Ravaged by fire in 2020, Bristol’s Guildhall is set to open as a luxury £20m Hotel Gotham by next year. The brand is favoured by celebs, with the Manchester Hotel Gotham featuring in BBC’s Peaky Blinders series, while its guest list has included Simon Cowell, Jennifer Hudson, Will.i.am and Robbie Williams
The Guildhall in Small Street was extensively damaged by a fire on Sunday 15 March 2020, when flames ripped through the building which saw over 50 firefighters at the scene. The roof of the historic Grade II listed building collapsed, while nearby student accommodation had to be urgently evacuated.
In January this year, work to convert the Guildhall into a hotel was underway. This was nearly a decade after plans were first introduced to transform the 13th century building, which was originally built for the Guild of Merchants.
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Plans were approved by Bristol City Council in 2013 to change the building into a 90 room hotel after it was sold to the Trevor Osborne Property Group which specialises in transforming historic properties into upmarket hotels. The proposal was put back on the table in 2021.
The new site is being developed by the Trevor Osborne Group and Marshall CDP and is expected to include 80 bedrooms. Business Live reported that the Manchester Hotel Gotham changed hands from Bespoke Hotels to Marshall CDP based in Yorkshire.
Bespoke Hotels will continue operating the venue as the franchisor for Hotel Gotham Manchester and Gotham Collection. A spokesman for Hotel Gotham said: “Such arrangement provides for the continuity in Hotel Gotham operations and allows both Bespoke Hotels Ltd and Marshall CDP Lds an opportunity to jointly focus on the future of Gotham Collection with one such project already in motion - Hotel Gotham Bristol due to open in 2024.”
Read next: Drone footage shows full extent of damage to Guildhall after fire ripped through it
Bespoke Hotels, based in Warrington, counts sites in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and the wider south west in its portfolio. It also represents 120 properties around the world and manages over 5,000 hotel rooms and employs 600 staff members.
The building was originally a medieval style structure, but was reconstructed into a gothic revival style building in the 19th century. It served as the city’s crown court for many years with the basement being used as a prison.
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