Fire survivor reopens on clifftop
A leading clifftop hotel has reopened following a £5m refurbishment after a fire closed it just over a year ago.
The East Cliff Court hotel in Bournemouth, Dorset, was reopened by the mayor of Bournemouth, Councillor David Baldwin. It closed in June 2001 after its upper floors were virtually destroyed by fire.
It took 150 firefighters some 24 hours to control the blaze, thought to have been started by a workman's blowtorch.
The property, which turns over about £2m a year, belongs to Menzies Hotels. It had undergone a £2.5m refit just two years before the fire, to upgrade it from three- to four-star standard.
Initially, the hotel was scheduled to be closed for six months, but Menzies Hotels took the opportunity to redesign and refurbish it.
The new East Cliff Court hotel has 67 bedrooms, three lounges, a cocktail bar, an à la carte restaurant, two conference and banqueting rooms, a sun terrace, an outdoor swimming pool and a car parking area.
Menzies Hotels owns 18 properties in the UK.
Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 8-14 August 2002
