About the Walpole Bay Hotel
The Walpole Bay Hotel was built for discerning guests in 1914, extended in 1927 and is now being lovingly restored to her former glory by the Bishop Family. It was built by Louisa Budge and stayed in her family until 1995 when we, The Bishops started our fairytale adventure.
From the moment you enter The Walpole Bay Hotel you step back in time to the ambience of a bygone era. Whether your visit be on business or for pleasure you will appreciate the level of comfort and service the Walpole provides, with our spacious lounges, flower decked veranda, Edwardian restaurant, snooker room and our 1920’s Ballroom with its original sprung maple dance floor. The Walpole has a full licence and two bars in which to entertain you. The Walpole’s wonderful 1927 Otis Trellis gated lifts serves all five floors and is the centre piece of our Museum. The Living Museum will eventually engulf the entire Hotel and it is most interesting browsing through our memorabilia and documentation or absorbing our educational displays on the Isle of Thanet with its 26 miles of sandy beaches, geological features and archaeological remains.
There are so many attractions and places of interest to visit such as The Shell Grotto, Quex House, many museums and Galleries, five theatres including the second oldest in Britain, The Theatre Royal or the smallest, The Tom Thumb. From live entertainment at The Winter Gardens to building sandcastles our guests experience no difficulty in finding enjoyment in our area.
The Bishop Family story is a lovely one, that is why we are writing a book whilst renovating ‘The Walpole’ but suffice to say here we welcome you to our Home, our Hotel and our Museum, the realisation of a 35-year ambition! We hope you enjoy your visit. The ambience of bygone era Comfort and service; friendly helpful staff; home away from home.
Media History
Paloma Faith in her fashion shoot at Walpole – May 2019
As you can imagine the Walpole is an ideal film location and we have been used as a back drop for such diverse happenings as The Republican video for “Try Everything” so have been featured on Top of the Pops and MTV. BBC 2s’ “One Foot in the Past” did a piece on us even though they did not mention our Museum and so missed the plot completely! Although Julia Carling filming “Bon Voyage” for Meridian TV gave everyone a super cameo visit to the museum on the programme. We have been a Scottish tenement building in a film by Matt Coleshaw, a Gentlemen’s Club on the latest Aston Martin trade advertisement, the “Dastardly Deed” Hotel location in “Mack & Mabel” for the Marlowe Theatre, the secret venue for “Star of the Night” with Jane MacDonald, Sky TV used us for interviews with Steve Cram and Paula Radcliffe and our wonderful 1930s veranda has featured on so many modelling assignments, films and advertisements that we have lost count.
- BBC2 “One Foot in the Past”
- Underworld – Hat Trick Productions, Cast & Crew
- Burnside the Bill – Cast & Crew
- Jane MacDonald “Star for a Night” hit in the Ballroom
- Last Orders – Cast & Crew
- Republica Pop Video – “Try Everything”
- Julia Carling “Bon Voyage”
- Black & White “Dastardly Deed” 1920s for Mack & Mabel @ The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury
- Aston Martin – Advert – Gentlemen’s Clubs 1930s
- Revolution Films on The Life of Tracy Emin
- Feature Film – Purple Orange/ Dark Black – “Lovesick”
- Modelling Shoots
- Publicity Shoots for Theatres, Plays, New Kent Opera
- Scottish Tenement building for a Matt Collishaw Film!
- BBC 3 “Diners” Programme – Jane & Mehdi
- Tracy Emin for GQ
- Eastenders – BBC 1
- Top Spot – BBC T.V
- Exodus – Bernard Hill
- GMTV – Keith Chegwin
- Sky Sports – Paula Ratcliffe, Steve Cram, Tim Hutchins
- Lion TV – Homes Under the Hammer
- BBC’s Cash in the Attic with Angela Rippon and Jonty Hearnden
- Channel 5’s Hotel Inspector with Alex Polizzi