The Grand Burstin Hotel
The Grand Burstin Hotel is a hotel located at Folkestone Harbour in the seaside town of Folkestone. The hotel was almost completely rebuilt in the 1970s after the new owner, Motyl Burstin, purchased the site of the previous Royal Pavilion Hotel in 1955.
Dating to the mid-nineteenth century, the Royal Pavilion Hotel designed by Sir William Cubitt, was built on the site of the older Pavilion Hotel and opened to the public in 1845 as the Pavilion Hotel. The establishment was visited by historic figures such as Charles Dickens and received its "Royal" title after a rumoured visitation from Queen Victoria during 1855. After being taken over by the Royal Navy during World War II for use as HMS Allenby, Royal Pavilion fell into disrepair and in 1955 was purchased by a new owner, with redevelopment plans outlined. Building of the Grand Burstin, then known as Hotel Burstin, occurred throughout the 1970s, with it opening to the public in 1975. Demolition of the Royal Pavilion completed in 1982, with the Burstin then extended, leaving the south wing and back entrance of the Royal Pavilion to be connected to the new building.
Since the Britannia Hotels takeover in 2004, the hotel has received widespread criticism for poor standards relating to health and safety, maintenance, cleanliness and use as an emergency shelter for migrants. The building has been used as a filming location for both the 2022 Disney+ miniseries Pistol and the 2023 film Who Is Erin Carter?.
Site
The Grand Burstin Hotel is located at Marine Parade in the seaside town of Folkestone. The building sits on the site of the previous Royal Pavilion Hotel, which was established in the 1840s. The hotel and land were purchased in the 1950s by Polish tycoon Mr. Motyl Burstin. The Grand Burstin Hotel began construction in 1974 and opened as Hotel Burstin in 1975 sitting on land facing the harbour. The building is approximately 200 feet high and is 14 stories tall. After falling into disrepair by 1979, plans were made to demolish the Royal Pavilion. It was subsequently demolished between 1981 and 1982, though the south wing and back entrance remained. Planning application drawings display the Grand Burstin hotel as having a front elevation of approximately facing toward Harbour Approach Road.Royal Pavilion Hotel history
1844 to 1855: Early years
Early interior and amenities
In 1844, Pavilion Hotel, designed by Sir William Cubitt, was built on the grounds of the recently demolished building of the same name. The initial new building developments consisted of a billiard room, coffee room, a ballroom, club room, a table d'hôte, and a large front balcony with six-foot-wide York slabs, supported by ornamental iron brackets. Publicly accessible rooms were large and decorated, with apartments and dormitories being in close proximity to one another for ease of access. During 1853, Charles Dickens visited the hotel and wrote about the architecture and experience of the Royal Pavilion Hotel, referring to it with the alias "Pavilionstone". Dickens later published these writings as a eulogium in the 12th volume of Household Words, with the title "Out of Town", in 1855. This was used as an advertisement for the hotel.The early building was described as having spacious rooms that were appropriately decorated with "handsome" saloons. Access to the saloon, which was used for private functions, required payment of one shilling, with free access provided to families who engaged a sitting room. The table d'hôte was popular, especially during the summer months, with affordable prices it was considered economical. Breakfast was served at the table d'hôte until ten o'clock in the morning, with a table d'hôte dinner served in the afternoon at two o'clock at the cost of four shillings per person. Visitors with private sitting rooms were able to use or obtain the public arrangements and luxuries without limitations. The Pavilion Hotel implemented a measure whereby printed bills were placed in every room so as not to create an imposition between staff and guest. The aforementioned billiard room, and a reading room, described as being "well-stocked" with material, provided adequate indoor entertainment. The front of the hotel featured a lawn for leisure, which at the time would have provided views of the working harbour and boats crossing the channel.
Winter gardens and swimming pool
The Royal Pavilion Hotel sometimes advertised their winter garden, located at the back of the building and included a swimming pool, in local newspapers. The winter gardens were advertised as being open for promenading at the cost of one shilling and half-price for children. The winter gardens functioned as a large open greenhouse for a large number of plants including palms, ferns and eucalypti, which could be viewed by guests. The gardens also had a large ballroom, with stage and orchestra accompaniment. In the 1920s, the Folkestone Swimming Club used the swimming pool located in the winter gardens.''"Out of Town"''
Dickens described the fenestration of the Royal Pavilion Hotel in "Out of Town", referring to the building as "New Pavilionstone", writing "we are a little too much addicted to small windows with more bricks in them than glass." He criticised the architecture as being "not over-fanciful" with a noticeable lack of ornamental decoration and further noted poor construction quality, "we get unexpected sea-views through cracks in the street doors". Even with his earlier criticisms, Dickens conceded that "we are very snug and comfortable", something also shared by later nineteenth writings on the hotel, acknowledging that despite his disapproval of the exterior architectural aesthetic, the building was functional and the interior was "well accommodated." Later on in the eulogium, Dickens listed the public areas, "if you are for public life at our great Pavilionstone Hotel, you walk into that establishment as if were your club; and find ready for you, your news-room, dining-room, smoking-room, billard-room, music-room, public breakfast, public dinner twice-a-day, hot baths and cold baths."Royal visit
Shorncliffe Army Camp received a visit of review from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert on 9 August 1855. A Foreign Legion of approximately 2,900 arrived in Folkestone for the visit under the command of Brigadier-General Raines and Brigadier-General Wooldridge. During her stay in Folkestone, Queen Victoria allegedly visited the Pavilion Hotel, after which the hotel adopted the "Royal" prefix, becoming known as the Royal Pavilion Hotel.1896 to 1899: Late nineteenth century renovations
New ownership
In 1896, the ownership of the Royal Pavilion Hotel changed hands, and plans to refurbish the building were made public. The refurbishment work was undertaken by architect Colonel R. W. Edis, with plans to have the hotel be comparable in appearance and comfort to other higher profile establishments. The developers Maple & Co had previously worked on the Coburg Hotel located at Grosvenor Square.Interior design
Guest comfort was the primary focus of Maple & Co, with specific rooms in the Royal Pavilion building relocated, including the lounge to the centre of the building. Specialist interior designs were chosen, panelled wainscot oak for the walls, and frieze to mark Folkestone's shipbuilding history and active harbour. Decorative furnished chairs and settees were chosen for the lounge, antique Persian rugs sat atop a polished oaken floor, Oriental themed. Other rooms in the building such as the smoking room and billiard room were also intricately decorated, the former with mahogany rich satin wood inlayed Sheraton type furniture and the latter with oak fitted furniture and scarlet morocco upholstered chairs. The dining room was designed in a Georgian character, the furniture also of mahogany and upholstery of the chairs in a blue impressed morocco. The hotel's drawing room also functioned as a ballroom. The walls were designed with soft yellow silk panels, and the mantelpieces had elegant decorative depictions of classical landscape in similar soft colours.Death of George Henry Newington
George Henry Newington, a bricklayer’s labourer, was killed in an accident involving a hydraulic lift at the Royal Pavilion Hotel during renovations in 1899. The lift was used to carry food from the kitchen to the upper floors and was in operation when the incident occurred. Newington entered the lift in the afternoon as meals began being served. The cook, who was present nearby but not observing the lift at that moment, heard a shriek and turned to see that the lift’s ram had dropped, crushing Newington beneath with the six-tons of available power. Attempts were made to free him, however Newington's injuries were fatal.1942 to 1945: HMS Allenby
During the Second World War, the Royal Pavilion Hotel was used as a Combined operation base under the name of "HMS Allenby", for the Royal Navy under the command of Vice Admiral Round Turner. British, American and troops of multiple nationalities were stationed in Folkestone at this time. HMS Allenby was commissioned for use between the period of 14 March 1943 and 10 April 1945, however records for the period show the base was in operation since 1 December 1942, possibly under the name of "Bluebird III".Motyl Burstin
1955 to 1965: Burstin takeover and re-opening
Polish businessman Motyl Burstin purchased the Royal Pavilion in 1955 with plans to convert the building into residential flatlets for the elderly. This was completed by 1961. Plans were proposed by American sponsors headed by L. E. Detwiler in 1957 outlining a new 1000-bed hotel, improved ferry services from Folkestone and Dover respectively, a helicopter base within the inner Folkestone harbour and the building of two 90,000 passenger liners costing GBP£60 million. The Royal Pavilion Hotel had been operated by the War Office since World War II, and had not been in use since then. The plans involved repurposing the Royal Pavilion into use as offices, conference rooms and restaurants. Detwiler met with the Mayor of Folkestone, Lt. Colonel Bradley and the owner of the Royal Pavilion Hotel to explain his plans. The mayor offered his support to Detwiler, along with the Royal Pavilion Hotel where land for extending the building was available.Folkestone Justices approved of proposed plans submitted by H. S. Worthing-Edridge for licensed parts of the Royal Pavilion Hotel in 1960. These plans included a bar in the reception room and the pre-war smoking room becoming a cocktail lounge. Building alterations under the design of architect Cyril P. Griggs included the splitting of the north block from the main building with two new bars located there and changes to the banquet hall, toilets and cloakrooms. One year later, Motyl Burstin re-opened two bars, marking the first time since World War II where the public were able to purchase alcohol at the hotel. A lounge bar in the previous booking office was also opened, with the proposed cocktail bar also opened. In 1965, there was expressed interest in adding two new wings to the Royal Pavilion building.