Plans unveiled for £20m redevelopment of former Hotel Victoria

Plans have gone on display showing how the former Hotel Victoria in Newquay and neighbouring buildings, including the Griffin Inn, could be transformed into a new 4 or 5-star hotel and apartments.

The Nicolas James Group, which operates The NICI, a 5-star hotel in Bournemouth, has completed the purchase of the seafront hotel, which closed in November 2024 and originally opened in 1899. The group aims to create 77 apartments to help fund a £20 million refurbishment of the main hotel, which would operate under its NICI brand.

Drew Wrintmore, Managing Director for Development and Construction at the Nicolas James Group, told Radio Newquay that the company is committed to running the site as a year-round hotel, with plans including a spa and a full internal refurbishment.

Modern extensions added to the site over the years, including Bertie’s Nightclub and Señor Dick’s Mexican Restaurant, would be demolished as part of the redevelopment.

Mr Wrintmore says the hotel has fallen into quite a bad state of repair with a "fair amount of water ingress and damp" in the top floors. The investment required to transform the building will be funded by the residential development.

While the Griffin Inn will remain open until development begins, Mr Wrintmore confirmed revised plans for that part of the site are smaller in scale than previous proposals by other developers, which had been criticised for competing visually with the surrounding townscape and nearby St Michael’s Church. He added that the hotel’s exterior would remain largely the same, with new windows and a potential switch from pebbledash to a render finish.

(PRESS PLAY below to hear more from Drew Wrintmore about the plans for the Hotel Victoria and Griffin Inn)

However, the plans have raised concerns - particularly around the scale and type of housing proposed.

Newquay Town and Cornwall Councillor Drew Creek said he welcomes the hotel’s regeneration and the standard of refurbishment, but expressed concerns about the residential element.

“It’s not what Newquay needs,” he said. “These will be high-end, luxury apartments that are out of reach for local people and families. What we need in Newquay is affordable homes. I understand the difficulty developers face in balancing profitability with the costs of refurbishing an old hotel - but we can’t ignore the housing need.”

Another town councillor also warned that contributions under Section 106 - a developer levy meant to fund local infrastructure and affordable housing - could be diverted to other parts of Cornwall, meaning Newquay could “miss out.”

When asked whether houses could be included rather than apartments, Mr Wrintmore said: “I think it would be very difficult to fit houses on the site. They would have to be apartments.”

Councillor Creek also raised concerns about the nearby Dinard Garden, a green space between the Griffin and the main site, which he warned “could be overshadowed” by the new development.

PRESS PLAY to hear more from Drew Wrintmore about the plans for the Hotel Victoria and Griffin Inn...