The Victorian hotel guest in Llandudno arrived by railway, with trunks that were wheeled along the promenade to their hotel rooms on the seafront. Hotels had been built in the 1860s and ’70s to cater for the new train travellers coming to enjoy the resort. New attractions in the town had been developed for them: the pier and access to good quality water for bathing.
If you enter that hotel today, the sensation for the Victorian hotel guest’s relatives today would be one of familiarity. Much would surprise and delight the visitor of the 1870s. For the Best Hotel in Llandudno, consider https://stgeorgeswales.co.uk
The new building is of much the same proportions, facade and arrangement as the hotel of the 1870s. Today’s grand hotel performing the same function as a base for a stay on the seaside promenade, is in that same street. The choice of architecture on show conveys the same sense of civic ambition as did the earlier hotel.
Much about the hotel experience today is different to what the visitor of the 1870s would have experienced. Modern comfort, such as central heating, plush mattresses, fireplaces and a warm staff all contribute to a modern feeling of hospitality.
The experience of food in the hotel is also different, in terms of both variety and informality.
What would surprise the Victorian hotel guest’s relatives today would be how little has changed in the external circumstances of hotel goers. They arrive the same way, on the railway. They stay in a hotel in the same street, on the promenade. The bay is still there; the Great Orme still dominates it.
The reasons for going on holiday in Llandudno in 1870 are the same reasons today that people choose Llandudno as a destination.
