Whitbread has confirmed it has plans for a 108-bedroom hotel in Hunstanton under its Premier Inn brand, ending months of speculation.
The hotel would be located on the resort’s Southend Road which is currently a car park.
Paul Smith, acquisitions manager for Whitbread, said: “Hunstanton is one of the UK’s best-known seaside destinations and a place we’ve wanted to bring Premier Inn to for some time.
“It attracts visitors from across the east of England and beyond, yet it does not currently offer any branded hotel rooms to visitors.
“We believe a Premier Inn in Hunstanton would be a great addition to the town’s tourism offer, providing visitors with the quality, value and reliability they expect from the UK’s leading hotel brand while helping to support local businesses, jobs and year-round economic activity.
“The Southend Road site presents an excellent opportunity to bring Whitbread’s significant, multi-million-pound investment into the town and create new accommodation that can support both leisure visitors and those travelling to the area for work.”
If granted planning permission, the hotel would be the first Premier Inn to open on the north Norfolk coast and the first in the county since Great Yarmouth Seafront in 2019.
Simon Ring, deputy leader of West Norfolk Council and its cabinet member for business, said the UK’s largest hotel chain confirming plans to invest in Hunstanton was “a vote of confidence in the resort’s future”.
He added: “This is huge news for Hunstanton, the culmination of years of discussions between the council and Premier Inn, and I’m so proud the agreements are finally in place, subject to formal planning consent.
“The exciting opportunity we’ve unlocked for Hunstanton is a major investment in the year-round local visitor economy and jobs, that will complement very well the existing offer in Hunstanton and our emerging Masterplan vision that’s currently out to consultation with the community.
“Through increasing overnight visitor stays and bed spaces, surrounding cafes, restaurants, shops and tourist attractions will benefit from increased footfall and spend.”
The hotel would be built on the Seagate East Car Park, which the council has described as “generally underutilised”.
Premier Inn currently operates nearly 850 hotels across the UK and is focused on expanding in areas with high visitor demand but limited branded accommodation.