Historic Bognor hotel set for major revamp

The owner of the Royal Norfolk Hotel has taken down the 'for sale' sign after eight months and decided to pump in tens of thousands of pounds to revamp the distinctive building.

By summer, the results of the considerable investment will reveal a family-friendly destination ready for the predicted upsurge in English summer seaside holidays. The changes are due to be launched in July with a fireworks party.

The Rev Kevin Swadling, the hotel's managing director, said: "The trustees of Christ for the Nations UK agreed to take the hotel off the market and hire a hotel consultant to reposition the hotel to increase its market share of the leisure industry in the area and make it the centre of the community in the town.

"The trustees have instead decided to invest considerable tens of thousands of pounds in the town even though we are in the middle of an economic downturn.

"That shows how confident we feel about the future of the hotel and the future of Bognor as a viable tourist centre. The hotel and the town have a bright future."

It will be five years next month since Christ for the Nations UK bought the Royal Norfolk Hotel for 1.6m.

Christ for the Nations has used the iconic 19th-century seafront building, with 40 staff, as a combination of a Bible training college as well as a leisure destination for tourists and residents.

The three-star hotel has 42 rooms of which the average occupancy has climbed from 25 per cent in 2004 to 60 per cent recently. March saw a 75 per cent occupancy rate.

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