One of Margate’s most iconic buildings is set for a new lease of life, years after being shut down as a hotel.
The Nayland Rock Hotel dates back to the town’s Victorian heyday and counts music legend Mick Jagger and author TS Eliot as former customers.
How Nayland Rock Hotel could look once renovated. Picture: Arcvelop
It could be set for a £20 million overhaul with Arcvelop and Brede Hotels putting in plans for a “heritage-led regeneration project that restores one of Margate’s most significant seafront landmarks”.
In papers sent to Thanet District Council (TDC), the developers say they want to convert the five adjoining properties that make up the hotel – as well as 6 to 8 Royal Crescent – into 50 flats, 16 short-stay apartments and a two-storey commercial unit.
It is being sold as a “balanced, resilient, and contextually responsive development that celebrates the heritage of the Nayland Rock Hotel and contributes positively to the regeneration and identity of Margate’s seafront”.
“The integration of high-quality residential apartments, serviced accommodation, and a seafront restaurant ensures the building remains viable, vibrant, and connected to Margate’s growing cultural and tourism economy,” added the developers.
“The composition and massing of the buildings contribute positively to the historic townscape, and the group as a whole is locally recognised for its architectural merit and historic interest.
Inside one of the proposed apartments at Nayland Rock. Picture: Arcvelop
“There is a clear need for sensitive restoration and re-purposing of these buildings to secure their future and reinstate their positive contribution to the local character.
“Proposals to bring the buildings back into active use – whether through residential conversion, hotel reinstatement, or mixed-use adaptation – represent an important opportunity to retain and enhance the historic integrity of the structure, while ensuring long-term viability.”
As part of the restoration project, the existing ground-floor extension will be removed, and historic features will be reintroduced, such as the entrance pillars to Royal Crescent.
The Nayland Rock Hotel opened in 1885, occupying numbers 1 and 2 of the crescent.
The crescent had many different occupants over the years, including the hotel, private residences, a girls’ boarding school, and even one terrace being occupied by a clergyman.
The entrance to the Nayland Rock Hotel
In later years, the hotel expanded into number 3, 4 and 5. The current vacant hotel still occupies this block.
From 2000 it was used as government accommodation for asylum seekers after tourist numbers dropped, but since 2008, it has ceased to operate as a fully commercial hotel. More recently, it has provided stays for workmen and foreign students to keep the building in use.
It has also become a film location, with King of Thieves – centred on the Hatton Garden jewel heist carried out in 2015 – and Killing Eve both making use of the spot.