DOVER KENT ARCHIVES

Sort file:- Dover, March, 2021.

Page Updated:- Wednesday, 31 March, 2021.

PUB LIST PUBLIC HOUSES Barry Smith and Paul Skelton

Earliest 1985+

(Name from)

County Hotel

Closed 2014

Townwall Street

Dover

http://www.county-hotel-dover.co.uk/

https://whatpub.com/county-hotel

County Hotel County Hotel

Above picture taken from Google maps, June 2009.

 

The "County Hotel" is situated the other side of the Burlington House and was built at the same time.

 

The information on their web site says the following:- The County Hotel is situated right in the centre of the modern shopping facilities of Dover, our friendly and comfortable hotel is within easy reach of the town's commercial centre. The famous White Cliffs and Dover Castle are nearby, and the hotel is a convenient place to stop if you are arriving or departing on the ferry and Channel Tunnel. The hotel is conveniently accessible via the M20 and M2 motorways and Dover rail station is just a quarter of a mile away. There is free parking at the hotel.

We have 79 fully serviced, comfortable and tastefully decorated bedrooms. You can also enjoy our indoor heated swimming pool which is the perfect place to relax, and the Health Club (opening soon) for those who wish to keep in trim.

After a day of business meetings or exploring the surrounding area, our Bar and Restaurant are the ideal spots to meet friends or colleagues for an informal drink, and to dine without having to leave the Hotel.

Whilst information from http://www.hotelscombined.co.uk says:- Set in the centre of Dover, the "County Hotel" Dover is within an easy drive of Crabble Athletic Ground. Guests can benefit from the on-site gym and indoor pool.

The "County Hotel" Dover offers a convenient 24-hour reception as well as a suit press, a lift and a concierge. For a fast and effortless arrival and departure experience, guests can take advantage of the "County Hotel" Dover's express check-in/check-out kiosk. Guests can stay connected with the hotel's standard Wi-Fi access.

All design rooms at the "County Hotel" Dover include a hair dryer, a private bathroom and a seating area in room. Extremely spacious rooms designed for families are provided on request.

The "County Hotel" Dover has an on-site restaurant, perfect for guests preferring to eat in. A bar is also at your disposal, and room service is provided 24 hours a day. Guests can also try one of the many bars and cafés in the vicinity.

The "County Hotel" Dover offers free parking for those travelling by car. Dover College and Dover Castle are less than a 20-minute walk away.

 

From the Dover Mercury, 12 July, 2012. 80p

HOTEL CALL FOR FIRE CREWS

IT WAS a case of deja vu for Dover Area crews when they were called out in the early hours of Friday.

They were sent to the "County Hotel" in Townwall Street, only a few days after attending a fire in the 12-storey Burlington House office block which towers above the hotel. The alarm was raised at 1am and guests had been evacuated when fire-fighters arrived to investigate the cause.

They discovered that a light fitting had overheated and people in the hotel had raised the alarm when they noticed what appeared to be a smell of burning.

 

From the Dover Express, Thursday, 19 July, 2012. 65p. Exclusive by Adam Westgarth

ZONE DELAY HITS TRADE FOR HOTEL

County Hotel owners

WE'RE STILL HERE: County Hotel owners Steve Christo people to forget we are here.” Patricia say they will be in business for two more years at and his wife

Uncertainty crashes bookings

DELAYS in the planning of the Dover Town Investment Zone (DTIZ) has slashed revenue for Dover's County Hotel, its owner has claimed.

Speaking to the Express, owner Steve Cristo says the number of wedding parties and functions booked at his Townwall Street hotel have fallen as the DTIZ development looms over the area.

Mr Christo has seen the number of functions drop from around 10 a year when he first took over the business a decade ago to just three in 2012 and is blaming the uncertainty over when the DTIZ is set to begin for the decline.

Revenue

He says revenue has been hit hard as the future of the "County Hotel" remains uncertain to customers and the public.

He said: “People read about the DTIZ plans and think it's going to happen tomorrow but that isn't the case.

“We've had people come in from Dover who thought we had closed down while wedding parties say they can't plan a wedding here because they don't know how much longer we're going to be around.

“On average a party costs £3,000 - multiply that by say 10 a year back when I started compared to just three a year now and you realise the sort of money were missing out on.

“But we're still here open for business - when I came here they were saying the DTIZ would start in 2007 but we're in 2012 now and it's still not here.”

The "County Hotel," which boasts a gym, a restaurant and bar, 75 rooms and an indoor swimming pool, has been in Dover since the 1970s.

But the business is not included in the DTIZ plans which include a 108-bed Travelodge hotel, shops and homes stretching from the BP garage on the corner of Wool-coomber Street to Mill Lane.

Mr Christo added: “I have 20 people working here but some of them are looking for other work - jobs with security and I don't blame them.

“The fact of the matter is the DTIZ isn't here yet and before it can be a compulsory purchase order will have to be made for the "County Hotel" and that will take two years to go through as we will be challenging it.

“That gives us at least two years of business so we're still here for the time being - we don't want people to forget we are here.

 

County Hotel Christies Resturant

Above showing Christo's Restaurant before closure.

County Hotel  swimming pool

Above showing their indoor heated swimming pool.

County Hotel  bedroom

Above showing one of the bedrooms.

County Hotel Recption

Above photo of the reception area.

County Hotel bar

Above photo showing the bar area.

From the Dover Mercury, 8 January 2015. By Victoria Chessum.

Hotel and staff have been great to me and my family.

Helen Alce

A Dover woman in temporary accommodation at the County Hotel has leapt to its defence after another resident branded the place “dirty” and “unsafe”.

Helen Alee has spent six weeks in the hotel with her pregnant daughter and son following separation from her partner.

Mrs Alee, formerly of St Radigunds Road, found herself homeless when she was served an eviction notice as the landlord needed the property vacant by a certain time.

But the care worker has praised the services at the hotel - contrary to a previous Mercury report that saw another resident, Emily Shephard, complain about its hygiene and safety.

Miss Shephard, also a mother of two, was deemed homeless after an eviction notice was served on her Devonshire Road property. She claimed that the landlord couldn’t afford the necessary repairs to a rising damp problem.

She was placed in the County Hotel for a few days before being relocated to the Regency Hotel in Bench Street. Her story has been followed by the Mercury, and Channel 5 has featured her in a documentary believed due to be broadcast later this month.

Mrs Alee said: “I’m a Dover District Council guest with medical problems and two children.

“I have to say in the six weeks I’ve lived there the staff have been fantastic, friendly and helpful. I feel they have been put in a bad light with only one person’s view.

“No one wants to be homeless and move the children out of their routine but unfortunately there is no choice.”

Mrs Alee has a slipped disc in her back and was off sick in December because of the pain.

She said that the hotelier allowed carers up to her room to help with her everyday routine despite it generally not being allowed.

She added: “When I first moved in here I was devastated, but this isn’t the council's or the hotel’s fault.

“The council has been completely up front with me - it said its not going to be an easy ride.”

Mrs Alee said she has accepted a property from the council but is unsure when she can move in as work is being done to it.

In response, Miss Shephard said: “Everything has been digitally documented.

“So I don’t need to add to that evidence.”

 

The hotel has now been totally demolished July 2015.

 

County Hotel

Above photo September 2015.

County Hotel demolition 2015

Demolition in progress, October 2015.

County Hotel site

Above photo November 2015.

 

LICENSEE LIST  

CHRISTO Steve 2012+

 

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