We've applied to turn our award-winning Blackpool hotel into a private house - but you'll never guess why
A couple who have run a Blackpool hotel named Tripadvisor’s Best of the Best three years in a row have applied to turn into a private house – for reasons you would never expect.
Chris and Christine Rinder have made a huge success of their seafront Blackpool hotel, with a string of awards to their name.
But the couple, whose Fossil Tree Hotel was named Tripadvisor’s “Best of the Best” for three years in a row, have applied to Blackpool Council for planning permission to turn it into a private house.
The pair, who have spent three decades in the hotel trade, have made no secret of their plans to retire. Last year they put the hotel up for online auction with, starting bids from £400,000.
But they noticed that the former hotels in their row had become private houses, with one similar property to theirs fetching £600,000.
Chris said: “It doesn’t really make sense that a hotel, with its good name as a thiving business and all the high quality furnishings, should fetch around £200,000 more if it was a private house.
“It seems that buyers will pay more for a nice big house than they will if the same property is a hotel.
“So we’ve decided to apply to Blackpool planners for planning permission for it to become a house – as an option for a potential buyer.
“If that is what they want for the property, they would have that choice. We’re just waiting for planning permission to be granted
“The hotel has been up for auction since last year, but despite plenty of expressions of interest, a buyer still hasn’t come in.”
In the meantime, the much-loved and highly rated hotel will still be trading until the end of the year.
Chris said: “Bookings are still coming in, right up until October, but this is likely to be our final year.
“We’re both coming up to sixty and we are looking to retire at the first opportunity.
“We’ve had a good run and have loved our time here. We’ve even been told there could be yet another award!”
Reviewers have praised the hotel’s welcoming atmosphere and warm service.
Chris said: “It’s been lovely to have the accolades and get that kind of feedback to what we’ve put in over the years.”
The couple have a house near Wrea Green and will be remaining on the Fylde coast.
Regarding the plans for the hotel, couple are seeking permission for the erection of a single-storey extension to the front elevation with a balcony above and use of premises as altered as a single private dwelling house, following demolition of front, side and rear extensions.
The application form, lodged on February 10, states that the plans entail “conversion of the hotel to a single dwellinghouse.”
Chris added: “Thankfully we are not in a conservation area, unlike further south alng the coast, so we have more freedom over our plans.
“We’re just waiting for permission from the council.”