The Grosvenor Hotel has its first––and perhaps last––resident in almost two decades. 30-year-old Tom moved into the hotel after finding one of the bottom-level doors unlocked. This 150-year-old hotel was once one of the finest hotels in the city, and Tom has it all to himself.
The Grosvenor Hotel, despite once being a grand destination of luxury for visiting guests, has since fallen into disrepair. In the twenty years since it last hosted guests, the Grosvenor’s furniture has begun to rot, the original carpeting has entirely disappeared, and graffiti adorns the walls in place of wallpaper. Plants grow between the cracking walls and decade-old mattresses sit against the walls at odd angles, coated in thick blankets of dust.
Since living in the hotel, however, Tom has taken on the project of cleaning up the space. “I’m gradually, slowly tidying up each room one at a time,” Tom said on his repairs of the hotel.
The hotel’s age, however, works to Tom’s detriment, as well as to his benefit. Due to neglect, the hotel is missing ceilings, and the floors are unstable in many spots. Despite the potential for danger, Tom has created a place of safety and comfort, though.
His living room boasts a sofa, a table, and a few chairs. Tom painted a few of the walls. He also has a bedroom, complete with a mattress (topped with real blankets, this time, not dust), a desk, and curtains over the windows. The toilet, sink, and bath are operable, as well, although they have certainly seen cleaner days.
“You can tell this place used to be the real créme de la créme,” Tom reported. “Some of the wood, the dark mahogany wood, the wallpaper, the ornateness around the high ceilings, the detailed work. There is so much heritage here. The people who have come through this place are amazing.”
“This is a wonderful building, there’s loads to it that I really enjoy. And to have a safe space inside.”
Tom originally found the hotel when he came to Bristol six weeks ago. After leaving rehab, Tom found himself without a support system or place to go. Tom was walking down an alley next to the structure when he found a key card for the hotel. Upon using it, he found the door open.
“Maybe this hotel could be an answer to some short-term problems,” Tom said. He thinks the hotel could be put to use as housing for displaced Ukrainians.
First built in 1875, the Grosvenor Hotel is home to 70 bedrooms and served as a luxury stay for visitors to the city, especially with its close proximity to the Temple Meads train station. Over 150 years later, however, the hotel is considered an ‘eyesore’ in the city.
Despite Tom’s personal hopes for the space, the Grosvenor Hotel is facing a threat of redevelopment. The building is part of a planning row in which a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) will acquire the Grosvenor land in order to redevelop it.
The CPO redevelopment scheme is estimated to cost between £16.67m and £19.67m and promises “significant city benefits.” Included in the project, according to city officials, is “long term economic growth driven by the George and Railway project alongside the wider regeneration achieved through a joint development and land agreement.”
A formal decision regarding the hotel’s future has yet to be figured, giving Tom additional time with the space. The Bristol cabinet will consider the proposal soon.
Bristol City Council senior development surveyor Jan Reichel is avidly pushing for the redevelopment of the building: “The development will have the potential to achieve high sustainability outcomes, based on design proposals and the excellent accessibility of the developments at the heart of the Temple Quarter…”
Meanwhile, the Grosvenor exists as a place of respite and safety for Tom. “I often think about the transition between the people on the outside of the building going about their day to day, trying to race for something,” Tom mused.
“I’m sat here with infinite time, trying to collect myself in my own bits of meditation, but at the same time feeling like I can keep myself busy as there’s a lot to do.”
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