The Hotel Pelirocco is probably the trendiest hotel in the whole of the country.

There's not a floral bedspread or a net curtain in sight and you would be hard-pressed to find one formica table top or a landscape print.

Instead, a unique collaboration between forward-thinking artists, DJs and pop stars from Brighton and beyond has created a hotel dedicated to creativity. Each of the 18 rooms has been individually themed around a different aspect of youth culture.

Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie and members of the group Asian Dub Foundation are among the well-known names asked to design a room at the hotel in Regency Square. A host of Brighton-based artists and designers have also helped.

A quick tour around the rooms is like taking a trip through youth culture. Guests can choose from a hip hop room with full disabled access or a twin-bed Mod room, based on the cult Brighton film Quadrophenia, to a Muhammed Ali room complete with boxing ring ropes.

In addition, every room is equipped with a PlayStation console and modem access. As one room designer put it: "They are the teenage bedrooms you always wanted, but were never allowed to have."

The hotel is the brainchild of Mick Robinson and Jane Slater, who came up with the idea during a visit to Brighton in the summer of 1998. Originally from London, Mick, 37, a wholesale fashion seller and DJ, and Jane, 30, who worked in public relations, had always been regular visitors to Brighton.

Jane said: "It's such a popular place to come, but we found there was nowhere we felt really comfortable. We wanted to dedicate each room to visionary artists, maverick musicians and inspired individuals. We wanted a hotel dedicated to people who have inspired us, people who have pushed back the boundaries."

Despite having no connections with the hotel business, the pair decided to throw themselves headfirst into the idea. They sold their London home and moved to Brighton. Jane said: "We were so inspired by it. I cannot remember if we were determined or just naive. We had no idea where the money, or even the hotel, was going to come from."

The couple looked at 20 properties before they found the Pavilion Hotel in Regency Square, which was perfectly located for conferences, pubs and clubs. The couple eventually managed to get enough money from family and friends of friends to take over the lease of the hotel on August 11 last year, as well as sponsorship from several companies resulting in the PlayStation Bar and Restaurant and a state-of-the-art conference centre sponsored by Nokia.

The couple began to approach people they wanted to help design the rooms and had an enthusiastic response. Mick explained: "It was important to use themes which had a Brighton connection and then expand to youth and sub-culture in general."

Punk artist Jamie Reid and fashion designer and artist Karen Savage agreed to design rooms while Lee Bowery's widow, Nicola, designed a room based on the costumes of the deceased club icon and performance artist.

Fatboy Slim's record label, Skint, was recruited while local artists Grant Dejonge and Jackie Bisset from Sugar Glider came up with an idea for a room dedicated to surrealist art. Nicki Harper, of the Brighton interior design shop Pussy, also designed a room and graffiti artist Petro helped decorate the ground floor hip hop room.

Jane herself wanted to dedicate one of the rooms to Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama who gave her blessing to the project provided she could to spend a night in 'her' room. Another contributor was Brighton DJ and carpenter Hunter and his girlfriend, Carola, who are designing a room based on their 'Betterism' concept of making better use of everyday objects.

Local artist Steven Greenfield, of the North Laine furniture effects stall Liberty Hall, helped with designs in much of the hotel, including the Sputnik room dedicated to space travel.

Lounge lizard and spoof entertainer Lenny Beige helped create a Love Palace complete with a minibar from his own living room. Another room is to be dedicated to Brighton's reputation as a 'dirty weekend' destination and designed around saucy Fifties' pin-up Betty Page.

Bobby Gillespie, who used to live in Regency Square himself, is due to bring some of his own photographs to personally decorate his room next week. Asian Dub Foundation will put logos and photographs in their room, with its very own 'chill-out' zone. Bobby Marshall, ADF manager, said: "It really is one of most surreal requests we've ever had, but it was very flattering."

Although some rooms are not finished, the hotel is booked up for Easter. All the rooms should be ready by May and cost from £45 to book.

For resevations, call 01273 327055 or see the website at www.hotelpelirocco.co.uk

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.