PLANS for a new boutique hotel in the heart of historic Royal William Yard at Plymouth have been announced.

Popular French restaurant Bistrot Pierre, which has been at RWY since 2014, is to expand its offering to include a 14 room hotel.

‘Bistrot Pierre Rooms’ will open in the Georgian Grade I listed Residence One building, with a blend of original features and contemporary additions promised.

The rooms will be designed by Gillespie Yunnie Architects who are also the lead architects on the broader Royal William Yard development.

Emily Handslip, director of the regeneration company Urban Splash, commented: “I am absolutely delighted to announce that we have taken our relationship with Bistrot Pierre to the next level and that visitors will now be able to staycation at the Yard for the first time.

“The Yard’s fortunes have been completely transformed; from a disused, rundown and unloved space just ten years ago, to what is now one of the best places to live, work and play in the South West. Bistrot Pierre Rooms is another fantastic dimension to what’s on offer.”

Rob Beacham, director at Bistrot Pierre, added: “We are really excited about the opportunity to open Bistrot Pierre with Rooms in Plymouth. It’s a model that has worked well for us elsewhere and The Yard is such a stunning place and so successful for us, it felt like the natural next step.”

Built between 1826-1831 and designed by Sir John Rennie, Royal William Yard is a former Royal Navy victualling depot in the Stonehouse area of the city which has been turned into a mixed use development with homes, restaurants and shops. The new hotel is expected to open later this year.

ONE of the oldest hotels in the country could be open again in 2019 after it was devastated by a fire last year.

Designs have been made public today which show how the hotel, which dates back to the mid 18th century, could look after it is rebuilt.

The Royal Clarence Hotel, operating under the Abode brand, was destroyed in October last year after a fire spread from an adjoining property.

The designs for the rebuilt hotel show a frontage which return the property to its previous glory as one of Exeter’s most important buildings, just across the square from Exeter Cathedral.

Hotel owner Andrew Brownsword commented, “This is such a wonderful moment, after the initial heartbreak and months of deconstruction, to start to look towards to the future and to restoring the Royal Clarence’s historic frontage.

“As we said at the time of the fire, our aim has always been to preserve as many surviving features of historic and architectural importance as we can and, where possible, incorporate them into the rebuild. I’m delighted with the proposed new façade and we look forward to hearing comments from the people of Exeter and to restoring our corner of Cathedral Green back to its former glory”

David Shatwell of Buttress Architects added: “Having taken every effort to stabilise the building, save as much as possible of what remains and prepare detailed research into the history of the building… we are delighted to now be taking the first steps toward rebuilding this beautiful building.”

Related: Boutique hotels in Exeter

Photo © Brownsword Hotels