History

Park Hotel History

Welcome to our history page, we would like to invite anybody who is interested whether you are a previous guest or a local resident of Torbay to e-mail us at webmaster@thepcgp.co.uk with any information/pictures about Park Hotel's history, or any happy memories of holidays in days gone by. If your item is suitable we will add your contribution to this page for all to enjoy.

Park Hotel was originally 5 elegant terraced houses which were built in 1884, each house had its formal rooms with ornate plaster work, high ceilings and large fireplaces which were typical of the Victorian era, they also had their own servants quarters around the back, these were attached to the main houses by corridors and had their own separate staircases giving out of sight independent access to the servants ground and 1st floor rooms.

During the early 1900's we believe the 5 houses were knocked through to form 1 large imposing building which became Park Hotel.
In 1944, GI's from the 460th Amphibian Truck Company of the US army were billeted at Park Hotel whilst carrying out military operations in Torbay.

Park Hotel has been providing guest accommodation to holiday makers for over 70 years and commands arguably one of the best positions on Paignton seafront.

Methodist Holiday Hotels LTD ran the hotel as a Christian establishment for many years, more recently the hotel was taken over by David and Suzanne Schofield and they continue to run it as a family hotel along the same lines. Sadly, over the years as the hotel has been 'modernised' by it's previous owners, many of the period Victorian features including fireplaces and ornate plaster work have been ripped out.

The good news is that the present owners are busy recreating and restoring some of the period features and adding a few features of their own as the hotel undergoes an ongoing program of restoration and refurbishment.