The Midland at Morecambe

The Midland Hotel in Morecambe was built in the early 1930's in the art deco style, and in its heyday must have been an impressive sight, with many famous people choosing to stay there. Morecambe lost its appeal in the 70s and 80s and the Midland fell into decline, only escaping the bulldozer because of its grade 2 listed status.

For many years it was an eyesore, but it has recently been cloaked by boardings whilst a multi million pound restoration project was carried out. Last month the hotel reopened for business, still in the 1930s style, and we were keen to pop along for a coffee and see the restoration for ourselves.

Morecambe has been making an effort in recent years to reverse its decline, and the new hotel should give the town a much needed boost by attracting people back to the resort. So what did we think of it? - well the restoration is undoubtedly a good thing and certainly the new hotel looks very impressive. Its location is fabulous with unparalleled views across the bay to the Lake District mountains looming large in the distance. Apparently the penthouse suite have private rooftop sun terraces, even including a hot tub (though how much they are used on chilly November days is still up for debate).

The exterior has been restored to its former glory, the only modern alteration being a large glass extended cafe on the ground floor. Inside, the famous circular staircase, where stars from the 30s such as Coco Chanel, Mrs Simpson and Noel Coward all trod, has been retained, as have the celebrated murels and frescos, although only a few are visible from the hotel lobby. Though impressive, the interior didn't quite meet our expectations as the seating in the foyer seemed quite out of place and there didn't seem much space.

Despite this we had high hopes on the service, even though we were only looking for a coffee, but again our experience didn't really match what we expected as the service was pretty much the same as in any other hotel across the country. What was missing was a little more of the 1930s atmosphere - a point picked up in this month's Lancashire Life, who suggest this is currently acknowledged by the hotel and being tackled.

I'm sure that once the hotel has been open for a while and things settle down then such teething problems will go away. A restored Midland is certainly a welcome sight and good news for Morecambe, so lets hope the Midland proves itself a success and brings much needed investment to the town.

For more information on the Midland Hotel, check out their website: Midland Hotel website