The Story of the Grand Hotel, Scarborough
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
- The Grand Hotel in Scarborough was opened in 1867 and, at that time, was one of the UK’s best hotels. It has an illustrious past, surviving both world wars and several owners.
Now in the hands of Britannia Hotels, this icon of the North Yorkshire coast has seen better days. It’s a building that’s always fascinated me and in this video I look through the history of the hotel, including its construction, ownership by Butlins and what it looks like now. Could it have a better future in the age of the “Staycation”?
USEFUL LINKS
Book train travel to Scarborough - prf.hn/l/7QA4jA2
Stay at the Grand Hotel - tidd.ly/3LFpv5J
Britannia Hotels official video for The Grand - • Grand Hotel Scarboroug...
Hitler article 1 - www.thescarbor...
Hitler article 2 - www.express.co...
MY PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT
Camera - amzn.to/3uKpoMu
Tripod - amzn.to/3uFsce1
Drone - amzn.to/3wMw9yQ
Memory card - amzn.to/3uGVVmL
Music - tinyurl.com/kk...
My wife and I stayed at the grand every year for 15 years . We loved the Faded glory and atmosphere of it . We had some wonderful and happy times there . We planned to return this year but sadly my darling wide passed away in June . I will never go back there but it has such wonderful happy memories for me . RIP my beautiful Janet . I miss you so much xx
Sorry to hear that. Must be bittersweet to watch this video. You must have had some wonderful times there though, to return so many times. Take care.
Sorry for your loss... but the happy memories are still yours and only yours - what a gift she has left you with
Very sorry to hear that, fella. I hope your memories offer you some comfort.
Bless you, so sorry for your loss.
@@terrycoles9079 Thank you and best wishes to you
Another reason for the V shape - it would be quite hard to provide light and ventilation to the inside rooms if it’d all been one solid block. In 1867 gas-lights would’ve been what was available, no electricity.
Just been to Scarborough and found this place utterly mesmerising, very impressive building.👍👍
The best documentary video I have seen about the Grand Hotel. Sadly its glory days are long gone. The Sitwell family who lived for much of their time in this town give a great insight to how it once was. Osbert Sitwell wrote about this very hotel in his semi-autobiographical, peroid novel 'Before the Bombardment' i.e. before WW1 when the town was bombed and this hotel badly damaged. There is a great history attached to this remarkable building. Sad that these days these things don't seem to be treasured as they should be and the present indignity seems like the last blow! This inconic institution is certainly not in safe hands these days!
Thanks Jayne!
I had the misfortune of staying in the "Grand" several years ago. Check-in was a nightmare; my room was a closet; the food was disgusting; and the place filthy throughout. What was I thinking?
Thanks for an interesting history of the hotel and related stories!
The Shining, that was my first thought when I stayed there a few years ago. I remember the elevator being really tiny. But we enjoyed our stay there. Whitby is just up the coast, we prefer staying there, such a lovely little place. The Abbey ruins are special, can definitely see where Mr Stoker got his ideas from. Whitby Abbey is set high up on the hill, and can be seen from miles around. We'll be visiting again soon.
Thanks Andrew for a fascinating video on the Grand Hotel in Scarborough. It’s good to see that some investment has taken place and hopefully more will come in the post Covid recovery period. I never knew Hitler wanted the building but I can understand the why, It’s beautiful! (was in the hey day) and could be so much more again. I must confess I have stayed several times over the years and still love it despite its faults. Thanks for an informative and interesting well produced video….. now can we please have lots more?? 😀
Thanks Sara! Plenty more videos to come! :)
Definitely a Grande building.
Would try a night or two , depending on charges ( multiply stay cost by 3 & you get cost in my currency).
Please don't it's now housing refugees
Stayed there a few years ago and it was priced to beat any search but sadly didn’t have the charm and glamour of a hotel. I’m glad it’s operating as a business but the conundrum is who would be willing to invest the millions needed to make it grand again.
Another great video, thank you for sharing, somehow I feel you will be revisiting this again at a future date to unearth the possible treasures that lie beneath. I stayed here a few years back and although I love the ‘grandness’ of its architecture, I wish some rich philanthropist would take it on and restore it to its former glory, it’s a fabulous place which, unfortunately, is past its use-by date. It would be a crying shame to lose this iconic Yorkshire building from the local landscape wouldn’t it?
Thanks Steve!
I worked in the Grand Hotel in 2004. My Mum also worked there in the 70s. I have some memories about what is underneath the hotel. This was a long while ago so some may not be accurate. This is kind of like describing a dream, but as you asked in the video for anyone with information to get in touch I'll at least try my best to give an impression.
One thing is certain: it's an absolute rabbit warren. I worked in the main dining room as a waiter and even the back area with the kitchens, pot wash, break room and office were hidden behind blind corners and several narrow doors. There's even a handy (but steep) backstairs passage connecting the kitchens with the coffee room upstairs. An extreme sport of you're clearing away the coffee morning to the potwash.
I was asked to go down to the laundry for new table cloths and that's when I first went under the hotel. Going through a normal side door between the restaurant and the offices you're immediately in a different time. Stone steps and brickwork going down. I don't know if it was straight away, but I remember entering a large cavernous space at one point, with iron railings on the stairs and massive pipes along the walls - huge. This was only to pass through to another area and go further down - kind of like a spiral staircase but on a diagonal. The first time I went I had to have a guide with me so I didn't get lost. The laundry was in an space tucked to the side of a corridor which I think was once a shopping arcade. What I found most odd was this is where one member of staff worked all the time - there was even a nude poster on the wall of the laundry. No natural light at all. A round trip from the restaurant to the laundry would take at least 10 minutes.
I heard from a restaurant manager that the rink is still there, but I never saw it. There were people who had worked there a long time who had not seen all the areas underneath the hotel. Some where simply bricked up. Not to sound mysterious, but this place is simply mysterious - some place just are!
The guests were interesting too. I met a woman who attached guns to Spitfires during the War. I met another man who used to tour the northern circuit as a magician in the 50s.
I hope some of you found this comment interesting. Seems like a lifetime ago when I worked there.
Thank you. You’ve captured what must be the immense size of the hidden parts of this building. Must be like an iceberg - as much “underwater” as on the surface.👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Fascinating! Thanks so much. Only yesterday my husband and I were thinking about the naval attack as we walked on Fraisthorpe beach with the dog. I've been visiting Scarborough since I was very young, now 77, and had a couple of holidays there with an aunt. My parents were newsagents in Leeds and couldn't get away.
We went on the night time Tree Walk in Peasholme Park once, which seemed magical at the time. The original seats to the outdoor theatre were just concrete terraces - bring your cushions! My Father also went to the fishing competition on the Mere and brought me with him. There was a Pirate ship and a sandy island where you could dig for dubloons! I've taken my children and grandchildren there in turn. I was interested to hear about the oriental influence in the Park. Chinoiserie was highly fashionable in homes at the time as you know.
The children always loved finishing the day with a short stop, that always got longer, at the Amusements, then back to Hull where I live now after living in Lancaster, Shropshire (Broseley nr Ironbridge) and Hessle.
Scarborough still has plenty to recommend it and is suffering, like so many towns and cities worldwide, from the effects of changing shopping habits on the internet which has led to the decline of the high street, finished off further by the pandemic and the political under investment leading to unemployment and poverty. We would never have foreseen that in the 50's. Sad. Vive la Revolution!
And now a flophouse for Afghan migrants!
Beautiful building thats now a filthy Afgan dosshouse
It’s now full of asylum seekers
Hello! Back In the late 90’s/early 2000’s I was going to the Grand for a weekends holiday once every 2 months. I loved the place & got to know the staff really well & one night the night security guard asked me if I’d like to go down into the basement to see what it was like. It was like a time capsule. The Old Victorian kitchens with piles of plates stacked up. Metal teapots that had almost corroded away, so much sand on the floor & he showed me the old salt water intake pipes. It was so fascinating to see but unfortunately before the age of camera phones. Loved your video.
Full of immigrants now
Andrew, that was brilliant! But I could weep for the Grand and Scarborough too.......let me tell you why. I'm in my late 50's and first stayed in the Grand circa '74 ish. We were introduced to it by family friends who were fussy and well healed to say the least. They were well known there and so when we asked for a guided tour, the maitre'd had no hesitation. We got to go below stairs and see the kitchen.......I remember it as being huge, Victorian and busy! The hotel was warm and welcoming with a porters office on both sides of the entrance.....and though I didn't know it then, I was privileged to experience this place as it clung desperately to a bygone and never to return era. We then experienced it in Christmas '78/New Year '79......the first Christmas under Butlin's ownership. I still possess the pamphlet detailing the activities for the week of celebrations. They even named us in it........long story!! We got to see the New Year in in "Grand" style. We stayed several times after that.......Butlins tried their level best.....they really did......but I think it beat them in the end. We have continued to visit Scarborough......staying with our kids in all the nice hotels.......The St Nicholas.....The Royal......The Crown......Wrea Head etc. It was always a tradition that I would wander around the Grand at some point in our stay......my wife would say......"do we have to?" but she knew I absolutely had to. We last stayed in Scarborough in April or May this year. I hope the place makes a come back, I really do........but I doubt I'll see it because I've thrown in the towel with Scarborough......I'm done. To see the Grand being wrecked by Britannia is one thing.......but to see the asylum seekers administer the final blow is just too much for this former Bradford lad. Goodbye Scarborough and thanks for the great memories!
Thank you for a thoughtful and well made video. I lived in Scarborough and was a teenager in the late 1970s when Butlins took over the Grand. They must have been desperate for staff, because they took me on, along with a load of other teens, as summer hires. I started working as a waiter in the dining room, but was pretty much a disaster. So I got moved, with my friend, to help clear out some of the upper rooms and move the furnishings to the basement. We found some diagrams on the wall of one of the rooms that may have been from its WWII days as a training facility for RAF pilots.
I don’t remember how, but I did get into the lower basement levels and explored, with a couple of colleagues. It was suitably creepy, with a massive disused kitchen prep area, which seemed to include stalls for cattle. Maybe they milked their own cows. Much of the floor was gone, leaving huge holes that went even further into the bowels of the place. We couldn’t figure out a way down there and, as it was pitch black, we didn’t want to. I never went back down there.
Thanks Mike! Fascinating stuff!
OMG ... stalls for cattle ? Weird ! 😳
@Mike Johnson either milked their own cows or maybe even their own abattoir , probably pipes going out to sea to wash away any nasty stuff - either that or I’ve been watching too many horror films! Lucky you got out alive…….. 🧛♂️
Could they have been stalls for a stable area?
It’s a stunning building, faded Victorian splendour, would really love to see it renovated, thank you for sharing!
Completely agree. One of the better hotel groups (yes, looking at you Firmdale) need to buy and renovate, perhaps adding in service apartments overlooking the bay. It is a stunning building with a fascinating history.
@@MaximilianvonPinneberg p8
Personally I think it’s on the Vulgar side there again Victorian architecture had a tendency for excess compared with the simplicity and perfect symmetry of the Georgian period however it still is to be admired and of course we are looking at it today and not at the time of construction-it’s difficult to see beyond the coronavirus signage everywhere
@@KKTR3 I agree I much prefer Georgian buildings to Victorian buildings, my mother lives in a Georgian farmhouse and it’s a stunning building and not far up the road from Scarborough just outside Durham city.
This guy uploaded this video at the perfect time, BUT WHERE ARE THE AFGHANS?
I have just stayed there there were no afghans theyve all been move to the Clifton hotel and wont be returning we have a wonderful weekend beautiful clean rooms beautiful breakfast and evening meal friendly helpful staff we are going back in september
" Paul Joseph Watson " has updated the history of this hotel , it now houses refugees.
You mean mostly male people intent on finding a better life for themselves into another country, and succeeding
@@KKTR3 Was that life not viable in France?
Is this the refugee hotel
Great and honest video.
In the late 80’s our company did some wiring work at the hotel, whilst trying to drill through a wall the guys couldn’t work out where they had drilled to, with some measurements they realised that there must be a void in between the to walls. They broke through the wall to find an abandoned kitchen which had been left as if it had been at an end of a shift and then bricked up.
Cheers Marcus.
Should try go film it now . Its top 2 levels have been given to the Afghans.
And?
Better them than being occupied with prejudiced Daily Mail readers.
@@JayCee-tp2gv or migrants escaping the disaster caused by thr UK and USA?
What a well produced and made video. It's like an episode of a TV documentary with a huge budget.
Enjoyed it.
And Boris destroyed it🤬🌚🌚🌚🌚🌚💩💩💩💩
This was such an interesting video, I love The Grand so much and have read widely about it but definitely found out more from you so thank you very much. I fell in love with with the building after seeing it in a programme around 2006 and was lucky enough to spend a week staying in one of the turrets in 2007. Yes the hotel is quirky and there are problems with water leaks but I always feel so lucky to actually be staying there that I disregard the ‘issues’. I stayed there again around 2018 in a standard room and enjoyed exploring every corner of the hotel again. It really is the most beautiful building in the most fantastic coastal position. Thank you once again.
Thanks Marian. Glad you enjoyed it!
IMMIGRANTS, on the upper floors. love diversity! look up trip advisor reviews!
That is a shame isn't it? How can one attract people back one wonders.
Now home to hundreds of illegal immigrants now from what I am told...That's Scarborough scrubbed of the list of places to visit.
A sad state of affairs today, the hotels upper two floors are now occupied by Afgans.
At tax payers expense.
Will you be saying the same thing about the Ukrainian refugees coming to Britain now?
Born and bred in Scarborough, I have lived here all my life (68 years) and I thought I knew a bit about this iconic building, but after watching this video I feel that I have learned so much more. Well made, well presented and well filmed, a beautiful and fair presentation. Keep 'em coming! Thank you so much! Brilliant!
Thanks Brian! Appreciate you commenting 👍🏼
Now renamed the Grand Turd Hotel..Thank to all the gifts the Afghan guests are leaving...😂😂
Not telling guests that they are booking a holiday in an asylum centre is cheating the customer. Disgusting.
Oh no ls it? Guess inevitable
@@Domdeone1 Yes, you can avoid that.
I know life isn't a holiday for genuine refugees but how many are economic migrants? I've got every right to be pissed off like everyone when own cities are transformed into an international hub where no one knows where anyone is from & are left to scramble for resources
Paul Joseph Watson just put out a RUclips video about how the Afghan "guests" are turning the Grand into a disgusting hotel that SHOULD be condemned for lack of proper sanitation, violating covid safety protocols, and for the chaotic environment created by unsupervised children running around on several floors, including contaminating the buffet food. Paul reads the former recent guest's ratings and comments that all reflect the above mentioned complaints and the following: IF the paying guests go to the management to complain, they are called a "racist" by the management and dismissed. This is absolutely alarming and a disgrace to your country and tourism industry. Hope something is done to rescue and stop the decline of the Grand.
@@staralioflundnv I think it's good when the paying guests are shown that they have fewer rights than the invaders. It has to get worse.
Total shame what's happened to what should be a grand hotel not only by name, the bad press recently as done it no favours housing around 200 immigrants.
This should be a national icon not a dump for immigrants what a beautiful building
now it’s an alyssum centre but still takes on guests
to be even more up to date, the 2 top floors are now exclusively populated by illegal imigrants awaiting processing (i'm not voicing any personal opinion here, just facts) staff now refuse to clean those upper rooms and the government is obv picking up the bill so i dare say the owners are glad of the guaranteed income, meanwhile other residents reviews are worse than ever since this scheme there began and it struggles for any booking regardless of stay-cations of late :(
Whilst never having visited or stayed here, I have lived locally all my life, so I'm very familiar with the Grand Hotel as a landmark.
This was a really interesting film about the hotel. It really does need a wealthy entrepreneur to restore/preserve such a wonderful building.
Many thanks, Mr Wanderer, for posting.
Cheers Keith!
I think some of the rooms were meant for wealthy , with adjoining for their butlers / maids in smaller rooms, This kind of place, for those kind of people no longer go together, so the rooms get overall smaller to increase the amount of occupancy, so it is being made to do something it wasnt designed for
Ain't it full of Afghans
@@JayCee-tp2gv no such thing as an illegal migrant.
Check *very carefully indeed* before you consider booking in to any large budget hotel in England from now on. Do your research!
@@JayCee-tp2gv You'd have to be pretty thick to rely solely on the hotel websites to find this information!
My great grandparents, their children and my mother (as a baby and young girl) used to take several suites here in the 1930’s and after the war in the late 40’s for holidays when the hotel was far nicer and more upmarket. Great granddad was an architect from Bradford who had a hand in designing many grand buildings over the years in the 20’s & 30’s. Mum has fleeting memories and always tells me about it.
Sounds wonderful
Upmarket people from Bradford..? Smell a rat here lol
@@Roscoe.P.Coldchain lol. Not these days. This was the 1930’s when there was actual industry, and actual jobs.
@@Roscoe.P.Coldchain plenty of brass made in Bradford before the terminal decline of the country. Some very clever and successful people got started in Bradford, shame it has fallen so far these days.
Visited Bradford wetherspoons a week ago and was shocked at the beauty of the city cente architecture such as City hall. As with most cities anything that looks good is pre war era.
alas it is a long time since it has been "grand". It should be called "The below average" now
American here. Isn't it trashed due to the Afgan immigrants? That's what we are hearing across the pond. Beautiful history and hotel. Thanks
No, it’s been pretty grim for a number of years. It’s very expensive to maintain, and consecutive owners just haven’t kept it up for a lot of years.
Brit here. My wife and I stayed here in the early 2000s and I can say that anything it's current guests can do would likely improve it. A beautiful building with an interesting history but sadly neglected.
It was utter nonsense used to drum up hate, it's been on the decline for over 60 years (due to package holidays)
@@JayCee-tp2gv how are they illegal do you not know how asylum seeking works... Are you that uneducated on the topic?
There are 8,000 Afghan Refugees all of them former UK staff and their families, they are at risk in Kabul. Once these well educated people have been processed, they will become productive members of our society and hopefully when the Taliban government topples they can return to their homes. Meaning the cost to the UK was extra tax review, a reduction in areas that are lacking skilled workers.
But hay that's the simple, geographical political and economic reality.
A great informative video. The presenter’s engaging style and tone of voice kept my attention to the end. Well done, mate.
Thanks Martin!
Fascinating. What a marvellous piece of Victorian engineering and architecture. It is absolutely captivating. In fact I always wanted to go to Scarborough just to see the hotel.
Dirty protests being left on the top 2 floors by the current residents the Afghans at the not so very grand hotel in Scarborough atm. Their making £250 per person per night for each Afghan though so it's not all bad news, lol.
Stayed in this hotel a few years ago and it was a horrible experience, comparable only to a stay in a different Britannia hotel in Scarborough. Such a shame that such a proud looking building is being run by them, and it's not the only one
I keep thinking the Yorkshire Wanderer can't get any better ... then he does! The Grand Hotel is a wonderful building, it's a crime that such a fantastic icon, so full of potential has been allowed to decline. Thank you Yorkshire Wanderer for giving us such an eye opener, incredibly interesting, if I'm honest it has made me emotional!
"They"gonna destroy Scarborough never mind the building. Feel for the residents that's for sure.
Whose ‘they’ ?
Dingy divers
@@tinadavies4195 I had heard about 2 or 3 years ago that these people were being accommodated in York and had caused problems of intimidation, theft and I'm sure rape !!
Could house our war veterans with service too.
@@Steampunksaly lily allen's fan club !!!
What a great vid, really enjoyed it. Iv stayed at the Grand a few times, always enjoyed myself and for what we've paid for the
room iv got no complaints. Cheap and cheerful in my experience is what it is, however id love to see someone chuck 200 million at the place which in reality is what it needs to bring it back to it's former glory..
Firstly, another excellent video!
It is indeed a very grand looking hotel, and the stairs & reception area you filmed back this up. However, it is the condition of the rooms that lets it down.
The fact it is owned by Britannia explains why it is in the state it is.
Everything they own falls in to disrepair, or look like the rooms have never seen a dust pan & brush. They own Pontins & The Norbreck Castle in Blackpool (another hotel that is slated every year for the condition of its rooms), need I say anymore?
True, the Norbreck is notorious too (Blackpool, we also have a Norbreck which is much better) That said, they also own the Royal, which is a good hotel 🤷🏻♀️
It is well known for grand out breaks of the winter vomiting bug. Local
Housing the dinghy divers and Afghans so they can claim a full re-fit on the taxpayer!
@@smiffymiffed2734 Indeed. As reported by the brilliant Alex Belfield earlier.
Norbreck Castle looks like Colditz !
I stayed at this hotel a few years ago. I think it's a remarkable building and the setting is just stunning. It's very atmospheric. I fell in love with Scarborough from the terrace of this magnificent hotel! Yes, it's no longer a high class affair, but the fabric of the building is still there...including the beautiful staircase, amongst other delights. Great video, thanks for sharing.
Unfortunately now the hotel is a hell hole of uncontrollable kids pissing all over the place. The place has been turned into an Afghan dump.
Excellent. I was in Scarborough briefly about 2 years ago. I live in New Zealand and was visiting my brother who lives in Whitby. Had I known about the hotel I would certainly have taken a close look. Thanks for this informative and interesting video.
Love the Grand. Stayed very recently and it was a treat. The staff were good, the room was really clean and warm and there were new carpets everywhere, and it was freshly painted. Food was good too. This was a fab look at this amazing place so cheers for this.
It's a national treasure, in that it's unique, it has a history, and is beautiful and ugly at the same time. It desperately needs renovation, and should be put ahead of some of the ugly modern art today, that has none of its attributes. It is iconic and a great attraction of Scarborough.
As a resident of Scarborough I thought you did a good job presenting the building. It is sad that it has attracted some bad press and it is probably unlikely to be a quality hotel in the future without massive investment. Thanks for the video.
Been Scarborough few times great to visit
Cheers John.
No mention of the illegals across the top 2 floors?? Running amock, forcing the cleaners 5o refuse to go into rooms?
@@andyboardman7052 People are trained to ignore the obvious these days(It's a career decision for many)
@@andyboardman7052 Demolish
Now full of refugees
If only it was given to national trust who could give this amazing historical building a lifeline & return to its former splendor it would be an amazing visitor attraction for Scarborough
The National Trust isn't made of money.
On the other hand , Donald Trump might buy it ... is there space to build a golf course nearby ?
DadgeCity well one would think The National Trust was made of money 💰. Their prices are not realistic. Outside of the pockets of the Working Classes. I have stayed there when Butlins owned it. It’s an imposing building.
Terrible hotel group britania hotels ,all there hotels are run down,,they also have butlins Wich is in a hell of a state
National trust pretty much can only take buildings that come with significant endowments . They really are incredibly short of money. Property and collection staff are thin on the ground.
The prices for visiting keep pace with other attractions but don’t fill the holes in the budget. And as others have stated are very high for a single visit. Only becomes economical if you get a years membership and visit multiple sites.
Running and maintaining buildings and collections are very expensive and logistically complicated. Expertise is expensive to develop and increasingly hard to buy in as the heritage industry can’t support people long enough to develop skills, it’s all short contracts.
And yes, I used to work for them, and afterwards used to be a member. Now I can’t afford it!
Two floors have been given up to afgans !!, apparently the cleaners won't enter the rooms cause of the state of them !!!
That is good news, I hope for them it may seem like a little luxury after their horrendous ordeal. Great to know the U.K. has not turned its back on them.
Extremely well done and very informative. Can’t believe this amount of work with so little resources can be achieved by one person. Awesome
Thanks Peter!
I fully agree, it makes you wonder why the BBC pays some of their staff millions of pounds each for producing material nowhere near as good as this?
We stayed in The Grand earlier this year although its obvious the hotel has seen better days our room was excellent with an amazing view and the staff were very friendly and helpful
That's actually nice to hear.
Was that before or during the dinghy peoples being put up there for a reported £250 a day ?
@@JAM3586 someone said they have the top 2 floors but there has been reporting blackouts about problems they were causing !!
Another source said these hotels have a deal that they'll take these folks at £250 a day and they are to get a tax payer paid for refurbishment in the future when they run out of dinghy people !!
@@jimking3288Tory right wing racist overtones pathetic !
Not often I see positive comments about a Britannia hotel lol. We’re you sober at any point?
The basement levels were discussed in a recent Scarborough history group and someone said they'd seen original Victorian bathing machines still inside.
Could they not be refurbished
I worked in the lowest area of that hotel , we had to go thru the wall to get in there sealed up long ago , there is only rail tracks down there and trash ! the crooks in charge of that job (Tim + Ian) sold all the stone from the other floors which twisted and warped all the beams costing thousands to put right
@@rizla9986 Where did the rail tracks go to?
@@alisonlee3314 the rail track go towards the sea ,there was chalet type things they pushed towards the sea ran on the tracks , there is a grand entrance behind that brickwork decaying away you can see it was once the main feature of the building now sadly in disrepair and hidden behind brickwork
@@rizla9986 Very interesting.
Thank you for your reply.
I always think it's a shame when beautiful buildings are neglected....but the upkeep must be horrendous.
Maintenance is the key with buildings. Let's hope it's not allowed to deteriorate further.
Once again. Thank you for your prompt reply 😊
This is an excellently filmed and presented video. Fascinating history. Keep up the good work!
Thanks Glynn!
Is this the hotel now full of refugees?
Yep!
And not a single mention of the Afghan Refugees staying in this hotel who are causing no end of anguish to guests.
Just like in Sweden. Shhh
*Waycist*
I live here and you're talking nonsense.
@@daftdigital in 2021, locals raged that the hotel firm's 'Asylum King' owner, multi-millionaire tycoon Alex Langsam, had filled it with Afghan refugee families.Apr 10, 2024
Fantastic hotel, and very interesting to see it's owned by the Britannia hotel chain. I live in Eastbourne, and we have a similar hotel - The Cavendish - on our seafront. Another grand old building desperately in need of some TLC by Britannia.
Gaynor - I worked at the Cavendish for 22 months & it is a shame the state of the hotel but the miserable old git of an owner doesn’t give a shit about guests or staff,
Sorry to hear that. Such a lovely hotel, such a shame..
Britannia are no doubt an awful hotel operator as most people would admit, but when it comes to the condition of the building itself, I wonder if there is much they can really do. To fully restore a building that size would take likely tens of millions, and in a town like Scarborough there is just no way that the occupancy rates and room rates would be sufficient to recoup that investment, IMO.
Brilliant Video. I'm a local photographer specialising in sunrise photography around the Scarborough coastline. However, if it is a cloudy morning I look for something else to photograph. One early morning I found myself in the Grand before the guests got up and I had an amazing time photographing the ground and first floor areas devoid of people. A brilliant experience.
Thanks Cliff! I love your work and follow your Facebook page. I've not seen your photos inside the Grand so I'll try to find them.
This week the Grand hotel was evacuated due to a bomb threat .. The Afghani refugees living there at a cost to the tax payers of £250.00 a head per day, did not appreciate any of the finer details you so eloquently explain here ..
I stayed at the Grand Hotel in the early 70s with my mother ..
I thought it was exquisite if some what degraded by then..
Strange times now..
Your video is excellent and much appreciated.
£250 per night*
@@captainshakesbeard9867 yes that’s correct..
Ive made a mistake, thanks..
It is £250.00 per DAY!..
Mind boggling isn’t it..
Thank you.
Full of Afghan immigration now. Look on Trip Advisor. They are absolutely ruining it. But for each person including meals the government have given a 6 month occupancy for taking up the top two floors. I do feel for these immigrants but it's our tax money that's being wasted here. The hotel make a fortune and get the rooms refitted afterwards as they know they'll get ruined. Great video though..keep up the good work.
Well according to TripAdvisor as well, people were complaining just as much before, it's just the blame was at the foot of others.
Secondly what do you mean they know the rooms will get ruined, what do you think a group of non drinking, non smoking, non gambling group of people are going to do? Staff take pictures of the problem with the hotel often it's damp patches, rotten beems, not people just existing.
Why the Tory government put them in a very expensive hotel i don't know, although if Britannia Hotels isn't a tory doner I will be very suprised.
Refugee camp
Wow that’s fantastic! I never knew most of that. I stayed there several times as a kid with my Grandparents and remember them waltzing together in the ballroom. Happy days!
Really enjoyed this. History is so interesting, the opportunity to learn. Thanks, keep 'em coming
Britannia Hotels - say no more!
What an amazing building though. It's a shame what happened to the lower section. It seems as though it was abandoned too hastily and now is a bit of an eyesore at street level.
you are right been sorely neglected we stayed there a while ago place smelled of old people and cabbage. thankfully we were only there a couple of nights. Would be a stunning hotel if it had the right owner and investment.
It’s a beautiful building. Sad to hear it’s been neglected.
When i saw Britannia on the floor entrance matt i did think ohh
They need to spend money on windows ..one day a rich person will make good of them 😊
Another great video, thank you. Your direct delivery is so refreshing, and the perfect antidote to so many over-excited hosts on this platform.
We went to an end of University ball there, from Leeds, in 1995. I think the degree course had been banned from the Harrogate hotels for bad behaviour! From what I can remember the hotel wasn’t too bad then.
I’m sure these videos take loads of work, but keep them coming, please.
Thanks Lee! Plenty more to come!
Stayed in Scarborough in the summer, wonderful place. Had a look round the Grand and thought it was a magnificent building but unfortunately shabby, what a shame. Thanks for the vid, very interesting
Back in the late 1950s, I had afternoon tea at The Grand, and that was a special occasion. Silver service, tiny cakes on multilayered glass plates with lace doilies
Rumoured to be top two floors full of young men handy in English channel dinghy crossing skills.... All paid for by the UK taxpayer. Fantastic 🤦
I believe it was styled after the "Villa Eugenie" built by the Empress Eugenie of France as her winter rertreat at Biarritz on the South West coast of France which was begun in 1854, and greatly expanded in the 1860s. Eugenie was then considered the most glamorous and perhaps beautiful women in Europe at the time. It is now a very luxurious hotel the "Hotel du Palais"
What an interesting and informative video and so well made.
I've stayed in the Grand, not by choice, but as a coach driver. The lower levels have rooms without windows! They are usually given to the drivers. I had a room with no window, but someone had drew a window on the wall! Another time I got a room with water running down the wall. Most drivers won't eat in the hotel. Britannia hotels are the worst and I can't understand people who go to their hotels.
yes ,who wants to go on a mystery tour and end up here,not me,sad really as ive always loved this iconic building
I agree with you This Hotel used to be Lovely My Husband and I went quite a few Times when they had Table Service for coaches But it all Changed when Brittana Taken over
Can't believe Why they would Neglect such a Beautiful Building
As for your experience in staying there is not good for the Drivers as well
We found the Staff very helpful But I think very understaffed .
It's a sad fact but true that this is the curse of sea side towns. The hotels are taken on by those who want them as a cash cow, but to put nothing in. So over the years they just fall into disrepair. The best they can hope for is a lick of paint to make the front and reception look presentable. In the end they are just whited sepulchers. This Hotel is Grade 2 listed, which doesn't mean much it should be Grade1. Once holidays abroad became the vogue, they were doomed.
I worked for Britannia Hotels back in the 80's in management when at least the properties they owned then were in decent condition, we were always understaffed and resourced poorly, the owners didn't care about the guests or the staff and would often leave members of staff in tears or shocked by their treatment, in one hotel I had to take the keys off a General Manager and lock him out of his office on the instructions of one of the owners as he was sacked without any warning by them.
I think I've stayed in the Grand Wet room too. (share - a - shower we called it)
Stayed there a few times with my sister we loved it. Staff very friendly, meals well prepared and rooms clean
They're packing sa\/ages into this hotel and staff will call you a "racist" if you complain about the chaos.
Thank you so much for making this video Andrew. I'm from the north east myself, but had no idea about the history of this most majestic landmark. An illuminating, fascinating and beautifully made film. Absolutely terrific!
Thanks Andrew.
Look at it now: overrun by 150 Afghans and their kids at a government payment of 250 pounds a night. Top 2 floors.
Interesting stuff, an exploration of the lower levels would be amazing.
Yes, it would be great to do!
It's widely known in Scarborough that there's at least 3 lower levels totally submerged,such a shame but it would take tens of millions to restore and update to modern standards.
We took over the land the seagulls use to nest on…. Now they nest on the building.. boo hoo..
And online reviews for this hotel paint a different picture now….
Seems the new gimmegrant arrivals are wrecking it and terrorising the paying guests….
Very interesting, I've always loved this building, I'd love to see what's below it 😀
This hote is currently been smashed up by afgan freeloaders!
Wow loved this . Never stayed at the grand but have heard bad things in recent years shame as such a magnificent hotel . Needs alot of money spending on it to bring it back to its former glory . Would love to see you do a ghost Hunt very interested in that type of thing X
My wife and I absolutely love Scarborough, it’s one of our Favourite get always.
And maybe just maybe one day we might stay at the Grand, but unfortunately we love to stay on the North Bay.
Great views and lovely B&B’s
Always making you welcome and can’t do enough for you.
So Here’s to our beautiful Scarborough 👍👍
A fascinating video of an iconic building. I do so love Scarborough, memories of many lovely holidays on the North York Moors! Top video!
Thanks Mark.
I am just now finding your channel, Andrew. What a first video to watch as a newcomer. I love seeing old grand hotels such as the Grand, and I am glad to see this beauty is being kept open in spite of the critical reviews, ...haters will hate regardless. Looking forward to watching more of your videos. Slàinte🏴
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
I love Scarborough, and I really enjoyed this, thank you!
Cheers Jason!
Another wonderful video, I’ve been totally immersed for the whole video, which isn’t normally me. What an impressive building, is it not a listed building ? With having so much history, and splendid Victorian design and construction surely it will never be demolished? Your drone work was amazing, and the history of all those famous people was wonderful. Thank you you do an awesome job ❤️
Thanks Rachel! Glad you enjoyed it. Yes, the building is listed so you'd hope it will be protected.
Grade II listed.
Thank you. It is an amazing building, and i would hate to see it gone. Sadly i was compelled to give it a scathing review after staying in a loft room, largely on fire safety grounds, bearing in mind the fire alarm went off 4 times in the depths of the night and nearly knocking myself out, jumping out of bed in the tiny room, hitting my head on the window recess.
Surely one reason for building it in a V-shape would be to let natural light into more rooms? Especially in the Victorian era before electric light became more widespread.
V for victoria (Queen at the time)
I stayed at the grand hotel for a while two years ago. I really hope it gets renovated to it's once iconic status.
BRILLTASTIC video. I'm now subscribed.
Thank you for this. I was amazed at the beauty of the building inside and out. What a pity the current owners of the hotel don't look after such a treasure. These buildings are nearly impossible to find now. ❤
Greetings from Costa Rica😎
Thanks heaps for sharing this with us. Love anything British. Greetings from communist Australia.
Cheers Craig.
It’s definitely an impressive building in need of good care!
History always seems to fade away if we don’t keep on top of it.
Great video. 👍🏼🙂👍🏼🙂