The Grand at Scarborough

As part of our wanderings around Scarborough we explored a bit of The Grand Hotel. There was some story about Bill's ex having stayed there as a youngster and met the Beatles who were also guests. This was, I gather, by way of explaining that a few decades ago it was quite the place, his former in-laws having been fairly well off. 

The hotel rather dominates the 'skyline' (if you could call it that) perhaps second only to the castle on the hill. It still had some 'grand' features, and the overall design is still impressive, but it seemed a bit sad inside. 





Particularly when we found the neon signs advertising the bingo hall. I decided I'd seen enough by then.




Besides having been graced by the Beatles and Bill's ex, the place played a part in both world wars, having been damaged by the German Navy in WWI and serving as a training base for the RAF during WWII. It is also the place where Anne Bronte died in 1849 - just three days after she arrived. The hotel's real heyday was in Victorian times and Wikipedia reveals that its design is even more fun than I'd realised.

I'm afraid Picmonkey can't help me rid this of the lights reflecting on the glass.

The building is designed around the theme of time: four towers to represent the seasons, 12 floors for the months of the year, 52 chimneys symbolise the weeks, and originally there were 365 bedrooms, one for each day of the year. The hotel itself is in the shape of a 'V' in honour of Queen Victoria. 

It's tough these days for the old seaside resorts, like Whitley Bay and Scarborough, to flourish in this day when cheap package holidays to Spanish sun replace the former trips to the iffy weather of British seaside. 

I'm no interior designer, but there is something horrid about the decor here.

I'm thinking the old and the new aren't liking each other much.

My guess is that finding their way in the local market is as important as attracting holiday-makers. So let's hope their bingo hall thrives.