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A Hampton by Hilton hotel comes to Torquay

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Whilst this is now unlikely to happen before the 2020 Summer season, Hilton is gearing up to open a Hampton by Hilton hotel in Torquay.

The website is here.

Situated in the town centre, as part of a long-delayed redevelopment project, this is a new-build hotel.

The generally poor state of mid-market UK coastal holiday accommodation is well known – when I visit family in Scarborough I end up in the Premier Inn, the best hotel in town – so this will be a welcome boost.

Reader Matt sent me this picture of the construction work:

Hampton by Hilton Hotel Torquay

…. and here is an image of how it will end up:

Hampton by Hilton Torquay hotel

Torquay is currently undergoing a hotel renaissance of sorts.  The famous Palace Hotel, where I remember going for a conference whilst a student intern at KPMG back in 1990, is currently being demolished and will be rebuilt as a five star property by a Singaporean group.  No operator has been appointed.

Until that happens, the Hampton will give you an opportunity for a UK seaside break in a brand new hotel funded by your Hilton Honors points.

The hotel website is here.  It says it is due to open at the end of July but bookings are not being taken and I very much doubt that date will be hit.

PS.  My review of surprisingly impressive (and fairly new) Hilton Bournemouth is here and a review of the adjacent Hampton by Hilton Bournemouth is here.


How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards

How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)

There are various ways of earning Hilton Honors points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Hilton Honors Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Did you know that the Virgin Atlantic credit cards are a great way of earning Hilton Honors points? Two Virgin Points can be converted into three Hilton Honors points. The Virgin Atlantic cards are the only Visa or Mastercard products in the UK which can indirectly earn Hilton Honors points and they come with generous sign-up bonuses. You can apply here.

You can also earn Hilton Honors points indirectly with:

and for small business owners:

The conversion rate from American Express to Hilton points is 1:2.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Hilton Honors points

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)

Comments (58)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • BrightonReader says:

    Will I be able to see herds wildebeest sweeping majestically or the hanging gardens of Babylon from my room?

    Anyway only HFP could, in the same article, include high finance and restructuring of an airline with the opening of a hotel in an English sea side town and use roughly the same amount of words for each!

    • Anna says:

      Lol my initial reaction was also Fawlty Towers! But it’s probably going to be in a more pleasant setting than the one being built locally to us which overlooks a huge motorway roundabout.

      • Knuzden says:

        Would that be the Whitebirk roundabout Blackburn. Always assumed you lived in Manchester by reading your comments..

  • DS says:

    Hertz Global Holdings Inc. is heading for chapter 11, how will this various subsidiaries, franchisees etc.?

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/hertz-hires-additional-restructuring-adviser-for-planned-bankruptcy-11588624992?mod=lead_feature_below_a_pos1

  • tony says:

    If you do happen to find yourself in that part of the world before the Hampton Inn has opened, I can highly recommend the Cary Arms in Babbacombe.

    • CT says:

      If you want to overpay for average good and drink (with a nice view) The rooms are nice but apart from that. Unless of course you like a monster hill walk to get up to the top 🙂

      • Tony says:

        Each to their own, although walking up the hill is probably easier than driving up it!

        It’s not cheap but it’s not outrageous either and I think it’s very good quality all round. Problem is now I know it’s there, I won’t be rushing to try anywhere else. Also some well equipped self catering cottages attached, which we used on a family trip just after they (re) opened.

  • Mike says:

    I would be a bit cheesed off if the value of my shares had been wiped out

    • mark2 says:

      That is the risk that you take when you buy shares.

    • JohnG says:

      I’d be pleasantly surprised to be getting 5% of my previous share holding rather than exactly nothing which is what I had before the deal! Don’t buy shares if you don’t want to accept the risk.

    • Chrisasaurus says:

      Been left with less than 5.2% if they had gone bust…

  • Susan says:

    The replacement for the Palace looks ghastly: I adore good modern architecture but the new souless box looks totally out of keeping and irrlevant to its locale.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      Having googled to see just how gastly it was and will be I think its a vast improvement on the hotels current state.

      Also sound like the developer will build 4 hotels on/around the old site. I hope COVID19 hasn’t put the brakes on any plans

      • Andy P says:

        The consortium has 3 sites around Torbay. They are still working on the one on Paignton sea front but work seems to have slowed on the one near Livermead. All 3 sites are currently at demolition stage.

  • WillPS says:

    “Until that happens, the Hampton will give you an opportunity for a UK seaside break in a brand new hotel funded by your Hilton Honors points.”

    Also Blackpool, I stay there several times a year and I’m happy to recommend it. Hopefully my November booking goes ahead…

    • Anna says:

      Blackpool is in the top ten worst hit towns for COVID just now, I won’t be going anywhere near for some time. I hope it recovers though as it remains a hugely popular tourist destination and also has surprisingly good theatre.

      • WillPS says:

        Without wanting to go all Shoestring – I’m pretty sure I’ve had it and recovered (cough, temperature, sensation of pressure on lungs, fiancee working in Tesco amonst all the panic buying), so that doesn’t particularly concern me.

        Like you I hope the town gets better though. The level of poverty there is really quite shocking and I can’t imagine the current implications for the tourism sector have helped at all. If the dominos fall in the right order British seaside towns could be a net beneficiary of all this when all is said and done.

        • Anna says:

          I agree, and Haven will no doubt be charging a million quid for a week in a caravan in August 😂

      • ross says:

        Anna I thought you said yesterday everywhere outside London was like Scandinavia?

        • Anna says:

          There are obviously pockets of high infection and death rates but there are also towns with no recorded deaths at all. According to the ONS London has had between 80 and 90 deaths per 100,000 population, whereas the least affected area has between 10 and 20 so clearly there’s huge variation across the country.

      • Andrew says:

        It’s easy to identify the areas worst hit by covid. Just search for “IMD maps” and zoom in to find the areas in red.

        Smoke, Drink, drugs, general poor health and diet = Covid Victim.

        After this, I can’t see how any European Government can ethically allow tobacco to be sold or used in their country.

        • John says:

          The pro-smoking blogs seem to quote studies saying that smoking is actually a protective factor. I haven’t looked into it any further than a glance though. And obviously it doesn’t mean that taking up smoking now is going to protect you, like some of the more idiotic commenters are saying.

          • Relaxo says:

            Those claims based on a single French study. Not diminishing the findings, but definitely something worth investigating further

          • Lady London says:

            Radium baths were promoted as good for you too, once

          • Rob says:

            As was thalidomide, lead paint, lead in petrol and a few very dodgy fertilisers. Asbestos was quite a funky building material too not so long ago.

          • TGLoyalty says:

            Its not the crowd in the mainly outdoor space its the how you get to the stadium i.e. get on public transport, getting lifts with friends etc all in confined spaces and then what you do along the way like go to the pub or queue to get drink/food inside.

          • Chrisasaurus says:

            Well obviously, it’s be a safety risk smoking while you’re carrying petrol cans to torch mobile phone masts…

        • BrightonReader says:

          Thalidomide is an effective treatment for leprosy (though not used as much these days due to safe alternatives being available) and for certain types of blood cancers.

          Though it’s use is strictly controlled and monitored.

          • Dubious says:

            I was taught that a lot of those issues arose before the ‘precautionary principal’ came into the mainstream and before biological tests were required.

          • Dubious says:

            ( PS. No option to reply to the intended post, so I replied to yours…but without the precaution of a caveat )

  • Peter K says:

    I went to Torquay last year with family and was surprised that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Plenty to do and see.

  • NorwegianTraveller says:

    Has anyone received a refund for a cancelled Norwegian flight yet? I made my application several weeks ago now and not received anything…

    • MarkyT123 says:

      I received a refund last week, for a Norwegian flight they cancelled 21/3 – so took about 6 weeks. I part-paid with points but only received the cash element back (so far at least).

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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