The building now known as the Glass Tower Hotel has stood proudly on Blackpool’s Promenade for generations, welcoming visitors to one of Britain’s best-known seaside resorts. Long before its modern transformation, it was recognised as the Royal Carlton Hotel, one of the substantial promenade hotels that reflected Blackpool’s rise as the country’s premier holiday destination during the late Victorian and Edwardian eras.
As the resort expanded following the arrival of the railway, the South Promenade became lined with impressive hotels built to accommodate the millions of visitors arriving each year. Positioned between Central and South Piers, the Royal Carlton occupied one of the finest seafront locations, offering uninterrupted views across the Irish Sea and easy access to Blackpool’s famous attractions. The hotel became part of the familiar skyline of the Promenade and remained a well-known landmark for much of the twentieth century.
Throughout its history, the Royal Carlton welcomed generations of holidaymakers who travelled to Blackpool during the era of factory holidays and Wakes Weeks. Families from Lancashire, Yorkshire, the Midlands and Scotland returned year after year, helping establish the hotel as one of the many businesses that supported Blackpool’s thriving visitor economy. Like many of the resort’s larger hotels, it evolved with changing expectations, adapting its facilities while continuing to serve visitors as tourism changed throughout the decades.
The story of the building also reflected the wider fortunes of Blackpool itself. As overseas package holidays became increasingly popular during the second half of the twentieth century, many traditional promenade hotels faced declining visitor numbers and changing demands. Some disappeared altogether or were converted to other uses, while others struggled to compete with modern accommodation elsewhere.
The former Royal Carlton entered a new chapter in 2025 when it was purchased by Central Beach Leisure Ltd., led by Blackpool entrepreneur John Westhead together with Elishar Westhead and their business partners. Rather than replacing the historic building, the new owners committed to an extensive programme of restoration and redevelopment designed to create a luxury boutique hotel while preserving its prominent position on the Promenade. The project represented an investment of approximately £3.5 million and formed part of a wider ambition to raise the standard of visitor accommodation within the resort.
Working alongside Joseph Boniface Architects, the building underwent a comprehensive transformation that reimagined both its exterior and interior. The redevelopment introduced a contemporary Art Deco-inspired design, 38 luxury bedrooms and the XI (Eleven) Bar and Restaurant overlooking the Promenade, combining modern facilities with the building’s long-established role as one of Blackpool’s seafront hotels.
When the Glass Tower Hotel opened in 2026, it represented far more than the refurbishment of an individual property. It demonstrated how one of Blackpool’s historic promenade hotels could be successfully adapted for a new generation while remaining part of the town’s architectural heritage. At a time when many traditional hotels have disappeared from the seafront, the former Royal Carlton continues its long history of welcoming visitors, albeit in a very different style from the one first experienced by holidaymakers more than a century ago.
Although much is known about the hotel’s recent redevelopment, parts of its earlier history remain to be uncovered. Further research into local newspapers, trade directories, planning records, historic maps and postcards is expected to reveal the exact date of construction, the architect responsible for its design, its earliest owners and managers, notable guests and the many changes the building experienced during more than a century on Blackpool’s famous Promenade. As that evidence emerges, the story of the Glass Tower Hotel will become an even richer chapter in Blackpool’s remarkable hospitality history.
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