9:00pm Thursday 9th July 2009
By Alex McNally
HOTELS and guest houses in Southend have been booming, thanks to last week’s heatwave.
As the country sizzled, with temperatures in the south east of England soaring to 32C, tourists have been flocking to the town’s seafront.
Many hotels were fully booked and had to turn disappointed holidaymakers away.
One of those with no vacancies was the 55-bedroom Westcliff Hotel, in Westcliff Parade.
General manager Roberto Ross said: “It has been extremely busy.
“The majority of our business is corporate bookings and weddings.
“The good weather has helped. We haven’t been touched by the recession, thankfully.
“There are a lot of reasons to come to Southend. It is the closest seaside resort to London, and there are a lot of things to do.”
The Roslin Beach Hotel, in Thorpe Bay, has been booming to such an extent it has expanded into the house next door, adding extra capacity to its existing 58 rooms.
The hotel’s sales manager Jacqui Harris said: “It has been a fantastic year. The hot weather has really helped, but we also get a lot of people who come once and keep coming back.
“The hotel has been fully booked for the past two weeks, and we have limited availability for the rest of summer.
“Southend has a lot to offer and we have a spectacular hotel. When you are sitting on the terrace, guests have commented you could be sitting anywhere in the world.”
The new part of the hotel, called the Beach House, will open at the end of the month, with nine rooms.
The budget Travelodge chain reported its busiest week this year at its coastal resorts.
Its Southend property has seen a surge in online and walk-in bookings, making it the seventh-busiest in the country.
Reservations director Mark Kemp said: “As temperatures have risen, Britons have been flocking to the beach to bask in the sunshine.
“We have seen a surge in online and walk-in bookings over the past few days at our coastal locations.
“Sun worshippers have taken a spontaneous trip to the beach and decided to stay over, so they can make the most of the heatwave.”
The success of the town’s hotels will give renewed confidence in plans to open more places to stay.
The landmark Palace Hotel, in Pier Hill, is being restored and will reopen later this year as the Park Inn Southend, part of the Rezidor group.
There will be 137 bedrooms, with conference facilities for 200 delegates and a 120-seater first-floor restaurant and bar area, open to the public.
At the top of the hotel, 28 luxury flats have been built, which will be managed separately to the hotel.
And plans to convert the town’s former Prudential insurance building into a 119-bedroom budget hotel have been submitted to Southend Council.
The 1960s office block, in Elmer Approach, has been vacant for more than ten years, apart from the ground floor which is occupied by Storm nightclub and Funky Doos hairdressers.
Plans submitted by the building’s owners, Squarestone, include three floors of office space, with the hotel, run by the Premier Inns group, taking the remaining five floors.
More than six million visitors come to Southend each year, attracted by seven miles of coastline, the longest pleasure pier in the world, and more than 80 parks and green spaces.
Southend Council leader Nigel Holdcroft said: “There have been events planned throughout the year, concentrating on the summer months, such as the Festival of the Air, which have attracted tourists.
“The number of visitors to Southend is impressive, but I still think we can improve on it.
“I don’t think we have reached the capacity yet.”
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