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‘Fawlty Towers’ hotel lies empty after council rejects plans
Plans to turn the hotel which inspired the Fawlty Towers sitcom into a retirement home have been rejected by councillors.
The Gleneagles Hotel, in Torquay, Devon, is currently vacant after owner Oceana Hotels was unable to find a buyer.
A plan by Churchill Retirement Living to turn it into 36 retirement homes was rejected after councillors criticised the design as bulky and lacking character and distinctiveness, reports the Daily Mail.
Kevin Wood, managing director of Oceana Hotels, said they had hoped for a positive decision from planners, but would now look at their options which could include re-opening at Easter.
Staff at the venue have been given the choice to transfer to the group’s other hotels in Bournemouth.
Mr Wood said: "It is a difficult location to run a hotel being a mainly residential area and we have tried our best."
John Cleese based Fawlty Towers on Hotel Gleneagles after staying there with the Monty Python team in 1973.
Former co-proprietor Donald Sinclair was the inspiration for the character Basil Fawlty.
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