A luxurious seafront hotel designed to resemble a home has been named one of the best places to stay in the world by a glossy travel magazine.

Drakes, in Brighton, was ranked among 60 new hotels around the world in Cond Nast Traveller's 2005 Hot List, published this week.

The £2.5 million, 20-bedroom hotel, created from two listed Georgian town houses in Marine Parade, is described as a "grown-up sort of place in which to let one's hair down".

Traveller also notes its "peculiarly un-English attention to service - phoning ahead to arrange in-room Champagne or a massage and offering guests a taxi-service to and from their parking spot".

The swanky hotel was one of only five in the UK to make the Hot List, which covers 26 countries - from the remote kingdom of Bhutan to popular European destinations.

Since opening in September last year the hotel has become a regular haunt for celebrities such as pop star Mark Owen and newsreader Krishnan Gurumurthy.

Drakes is the brainchild of owner Andy Shearer and former brand manager Neil Waugh, who wanted to create a boutique-style hotel with an emphasis on top-notch service.

Mr Shearer said: "We're really delighted the hard work of all the team has paid off, and that Drakes has gained this recognition.

"It's a huge honour to be listed among some of the world's best hotels and we're thrilled to be able to bring this to Brighton."

The pair recruited designer Tim Shepherd and Hotel Du Vin architect Michael Phillips to work on the interior, and persuaded the Gingerman restaurant in Norfolk Square to open its second branch in the hotel.

Gingerman's chef-patron, Ben McKellar, has designed an innovative European menu, which includes South Downs lamb and beach-smoked eel, for the 40-cover restaurant and a private dining room for ten.

Sarah Miller, editor of Cond Nast Traveller, said: "We were looking for hotels that had a certain sense of style about them, so you won't find any corporate chains on the list.

"The idea is to find something different, individual, maybe quirky, something that no other hotels are doing. Drakes, like other boutique hotels, fits that idea perfectly.

"People are becoming more savvy when it comes to hotels.

"If you are going to splash out £200 to £300 with your partner for a night in a hotel, you want something different.

"Also, if you pay for a cheap flight and stay in a boutique hotel on the Continent it can be cheaper than staying in England. That has made the industry sit up and take notice.

"There is a growing realisation that hotels needn't be dull and dreary.

"Restaurants and bars realised that a long time ago and hotels are now beginning to latch on."