New hotels and forgotten landmarks shaping Torbay's future

When the dilapidated Palm Court Hotel in Torquay was destroyed in a fire 2010 its demise signalled the end of an era. From the ashes of the Victorian building on the seafront rose a new stylish luxury apartment block with restaurants which opened in 2015.

The sweeping curve of the six-storey Abbey Sands revitalised and modernised the area. It also heralded welcome investment and showed that Torbay was ready to put its faith modern design.

The seaside towns of Torquay and Paignton are famous for their variety of hotels. For many years the best known were the Imperial, The Grand and the Palace Hotel. Not to mention the long-gone Gleneagles, which inspired Fawlty Towers.

The hotels in this list include derelict buildings destroyed by fire and those under development or in planning limbo. There are also new hotels which will become landmarks for generations of holidaymakers to come.

The cause of a fire at the derelict Coppice Hotel on Babbacombe Road is being treated as suspicious. Crews from Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue were called to a significant fire at the abandoned building on Wednesday (January 31) around 8.30pm.

Crews from Newton Abbot, Torquay, Paignton and Ivybridge fire station battled the blaze throughout the night with six fire engines and two aerial ladders. The building was “well alight” and by the time the fire was contained, was 70 per cent destroyed.

The fire is believed to have started deliberately and police are treating the fire as suspicious. Police officers are investigating and have asked any witnesses to come forward.

A tumbledown former hotel in Torquay's tourist district can't be torn down to be replaced by apartments. The owner of Hotel Virginia in Falkland Road told Torbay Council's planning committee that the Victorian building is beyond saving. It is also now a magnet for anti-social behaviour.

But planners turned down a bid to replace it with a block of 14 apartments. Cllr Adam Billings (Con, Churston with Galmpton) said it was the most difficult decision he had faced on the planning committee.

The 25-bedroom hotel closed in 2022, and architect Dan Metcalfe said there had been many letters of support for the apartments plan. "They are from people who are fed up with the eyesore and who do not regard this building as a heritage asset. In fact they are bewildered by that description."

An eyesore hotel site in Torquay is in the process of being sold - seven years after it was badly damaged in a fire. The Bancourt Hotel, in Avenue Road, has been abandoned since a fire in the spring of 2017.

A plan to redevelop the site into a luxury care home for wealthy pensioners failed when property firm Carlauren collapsed in 2019. The company marketed a number of buildings around the country and its demise left investors millions of pounds out of pocket.

The former 52-room Torquay hotel, once a popular wedding and function venue, has become a sad sight in recent years. Decaying signage from the old hotel remains on the building and it is surrounded by wooden hoardings.

But administrators say they are hopeful it will soon have new owners. Jim Haddow at Quantuma said: "The property is in the process of being sold. It's been a particularly complex and challenging sale because of the nature of the scheme put in place by the previous owners."

The owners of a landmark Torbay hotel are being allowed to begin a massive redevelopment to turn it into 'the ultimate celebration of luxury'. The Tudor Hotels Collection owns the 150-year-old Redcliffe Hotel at Paignton, adding it to a portfolio which also includes Kents Cavern in Torquay and the famous Bodmin Jail Hotel.

Now Torbay council's planning department has agreed the redevelopment can start. The department's decision was published on Thursday 29 February.

Among the people to post comments supporting the plans was Torbay MP Kevin Foster, who wrote: "This proposal is a welcome plan to invest a significant amount of money not only upgrading hotel facilities, but also restoring and improving the historic appearance of this building.

A planning wrangle is holding up a scheme to redevelop a former hotel site in Torquay. The old Shedden Hall Hotel was demolished in 2019 after a huge fire.

Developers have proposals for up to 25 apartments on the site. But since an agreement in principal was reached with Torbay Council in December 2022 the project has stalled.

For the past 14 months there has been no activity. The sticking point is a S106 legal agreement which mitigates the impact of development on the community and infrastructure. The council is yet to sign-off the planning approval until an agreement is reached.

The outline approval was made on the condition that affordable units would be part of the development, something the developers said would make it unviable.

A multi-million pound hotel development boasting spectacular views across Torbay is finally taking shape, new photos show. The Corbyn Head Hotel in Torquay, costing £23 million, has overcome years of planning delays and opposition from hundreds of local residents unhappy about its size, scale and loss of views.

These images show construction is now well under way. Once finished it will have 152 rooms, rooftop bar, spa, restaurant and terraces.

But delays in starting the project have led to the completion date being pushed back from summer 2024 to January 2025.

Construction company Willmott Dixon is building the hotel for the Fragrance Group. The five-storey concrete shell of the building has now risen and a giant crane currently sits on site.

Developers say work on the former Palace Hotel site in Torquay works is still on schedule and will be completed by the end of the year. The prestigious £150m development in Babbacombe Road has been hit with problems since the land was purchased by The Fragrance Group back in 2017.

Initially, the plan had been to create a new luxury five-star Palace Hotel. However, when the option was deemed to be no longer financially viable, planning permission was granted to instead build 37 luxury three and four-bedroom homes collectively known as Palace Gardens.

South West construction company Midas started work on the new homes but then work halted after it announced it had entered administration in January 2022. Brady Construction Services then took over the works. A double blow came on October 30, 2023, with the company confirmed it had ceased trading with immediate effect.

Landmark Torquay seafront hotel Torbay Hotel has been snapped up by new owners and is to be rebranded as The Caledonian Torbay Hotel. The 111-bedroom hotel has been acquired by Leeds-based coach holiday and short break operator Caledonian Leisure under the Caledonian Travel and UKBreakaways brands.

The hotel also boasts a ballroom, sun terrace and two bars, and many of its rooms enjoy spectacular harbour views.

David McDonald, finance director of Caledonian Leisure, said: “Adding The Caledonian Torbay Hotel to our collection is another exciting development for our business as we look to accelerate our growth in established UK resorts, following the successful launch of The Caledonian Claymore and Caledonian Tower Hotel."

Torbay’s latest new hotel opened its doors this year - with a major nod to the bay’s elegant past. The £30 million Ibis Styles on Paignton seafront is the latest venture from the Singapore-based Fragrance Group, which opened its Mercure Hotel next door last year.

Fragrance is also building the new Corbyn Head Hotel at Torquay, and was behind the five-star Palace Hotel project at Babbacombe until the plug was pulled on that last year.

The two new seafront hotels at Paignton signify a collective investment of £70million. The new 121-bedroom hotel’s restaurant is called Deller’s Cafe, the name of a much-loved cafe which stood on the same site more than 100 years ago.

The Mercure Paignton Hotel open its doors in April of last year, just in time for Easter. The new four-star hotel is situated in a prime location on Paignton seafront, with stunning views of the coast, promenade, pier and beach.

The art deco inspired hotel says it will offer guests an exceptional leisure and dining experience. It has 161 stylish bedrooms, a spacious glass fronted restaurant and a two-tier, Mediterranean style terrace complete with an outside bar.

Signifying an investment of £30m, the new-build hotel is set to be a popular destination for Torbay locals and visitors from further afield.