Suggestions please

Brighton and Hove are the 14th safest city on this University listing:
www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/student-advice/where-to-study/how-safe-is-your-city

Go to Hove - much nicer - plenty of lovely restaurants on Church Road -

Brighton a good choice as Thameslink go directly there from Gatwick. You might have to change in London stations otherwise.
My Brighton hotel is good.

Hastings and Rye.

If your sister is adamant that she won't go to Brighton, have a look at Arundel. It's a lovely oldtown with plenty of places to visit, both indoor and outdoor and there are frequent direct trains from Gatwick Airport.

We’ve family who live in Brighton so we go there regularly and have never felt at all unsafe. Interestingly that same family visited Vancouver last summer and were shocked by some of the districts in that city. Most busy urban areas these days have parts that can feel a bit “edgy”.

I live in Brighton and can definitely say that I have never felt unsafe.. It is really friendly and inclusive. How could you not want to visit the Royal Pavilion or the Laines or see a show at the Dome or Royal Theatres.. Maybe stay in Hove if you find Brighton a bit too crowded at night.
There is a railway station there so you could also visit Lewes or Eastbourne.. and London is only an hour away...and buses go up to the Downs.. it's a wonderful place to live

Brighton is great but if she cant be persuaded, Eastbourne is a good 2nd choice. Directcrain from Gatwich Rail station to Eastbourne

Brighton is great, and very busy. My daughter was there for four years just a few years ago, at Uni so we’ve been there a lot. My SIL lives there as do both her adult daughters, each with young children.

Would suggest Kent, though Brighton is nearer to Gatwick. Canterbury, in Kent is lovely.

We love Brighton definitely has a buzz with plenty to do and see. Certainly not unsafe can get a bit noisy at weekends but we are not night owls and are usually back to our hotel by 10pm So unless you are going clubing after 11pm you will be fine. We enjoying staying at The Old Ship Hotel very central and very often has good deals on. Jury's on the seafront is also nice but can be expensive.We never have a Seaview room unless the hotel has double glazing Brighton is certainly a city that never sleeps.
Eastbourne is also nice we tend to stay at The View hotel amazing Seaview rooms or the Landsdowne. Eastbourne is much quieter but easy to get the train into Brighton for the day.

I visit Brighton frequently as I have friends there. It can get very noisy particularly hen / stag nights at weekends, but certainly it’s safe and fun . Hove -just along a bit maybe better to stay there if you want a bit of peace. Very good bus service into Brighton and the station . Worthing also nice .

Brighton isa lovely place my youngest went to Uni there so I visited many times and really like it of course it’s as safe or safer than most places in the world Listening to one persons gossip is silly
My only complaint about Brighton is it’s a bit expensive
Hope you have a good visit wherever you meet up with your sister

"however she has been told Brighton unsafe so is refusing to go there"....... Good gracious, I sincerely hope not, my 16 yr old GD is going soon.

Having said that, there's good and bad in every place and I am sure Vancouver has its share. If we all thought along the lines of somewhere 'not being safe' I doubt we would venture out of bed in the mornings!

If my 21-year-old DGD feels safe. even when running on her own, in Brighton, what's the problem?

It depends upon whether you want busy and frenetic or calm and peaceful. For the former, go for Brighton or Eastbourne. For the latter, try Battle or Bexhill on Sea. I have just left Bexhill. You can stay at The Cooden Beach Hotel, eat in numerous reasonably good restaurants and it is fairly flat. Rye is lovely but one constant cobbled hill. Everywhere! Battle is super and it does have the Abbey. Google the towns and see what you come up with.

Rye is quaint but you can’t get far without hills or cobbles or both. I stopped there on a coach tour and most of the less mobile passengers were soon back on the bus as they could not reach the church or the castle, which are both very interesting.
Brighton and Eastbourne are very flat, mostly.

We stayed in the Jury's Inn on the seafront. It was a wonderful hotel with very comfy beds and a good breakfast- we were lucky to get an offer but we did go in early September.

We only got a taxi to and from the hotel and walked everywhere else. There are some hilly parts but it is mainly flat on the seafront.

Nothing to worry about in Brighton.
My nephew and his family have lived there for years. He's a headmaster of a school in Brighton.
I also have a friend who is a priest in a safe, friendly, happy parish in Brighton.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202406/medium-62212-img-20240506-154649912.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202406/medium-557636-img-20240506-154617869-hdr.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202406/medium-731398-img-20240506-154605899.jpg

Parky travel assistance for the train is excellent. Just phone them up and tell them what assistance you need . They will carry your bags get you to a seat and any changes someone will meet you and get you on the next train . They will even take you to the taxi rank if you haven't already pre booked on.

If you need an accessible room then I recommend Primer inn. Not all private hotels have them. This is my room I had in Berwick upon Tweed. Going to York in September and booked the same sort of room. Lower bed and very comfy arm chair they do double or twin rooms that are accessible. But you would need to book soon if you want one as there are a limited number of them.

There are many other hotels of course maybe look at trip advisor online

The Metropole or Grand Hotel next door are both on the front with sea views in Brighton might be worth looking at.

Brighton is busy and buzzy with lots to see. Some nice hotels, and lots of restaurants.
Rye isnt far from Hastings and is lovely , but has cobbles on some of the streets. But well worth a visit.
Hope you enjoy time with your sister wherever you go.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brighton_royal_pavilion_Qmin.jpg

Lewes, easy to get to by bus is the county town of East Sussex. It has a number of Antique shops.

I don’t know of any hotels but I recommend The Royal Pavilion. Just a wonderful royal palace very near the front. There is also an electric railway that will take you along the front towards the marina. It’s a Victorian invention. The aquarium, now Sealife has been there since the Victorian Era too. The Lanes are interesting and have been renovated. The North Lanes are alternative shopping and food. It’s a vibrant city. As you can tell I love Brighton. I’ve known it as a child but have also been there far more recently.

I hope you find a good hotel.

I think Brighton is probably safer than St Leonards, which is next to Hastings. Hastings has a reputation of being quite run down.
From Gatwick there are trains to Brighton, Eastbourne, Portsmouth, Bognor and other coastal towns so plenty of choice. My choice would be Brighton but Southbourne, on the Portsmouth line, is part of Bournemouth which would be my second choice.
The other advantage of Brighton is that there a lot of buses to get around and also trains to nearby seaside towns.