The Torquay hotel that inspired the hit 1970s sitcom Fawlty Towers has been sold for £1.5m to Churchill Retirement Living.
Savills acted on behalf of Brian Shone and Terrance Taylor, to sell Hotel Gleneagles, a 42-bedroom former boutique hotel with views over Anstey’s Cove.
The building closed permanently in January 2015 but was famous for moving actor and comedian John Cleese to write Fawlty Towers.
The site will be redeveloped as 32 retirement living flats, after planning consent was granted by Torbay council this summer.
Martin Rogers, hotels director at Savills, said: “Unfortunately, this hotel struggled to be profitable despite a significant injection of capital to complete a refurbishment programme a few years ago. The sale reflects the difference in value between its existing use and an alternative use, which very often in this sort of situation is residential.”
