The Hotel Victoria is in

Newquay Newquay ( ; ) is a town on the north coast in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is a civil parishes in England, civil parish, seaside resort, regional centre for aerospace industries with an airport and a spaceport, and a fishing port on t ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and is near the cliffs above the Great Western Beach. The Hotel first opened in June 1899.

History

In the years prior to 1897 local

Councilors A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or regio ...

envisaged development opportunities of building a grand hotel. They formed The Victoria Hotel Company Limited in 1897. The hotel was designed by the Cornish architect, John Sansom, who was part of a practice in

Liskeard Liskeard ( ; ) is an ancient stannary and market town in south-east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth, west of the Devon border, and 12 miles (20 km) east of Bodmin. Th ...

. He was responsible for designing a number of works in Cornwall, mostly around Liskeard, the Porthminster Hotel in St. Ives, and various schools and churches. Construction of the hotel, by local builder C.R Bellingham, started in 1897 and was completed by May 1899, more than a year before the

Headland Hotel The Headland Hotel is a Grade II listed building located in Newquay, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It was opened in June 1900 and is built on a prominent position overlooking Fistral Beach and Towan Head. History Silvanus Trevail's Gre ...

, by rival architect Sylvanus Trevail. The hotel officially opened on 1 June 1899. The Hotel Victoria was built in the

Gothic Revival Style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

, with ornate stonework, Victorian style balconies and a glass covered entrance cloister. The hotel was heated by Spencer's patent radiators. When originally built the hotel accommodated 100 guests and their servants in suites of apartments. In later years it has been reorganised and enlarged and now caters for more than 200 guests. A feature of the Victoria was the lift that connected every floor to the bathing beaches below, claimed to be the only one in England. The hotel closed in November 2024 after being sold to new owners. The sale included Bertie O'Flannigan's pub, Berties nightclub, and other nearby properties. The closure led to 60 staff redundancies, though the new owner plans to renovate and continue operating the hotel.

References

{{Portal, Cornwall Hotels in Cornwall Newquay Hotels established in 1899