IMPERIAL HOTEL
Client: Andrew Brownsword Hotels
Project Status: Planning
The Imperial Hotel has been at the heart of Torquay’s story since 1866, once celebrated as the finest hotel in the West of England. Our vision secures its future by blending heritage restoration with forward-looking design. The proposals retain the hotel’s historic character while upgrading facilities to modern luxury standards, including 111 guestrooms and suites, a champagne bar, restaurant, banqueting spaces, a destination spa with infinity pools, and new alfresco terraces with panoramic views of Tor Bay.
The masterplan introduces a new beach club at ground level, biodiverse landscaped gardens, and improved connections to the South West Coast Path. Sensitive residential additions—comprising adapted post-war wings and new apartment buildings—help balance hotel investment while responding to local housing needs. Parking and servicing are reconfigured and concealed beneath landscaped podiums, enhancing the guest arrival experience and reinstating the hotel’s sense of grandeur.
Endorsed by Historic England as an exemplar approach, the project delivers a sustainable, viable, and beautiful hotel that supports Torquay’s ambition to be a premier tourism destination, while contributing to the town’s wider regeneration and long-term prosperity.