Torquay to get a Hotel Indigo in late 2025

IHG has announced that it is to open a Hotel Indigo in Torquay.

The 153 room hotel is due to open later this year.

Why so soon? Let’s take a look.

For reasons I’ve never fully understood, a lot of hotels only sign with a brand when they are already well into construction. This isn’t ideal, because it means that the brand owner has little chance to influence the layout or design of the hotel.

I think – although for clarity there is no evidence that this is the case here – that it can often happen under pressure from lenders. If a project goes over budget and requires additional funding, signing with a major international brand will give the banks more confidence that the hotel will succeed.

In this case, Fragrance Group has been redeveloping the Corbyn Head Hotel in Torquay for a number of years. Construction was reported to have started in 2022 and should have completed last year.

The old hotel is pictured above, which had bedrooms like this:

…. so the redevelopment into this:

…. is a major improvement.

The image above, which is the only one that IHG supplied, is badly chosen! The hotel appears to occupy a decent spot with views over the bay.

I had a dig around and found this impression from 2022 which makes it seem a lot more appealing:

150+ new four star hotel rooms is good news for Torquay, and good news for HfP readers who want to use points for a good quality UK seaside hotel.

My only concern, with the hotel possibly only four months or so from opening, is whether there will be a single thing about it which shouts ‘Hotel Indigo’ apart from the sign above the door.