Hotels in Epsom

Epsom is a Surrey market-and-commuter town whose name means one thing: the Derby, run on Epsom Downs since 1780 and still the race every flat trainer wants to win. The racecourse sits up on the Downs above town, with sweeping views towards London and a huge, partly free-to-access hill crowd on Derby Day in early June.

The town itself is pleasant but ordinary — a shopping centre, chain restaurants, the clock tower — and its hotel stock is modest, so for Derby weekend book very early or simply stay in London: trains from Victoria and Waterloo reach Epsom in around 35 minutes, which is exactly how many racegoers do it.