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Looking Glass Cottage Magical 'Alice in Wonderland' Cottage

Cottage with kitchenette, steps from Brighton Beach

Photo gallery for Looking Glass Cottage Magical 'Alice in Wonderland' Cottage

Victorian Bathroom with Twin Showers
White Rose Boudouir
Madhatter Lounge
Madhatter Lounge
Flamingo Dreams

Reviews

9.6 out of 10
Exceptional
3 bedrooms1+ bathroomSleeps 870 sq m

Popular amenities

  • Parking available
  • Pet-friendly
  • Fireplace
  • Kitchen
  • Outdoor space

Explore the area

View map
  • Place, Brighton Beach
  • Place, Brighton Centre
  • Place, Brighton Pier
  • Airport, London (LGW-Gatwick)

Rooms & beds

3 bedrooms (sleeps 8)

Bedroom 1

2 Single Beds

Bedroom 2

2 Single Beds

Bedroom 3

1 Double Bed

Living Room 1

2 Large Single Sofa Beds

1 bathroom, 1 half bathroom

Bathroom 1

Toilet

Bathroom 2

Soap · Towels provided · Toilet · Shower only · Hair dryer

Spaces

Deck or patio
Kitchenette

About this property

Looking Glass Cottage Magical 'Alice in Wonderland' Cottage

Step Into a Whimsical Wonderland at Looking Glass Cottage®

Brighton’s Oldest Cottage, Perfectly Placed in the Heart of the Lanes

Welcome to Looking Glass Cottage®, a charming Alice in Wonderland-inspired haven nestled in the heart of Brighton’s iconic Lanes. Dating back to 1565, this historic gem is the oldest house in Brighton, beautifully blending vintage charm with modern elegance. Perfectly positioned for those seeking the best of Brighton’s world-renowned shopping, dining, and nightlife, Looking Glass Cottage® offers a truly unique experience for up to 6 guests.

A Magical Location in the Heart of Brighton

Tucked away down a charming twitten (a narrow, hidden alley), this cottage is just steps away from Brighton’s best bars, cafes, and boutique shops. With the seafront and Royal Pavilion just minutes away, it’s the perfect base for exploring the city’s vibrant culture, whether you’re strolling along the pier or indulging in a spot of retail therapy in the trendy Lanes. Brighton’s buzz is yours to enjoy year-round, making Looking Glass Cottage® the ideal destination for any occasion.

A Wonderland Escape for Every Occasion

Whether you’re planning a girly shopping weekend, a posh hen party, or a special group getaway, Looking Glass Cottage® provides the perfect backdrop. With its magical, whimsical interiors, every room tells a story, featuring teacup lamps, pocket watch door knobs, and teaspoon handles, all inspired by Lewis Carroll’s classic tales. This is Alice in Wonderland reimagined in the most glamorous way.

The house’s unique design makes it perfect for those looking to add a touch of glamour and fun to their celebrations. From relaxed evenings by the fire to intimate gatherings with friends, Looking Glass Cottage® will leave you with memories to last a lifetime.

Why Stay at Looking Glass Cottage®?

• Prime Location in Brighton’s fashionable Lanes—steps away from the seafront, top restaurants, and exclusive boutiques
• A whimsical, Alice in Wonderland-themed interior, brimming with quirky details and luxurious touches
• Perfect for groups of friends, special celebrations, intimate hen parties, or shopping trips
• Award-winning with multiple mentions in the press and TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence
• Featured in The Guardian, The Sun, and Family Traveller—a must-see destination for unique stays in Brighton

In the Press:

• “The best Christmas breaks in the UK” – Family Traveller
• “Storytime-inspired getaways” – The Sun
• “Cool holiday cottages in Brighton” – The Guardian
• “It has serious wow-factor, like walking onto the set of a glam Alice in Wonderland photo shoot” – Sunday Mirror
• Top 10 Best Places to Stay for the 2012 Olympics – Sunday Mirror

Ideal for Intimate Gatherings and Creative Getaways

Looking Glass Cottage® is perfectly suited for those seeking a unique and stylish escape in Brighton. Whether it’s a photo shoot, a birthday celebration, or a bachelorette weekend, the whimsical charm and central location will elevate your stay to something truly special.

Need More Space?

If you’re looking for something larger or have a bigger group, don’t forget to check out our sister property, Wonderland House®, just a short distance away, for a grander experience.

Add dates for prices

Amenities

Kitchen
Pet-friendly
Outdoor space
Parking available
Fireplace

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Interior
Gorgeous 'Alice in Wonderland' Cottage in the Lanes, Brighton Pier/Seafront
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  • Laundry
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9.2 out of 10, (9 reviews)
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House Rules

Check in after 3:00 PM
Minimum age to rent: 21
Check out before 11:00 AM
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Children

Children allowed: ages 0–17
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Events

Events allowed: family gatherings, birthday parties, weddings
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Pets

Pets allowed: dogs less than 25 kg per pet (limit 2 pets total)
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Smoking

Smoking is not permitted
You may smoke on the patio

Important information

You need to know

Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
Parties and events (including family gatherings, birthday parties and weddings) are allowed on site. Maximum attendees: 8
Host has indicated that there is a carbon monoxide detector on the property
Host has indicated that there is a smoke detector on the property
Safety features at this property include a fire extinguisher

We should mention

This property does not have any lifts
A car is not required for transport to and from this property

About the area

Brighton

Located near the beach, this cottage is in Brighton City Centre, a neighbourhood in Brighton. While the natural beauty of Brighton Beach and South Downs National Park can be enjoyed by anyone, those looking for an activity can explore Brighton Marina. Looking to enjoy an event or a game while in town? See what's happening at American Express Stadium or Prince Regent Swimming Complex. Jet skiing and kayaking offer great chances to get out on the surrounding water, or you can seek out an adventure with mountain biking and cycling nearby.
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Map
Brighton

What's nearby

  • Brighton Beach - 1 min walk - 0.2 km
  • Brighton Royal Pavilion - 4 min walk - 0.4 km
  • Brighton Centre - 4 min walk - 0.4 km
  • Brighton Dome - 6 min walk - 0.5 km
  • Brighton Pier - 6 min walk - 0.6 km

Getting around

  • Brighton Station - 12 min walk
  • Gatwick Airport (LGW) - 48 min drive

Restaurants

  • ‪Workshop - ‬1 min walk
  • ‪Knoops - ‬5 min walk
  • ‪The Cricketers - ‬1 min walk
  • ‪Fish & Chips - ‬2 min walk
  • ‪Moo Moo's - ‬1 min walk

Frequently asked questions

Is Looking Glass Cottage Magical 'Alice in Wonderland' Cottage pet-friendly?

Yes, this property allows dogs (limit 2 total) with a maximum weight of up to 25 kg per pet. Some restrictions may apply, so please contact the property for more details.

How much is parking at Looking Glass Cottage Magical 'Alice in Wonderland' Cottage?

On-site parking is available at the property.

What time is check-in at Looking Glass Cottage Magical 'Alice in Wonderland' Cottage?

Check-in begins at 3:00 PM.

What time is check-out at Looking Glass Cottage Magical 'Alice in Wonderland' Cottage?

Checkout is at 11:00 AM.

Where is Looking Glass Cottage Magical 'Alice in Wonderland' Cottage located?

Located in Brighton City Centre, this cottage is steps away from Brighton Fishing Museum and Brighton Beach. Visitor Information Centre and Brighton and Hove Jewish Congregation are just steps away. Brighton Station is 12 minutes by foot and Brighton (BSH-Brighton Train Station) is 12 minutes.

Reviews

9.6

Exceptional

9.8/10

Cleanliness

10/10

Amenities

10/10

Property conditions & facilities

10/10

Eco-friendliness

10/10

Check-in

10/10

Communication

9.4/10

Location

9.4/10

Listing accuracy
Rating 10 - Excellent. 20 out of 24 reviews
Rating 8 - Good. 3 out of 24 reviews
Rating 6 - Okay. 1 out of 24 reviews
Rating 4 - Poor. 0 out of 24 reviews
Rating 2 - Terrible. 0 out of 24 reviews

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

JASON I.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Great house in a great location
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2025

10/10 Excellent

Per t.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Perfect location

Was more than we expected. Fantastic location, very cozy and charming. A Will definitely be back for longer!!
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2025

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Fab cottage

Cottage is great, very cosy and the location for being close to all the attractions of Brighton. The downside of the location is the noise when people using the alley way go home… one night students seemed to flow past making a racket till gone 1am… the other nights were not as noisy but when your on holiday doesn’t seem to matter. Would recommend
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2025

8/10 Good

Debbie S.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Brighton Weekender

A real quirky property settled in the heart of the lanes. An amazing use of the small property, with lovely touches throughout, with a bottle of Prosecco to start things off. Due to the nature of the central position, it can be noisy later in the night when the windows are open, but if you’re there for a fun weekend, you can join in. There are plenty of ear plugs provided in the rooms to help. We were a group of 51-73 yr olds. The host was absolutely excellent in providing extensive information and didn’t mind me calling him for further advice.
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2025

10/10 Excellent

Cristina Q.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Had a wonderful time. The place was nice and clean and right in the centre of the city and close to the beach and Brighton pier. I would definitely recommend it and will stay here again if I will be back to Brighton. Thank you for making our holiday so nice.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2025

10/10 Excellent

Sarah T.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Celebratory weekend

Two families with a celebration and it was great.Accommodation exactly as described. Great location and spotlessly clean.
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2025

10/10 Excellent

Alison

Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities, communication
A very clean, well maintained property in an excellent location. Fantastic communication from start to finish.
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2025

10/10 Excellent

Shyvonne T.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Wonderful

What a wonderfully quirky place to stay Everything you could need and more. Great location, highly recommend
Stayed 2 nights in May 2025

10/10 Excellent

Chris W.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Fantastic location in Brighton

This is a compact location for six people right in the heart of Brighton with everything you need close to hand. The Alice in Wonderland theming is cute and perfect for the tiny cottage. A bit noisy at night because of its location, but nothing to spoil a great city break. Loved it
Stayed 4 nights in Dec 2024

10/10 Excellent

Marcus F.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great stay

Wir hatten sehr viel Spaß in Brighton
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2024

10/10 Excellent

Christiane-Michaela B.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great Brighton

We enjoyed staying at looking glass cottage:)
Stayed 5 nights in Oct 2024

8/10 Good

Jessica H.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Cottage in Wonderland

We had a wonderful weekend in Brighton and can’t thank the host enough for allowing us to stay. On arrival we were a little concerned at how little the cottage seemed in comparison to the photos but actually it was perfect. We were here for a 7 person Hen Do and it was the perfect location in the middle of all the hustle and bustle - not a great place for any light sleepers though as the lane is busy and the bass from surrounding pubs/clubs is loud. (7th person had to sleep downstairs on the lane and the door doesn’t feel very secure so I’d suggest 6 people comfortably) The cottage is so beautifully decorated which was amazing for our Alice themed hen do, clean and well equipped and the host went above and beyond supplying coffee/tea/sugar, ear plugs and toiletries. Only additions we could suggest would be have extra toilet roll and bin bags, have fans in the rooms as they were warm and outside too loud to open the windows. For those staying for the first time, the bin is in the cupboard under the stairs!
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2024

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location

Loved it

Booking was super easy and the host was extremely helpful and went above and beyond for us. They had supplied us some tea/coffee/sugar/milk wine and few bits which was lovely. The bed description for rooms isn’t as shown but the host had messaged me saying 2 beds downstairs so this really wasn’t an issue for us. The sofa beds not that comfy so I would say 6 people max but this in no way ruined our 2 night stay. We were missing one duvet and the host got this sorted straight away with no problem. The cottage was small but as we were on a girls weekend we didn’t spend much time in it so was perfect for what we wanted. The location was brilliant and had everything close by. A pub either side so be mindful its loud but we were supplied ear plugs which worked a treat so again this did not affect us at all. We are getting another date in the diary as we will 100% be returning.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2024

10/10 Excellent

Evelyn W.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Short getaway

Fabulous property and location. Everything provided. Only problem settees not comfortable.
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2023

6/10 Okay

Laura S.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication

A beautiful property, with fantastic communication and help. However there are some negatives

The apartment is in a fantastic location, it’s clean and has beautiful decor. Jacqueline was extremely helpful before we arrived she was very quick to respond to questions and was accommodating with our requests. There were 6 of us staying at the property which advertised 6-8 people, I would say 6 maximum should stay here. I think it fits 4/5 people comfortably. The 2 twin bedrooms are fine the 3rd bedroom with the double bed was so small, the room just about fits a double bed and a small gap between the bed and the sink. When in the bed your feet touch the wall and it feels very claustrophobic. There is no space to have any luggage at all! This room is suitable for 1 person. As the room was so small we had to use a sofa bed, this was probably the most uncomfortable thing I have ever slept on! So if your planning to use it I would recommend bringing extra bedding to give it some padding. We were a group of girls on a hens do so we were up late, the music in the fantastic pubs next door went on until 3am not 12am as described. It was so loud at 2.30 in the morning we were lying in bed trying to sleep and we’re singing along with the words to the songs. You can actually feel the room almost vibrating. So if you want to sleep before 3am take some ear defenders and some sleeping aids. We did have a nice stay here but we were very tired due to the lack of sleep.
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2022

8/10 Good

Catherine B.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great location, very small rooms

The decor is imaginative and photographs well. The cottage is tiny but has many good features. Not suitable for older adults. We had a fun stay.
Stayed 6 nights in Apr 2022

10/10 Excellent

Wendy T.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Fabulous!

Will definitely be back! Super cottage and everything as described. Wonderful communication with the owner. Cannot fault it, wonderful attention to detail. Book it now....you won't be sorry. Wendy

10/10 Excellent

Clair W.

Gorgeous!

I booked the Alice in Wonderland cottage for my 40th birthday weekend and it was fabulous! The house is small, but perfect for our needs and the decor was amazing and incredibly cute, with clearly a lot of thought and detail put into it. It was exceptionally clean and well provisioned. Jacqueline the owner was excellent throughout the booking and went above and beyond with our welcome to the property! The location is perfect - right in the heart of the Brighton Lanes and about 2 minutes stroll from the seafront. I highly recommend staying here! Thank you Jacqueline! :) x
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2018

10/10 Excellent

Janne L.

Perfect Location - Cosy comfort

We were two families 4 adults and 3 children staying at the Looking Glass Cottage in the beginning of May. The apartment is small and cosy, and just what we needed to enjoy Brighton. Everything we needed was right at our doorstep: Food, restaurants, pubs, bars, shopping and the beach. The Looking Glass Cottage comes highly recommended for anyone under 2 meters tall - it's Brighton at it's best.
Stayed 3 nights in May 2018
This review was submitted before 2018 and has not been verified.

10/10 Excellent

Sarah H.

A wonderland place to stay

An excellent venue, close to all amenities: shops, restaurants, seafront and anything else you could want. The house was perfect for our stay and had everything we needed. We were out most of the time, so it suited our needs. Jacqueline was very helpful with any information required and prompt with replies. Suggestions we made for tiny improvements were taken on board. Only criticism is sofas little uncomfortable for long periods of time. Well worth staying
This review was submitted before 2018 and has not been verified.

10/10 Excellent

Pooja P.

AMAZING!!

Good sized property, clean (for a clean freak like myself everything was to 5 star standard!) and well maintained throughout. Perfect for a week away with my 5 other friends, we had an amazing time and would love to go back again this year! Our internet (Wifi) did not work but the problem was solved as soon as we rang Jacqueline. Would definitely recommend this property to anyone looking for a quirky get a away property!!
This review was submitted before 2018 and has not been verified.

10/10 Excellent

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What a treat

I cannot recommend this beautiful city home highly enough! The attention to detail and ease of booking from start to finish was second to none. Amazing location, secure, beautiful decor, quirky detail, thoughtful hostess, awesome shower, excellent little outside area, even ice trays!, good towels, comfortable beds! Not sure what more I could have asked for in all honestly. 1000/10! Please visit!
This review was submitted before 2018 and has not been verified.

10/10 Excellent

Anna D.

A little wonderland!

This small but perfect little cottage takes you into a Alice in Wonderland fairytale world, the detailing across the cottage is outstanding! The location just off the lanes is pefect for moving around Brighton for a girls weekend of fun! Would recommend staying here without a doubt!

About the host

Hosted by David Martin

Host profile image
Hello! I’m Jacqueline, your host and local guide to all things Brighton.

As someone who’s called this vibrant city home for years, I’m delighted to share my two unique, Alice in Wonderland-themed holiday homes: Wonderland House by the Seafront and Looking Glass Cottage in the Lanes. Both homes are full of charm, character, and magic, and I can’t wait to help you experience the very best of Brighton.

Whether you’re here for a fun getaway, a special celebration, or a corporate retreat, I’m always happy to offer local tips and recommendations on everything from the best restaurants to must-see sights. My goal is for you to have a truly memorable stay and enjoy this brilliant city as much as I do.

If you need anything during your stay, I’m just a message away. I’m excited to welcome you soon and help make your time in Brighton absolutely unforgettable!

Why they chose this property

I LOVE this 16th century cottage and it's amazing location, right by the sea, shops and bars. You can't beat it for a central crashpad! I walked past it many times and heard about it's heritage in one of the many Brighton guided tours, never dreaming I would one day own it. When the opportunity presented itself I grabbed it and have thoroughly enjoyed renovating it to create this sophisticated wonderland boutique accommodation for you.

What makes this property unique

Perfectly situated in the heart of Brighton. You’ll be just minutes from the beach—no need for taxis or transport. With its luxurious finishes and boutique-style interiors, you’ll enjoy a private, exclusive experience that feels both special and homey. It’s the ultimate blend of convenience, comfort, and style!

Languages:

English

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