Holiday firm owner's 'gamble' to give Torbay £3million shot in arm

One of Torbay's most successful and resilient holiday companies plans to give the English Riviera a £3million shot in the arm after taking a massive gamble - literally.

The owners of Majestic Tours decided to buy a rundown former casino next door to its Templestowe Hotel in Torquay in the middle of the pandemic.

Not only have they already spent £1million on refurbishing and carrying out essential repairs on the former Genting casino, they have also unveiled pioneering regeneration proposals to make the building and development fit for the 21s century.

They are hoping an 'Aparthotels' scheme - a cross between a hotel and self-catering apartments - will get the go-ahead from local planners to make sure their investment gamble pays off.

Majestic are no newcomers to doing things differently - they were the first nationwide to introduce 'tinsel and turkey' breaks and other themed holidays to successfully extend the holiday season across the quiet shoulder months.

Mark Wright now heads the company after both his parents, including company founder and dad Jim, both sadly passed away during Covid. He sponsors a lifetime achievement category at the Torbay Weekly Business Awards dubbed the 'Jimmy' award after his dad.

It was during the peak of Covid in 2020 that Genting Casinos decided to pull the plug on their Torquay operations at the top end of Abbey Road. People unable to actually visit the casino, switched to online betting.  

Mark says: " The old casino was put up for sale.  Although it might have looked glitzy on the inside, the building was in a sorry state of disrepair.  The main building, which had once been a hotel, had been ‘gutted’ some 30 years earlier to a state of non-economic repair.  The main casino had leaking roofs and windows and needed huge investment."  

Next door, The Majestic Templestowe hotel - one of the busiest coaching hotels in the Bay - had battled through Covid, although it was forced to remain closed for much of 2020 and 2021. At the time the Wrights decided to personally pay back hundreds of thousands of pounds to guests whose holidays were wrecked by Covid.

"Rumours were flying around that Genting were going to sell the old casino and there were potential buyers with plans to turn it into a homeless shelter or accommodation for asylum seekers, " said Mark. "Clearly, neither would be good options for the adjacent Templestowe."

The Wright family (owners of Majestic Tours and the Templestowe Hotel) had to make the difficult decision to bid for the casino property.  Mark said they knew it was going to be a 'monster of a financial commitment' but could see no other option than to take on a large gamble and purchase the casino, completing the sale in early 2021.

The Wrights have since spent over £1million on making the property watertight, removing dangerous infrastructure, rewiring, installing fire-systems, decorating the exterior, including the cost of scaffolding and connecting the old casino to the Templestowe Hotel.  "Effectively, it is now one building.  But, that is just the beginning - plans have now been submitted to take the property into the 21st Century, " says Mark.

"For 30 years, the three previous owners did not invest in reinstating the hotel portion of the casino building.  They just couldn’t make the figures work.   However, we saw an opportunity with the latest trend in holiday accommodation – ‘ApartHotels’. "

They are a cross between a hotel and self catering apartments - the fully serviced suites appeal to independent travellers and families. They provide an en-suite bedroom with a separate lounge and small kitchen servery.  But crucially, they also have access to the full offerings of a hotel; restaurant, bar, entertainment, 24-hour porterage, daily room servicing e.t.c.  

Mark says: "It is a scary project, with a cost of between £2million to £3million.  It is a whopping commitment.   The old casino itself will be transformed into a glorious, affordable, function suite.  With a capacity for up to 400 guests, it will be ideal for weddings, exhibitions, training sessions and corporate meetings.   We want to provide a venue where you can afford to buy a drink – a ‘special’ place that doesn’t cost the earth."

It is hoped there will be a total of 17 aparthotel suites; a mix of one and two bedrooms - with spectacular views across the Bay.  Mark admits: "There is some way to go.  Firstly, the hurdles of planning, and then finding the right firm of contractors to make the dream a reality. "

Nevertheless, he is not fazed.  "With a total belief in the potential of the English Riviera, I believe that if it is right for Torquay, it will happen.  If not, well, I have a very large space in which to play table tennis or take up yoga!"