbourne's Miniature steam railway is a must!  The kids can really let off steam with indoor and outdoor activities to explore and enjoy.  The Sovereign Centre and Lloyds lanes provide all the things you can expect to find on any holiday; swimming, fitness, laser quest, and bowling.  The science center at Herstmonceux is sure to thrill all ages with a plethora of hands-on interactive experiences for all ages to experiment and discover.  Sharnfold farm is also a super day out, walks, pick your own, petting zoo, adventure playground, shop, cinema, and a super cafe too.  Blackberry Farm has some indoor adventures and lots of outdoor things that are included in the entry price like a petting zoo, pedal kart circuit, soft play, diggers, zip lines, petting zoo, and farm walk.  Drusillas is more expensive, but superb value for money!  There really is something for everyone from the zoo to the adventure parks, it will delight all ages.  Mini Ninja Warrior, Middle farm and we should also mention Paradise Park is also for all ages to enjoy!  

🎓It's never too late to learn!  There are so many trails from blue plaques to the beachy head story and of course star gazing from Beachy Head is one of the most amazing things you can do!  The heritage center is great to see attractions past and present and really gain an insight into how Eastbourne has evolved!  

🌞There is so much more, we hope this gets you started and excited.  If you think Eastbourne is not a real holiday, you should know that Statistically, it is the Sunniest place in Britain (please don't tell everyone, but we also have the best ice cream!!!)

🔔If you have liked what you read or know someone who you know will love our suggestions, please share it on your social media!  If you would like to book then Click Here.  Don't forget if you really enjoyed your stay, you can be in with a chance to win £100 just for reviewing us!

Pro-biotic cleaners - what are they and why are they so good?

Our Story....

Covid, Brexit, and now the Ukraine war kind of got in the way of our plastic-free mission for a while there.  

We had no plans to return to using single-use things, so we fought back by using screening in key places, ventilating, and installing touchpads for our guests.  We encouraged the use of our reception bathroom for actual washing of hands, rather than installing big plastic hunks of sanitizer.  Whilst we have got some hand gel stations in key places, they are metal and refillable.  The safe pads are great... They contain nanoparticles of silver, so actually, the germs can't live on them (brilliant invention!).  We continued to use cloth aprons and overalls for cleaning.  Once the dining room was re-opened, used washable race masks.  Where we did have to use single-use items, we opted for Vegware. 

https://www.greenfacilities.co.uk/product/safe-pad-clear-antibacterial-push-pad/

Our passion for ditching plastic started before covid was a thing.  It was difficult, but we had sourced solid shampoo and body wash bars, which even now are still receiving mixed reviews, but, we persevere by educating and re-enforcing our message, and we have no plans to go back to little bottles!  We got in touch with Crystal Cole, who makes batches of beautifully fragranced bars for us in little heart shapes.

www crystalcole.co.uk

Over the lockdowns, we had many supply problems with cleaning concentrate and even Bookers discontinued concentrate, in favor of very expensive, single-use plastic bottles.  It's been rather frustrating, as they are clearly just profiteering to the detriment of the planet.  This made us look for alternatives and we discovered pro-biotic cleaners.  The first company we tried was aimed at the domestic market, and to be honest, the first order didn't turn up.  We couldn't find any suppliers in the UK that had stock... Every product seemed to be on backorder.  Frustrated, we gave up.

Last week, we attended a networking event.  Luckily, there was a guy doing commercial and domestic pro-biotic cleaners... He is here in Eastbourne!  He supplied us with samples and we tested everything out thoroughly for a week.  We have signed up!  Our favorite of the samples is made by Evie Blue.  There are no chemicals, it's 100% biodegradable, suitable for vegans, pets, marine life, and humans!  It doesn't exactly kill germs... It just crowds them out with good bacteria, best of all it goes on long after we clean.  We add a sachet to a refillable measured bottle and the sachets are also biodegradable, take up very little space, and are already in measured doses.  You get a perfect, smear-free shine on any non-porous
surface, even in a high-scale area!  It is a simply brilliant solution (pardon the pun!) 

www.purevo.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/purevoltd/videos/we-are-proud-to-be-the-uk-partner-to-the-world-class-cleaning-innovators-pura-pu/284068825571086/ 

Featured rooms

Keeping you safe in our care

It can be an anxious time for travel.  Your urge for a holiday is overwhelming, but your sensible-self worries that it could be unsafe just now.  Please be assured that we have done as much as possible to keep you safe during your stay.  We have been successfully hosting NHS and Keyworkers throughout the lockdowns and have had 100% positive feedback from them and the people who they work for!

It is a great time to book, but things were not as they were before.

(Don't forget to read my last blog, which explains when you should book and breaks down how rates work.  It will guide you to make good choices when booking any property, anywhere.)

🛎48 hours before you will arrive, we will send you a link to Check-in online.  This way we can gather the information we need from you that we would normally ask you to do on arrival.  This is submitted electronically and stored securely for 21 days. Each room booked needs to nominate the person who will be responsible for the group or room.  The form is easy to fill in, have your booking reference handy!  You will be asked to enter an estimated arrival time (please don't arrive early, we have additional cleaning to be done), and make sure to enter your car's registration number so that we don't fine you if you park up early to go into Eastbourne.

😷On your arrival day, we ask that you wear a mask before entering, and only 1 person enters the reception to collect the keys.  There is handgel available for you at reception.  

🔑The key collector becomes responsible for your guests and/or group(s).

💳Your payment has been taken already

Reminder: You must always wear your mask when in public areas like the lift, reception and corridors.  For now, our dining room, playroom, and lounge are closed.

Inside your room:

You can take off your mask, you will find a "cafe etc..." branded tea tray with Vegware branded cups (Vegware is entirely compostable, so during a time we need to be throwing more away, you can be sure that you are looking out for mother nature!  We have provided a bar of soap and some shampoo to get you started too.

⚠You will find some printed instructions about what to do if you display any symptoms of covid-19 during your stay.  The important thing is to STAY PUT!  Do not leave your room.  You can get in touch to report to us by scanning the QR code in your room which is situated just above your tea tray.  The QR code takes you to a form that will be picked up quickly by one of the team, then we can start helping you safely.

🛒The QR code in your room can also be scanned to access other forms.  For instance, you can order breakfast or packed lunches, tell us about a problem, order fresh towels, tea-tray stock or simply ask a question. (You can also head to the guest area of our website)

⛔It is really important if you have booked as a group that you don't visit each other's rooms, you can only meet outside and please don't share the lift with anyone who not from your room - even if you traveled with them.

🧹Order breakfast or packed lunches before 8pm the night before, and we will deliver to your door between 8am and 9am.  If you don't want us to enter your room but you need room stock, then you can order anytime, and we will deliver outside your door between 10.30am and 3pm.  If you prefer to clean your own room just now, that's perfectly fine and we can provide everything you need!

🏠We are very much here if you need us, but we have to keep ourselves and our staff safe too.  Please keep in mind that if we come into contact with someone who tests positive we have to close and this will spoil your holiday.  By thinking of others, even if you are protected by your vaccine, not everyone will be, so please be mindful during your stay

Don't forget to download the Visit Eastbourne App or visit the website to plan your break!