The Imperial Hotel, formerly
Puma Hotels Collection, is a
4-star hotel located on the northern promenade in
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. It was established in 1867 and is situated in a large Victorian red brick building, in what, before development, was Claremont Park. The hotel has a gold and blue facade, 180 rooms, The Palm Court Restaurant and the Number 10 Bar (which has photographs and memorabilia of Prime Ministers who have stayed at the hotel).
The hotel is Grade II listed.
History
The hotel was established in 1867.
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
stayed at the hotel in 1869.
In 1904, the hotel was extended with the addition of a large neo-
baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
style dining room.
In 1912,
Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll
Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll (Louisa Caroline Alberta; 18 March 1848 – 3 December 1939) was the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert.
In her public life, she was a s ...
stayed at the hotel.
In the mid 20th century,
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
,
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...
,
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II.
Ma ...
and
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
stayed at the hotel.
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
stayed at the hotel when visiting Blackpool, as did
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
as have many other British Prime Ministers. in 1985,
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
celebrated her 60th birthday in the hotel.
In 2002, US President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
and Prime Minister
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
stayed at the hotel for the Labour party conference.
Owned by
Barceló Hotels for many years, it was operated by The Hotel Collection from June 2014 who sold it to the Fragrance Group (Singapore) for £12.8 in 2017.
In 2023 the historic
turkish baths
A hammam (), also often called a Turkish bath by Westerners, is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited from the model ...
of the hotel were extensively restored by volunteers from Blackpool Civic Society.
Conference venue
Granada Television
ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...
once set up a studio in the hotel to cover party conferences held in the town. It has been used as a conference and party venue for a wide range of organisations.
The
George Formby Society
The George Formby Society was created after the death of British vaudeville entertainer George Formby in 1961. A small group of his fans, brought together by an ad in ''The Stage'' placed by Londoner George Wilson,The George Formby Society met toge ...
currently holds its conventions there four times per year.
Concerts
The Imperial Hotel hosted concerts in its ballroom in the 1970s. Bands that performed at the Imperial Hotel include
UFO
An unidentified flying object (UFO) is an object or phenomenon seen in the sky but not yet identified or explained. The term was coined when United States Air Force (USAF) investigations into flying saucers found too broad a range of shapes ...
,
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the p ...
and
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...
.
See also
*
Imperial Hydropathic Hotel Co v Hampson
''Imperial Hydropathic Hotel Co, Blackpool v Hampson'' (1883) 23 Ch D 1 is a UK company law case, concerning the interpretation of a company's articles of association. On the specific facts it has been superseded by the Companies Act 2006 section ...
, an 1883 landmark
UK company law
British company law regulates corporations formed under the Companies Act 2006. Also governed by the Insolvency Act 1986, the UK Corporate Governance Code, European Union Directive (European Union), Directives and court cases, the company is th ...
case, concerning the interpretation of a company's
articles of association
In corporate governance, a company's articles of association (AoA, called articles of incorporation in some jurisdictions) is a document that, along with the memorandum of association (where applicable), forms the company's constitution. The ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Imperial Hotel, Blackpool
Hotels in Blackpool
Hotels established in 1867