A Blackpool hotel which was named Tripadvisor’s “Best of the Best” for three years in a row looks set to be turned into a private house, if proposals get the green light.
As recently as April 2024, the 10-bedroom Fossil Tree Hotel on Queen’s Promenade Hotel was named in theTravellers’ Choice list for the third successive time and was ranked 11th for best Small and Boutique Hotels in the UK.
It was also awarded Best Sea View Hotel and Guest House for the 4th successive year at the 2024 Travel and Hospitality Awards.
Reviewers praised its welcoming atmosphere and warm service and owner Chris Rinder, who ran the hotel with wife Christine, spoke of how proud they both were about the impressive accolades.
But last year the hotel went up for online auction with starting bids from £400,000.
The three-storey hotel occupies a prominent corner position next to the ‘Cliffs’ at Bispham, just 1.5 miles from Blackpool town centre and a half-mile from Bispham village.
Agents Kenricks, on behalf of Pattinson Auctions, said it was a “rare opportunity” for a buyer to purchase one of Blackpool’s most “stunning seafront hotels”.
Now an application has been lodged with Blackpool Council’s planners which would spell the end the property’s tenure as a hotel.
The applicants, listed as Mr and Mrs C Rinder, seek permission for the erection of a single storey extension to the front elevation with a balcony above and use of premises as altered as a single private dwelling house, following demolition of front, side and rear extensions.
The application form, lodged on February 10, says the plans entail “conversion of the hotel to a single dwellinghouse.
“The proposals include demolition of the front side/side and rear extensions and construction of a new front extension with balcony above, together with alterations to all elevations.
“An extended and raised boundary wall is also proposed to create a private garden area.”
The application is now pending a decision from planners.
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