AN ‘eyesore’ hotel in the centre of Llandudno has finally been sold.
The Clarence Hotel, on Gloddaeth Avenue, has been sold but property agents Eddisons will not say who has bought the building which has been closed for more than 18 months.
Bar chain JD Wetherspoons, who were rumoured to be interested in the site, but spokesman Eddie Gershon said he could confirm the hotel has not been sold to them.
Nick Dines, a spokesman for hotel chain Travelodge, who were also touted as potential owners, said they had ‘neither signed on, nor agreed upon’, any sale of the site to them.
Council officials and store owners in the town are hopeful the sale will give a new lease of life to the building.
Susan Morris, who runs the Llandudno gift shop Merrymoon and is chair of the Conwy Federation of Small Businesses, said she was “absolutely delighted” at news that the hotel has been sold.
She said: “I hope it gets something that fits the building - something that would bring people into town. But as long as the building is being put to a good use, and with times as they are, I don’t care.”
Llandudno Town Councillor John Ridler, who represents Gogarth Ward, said: “I just want someone to tidy it up.”
Until 2001 the Victorian building formed part of a hotel chain and was then sold to an independent hotelier.
In November 2008, town councillors were frustrated by the opening of a cafe and wine bar on the ground floor of the hotel, which operated without planning permission.
The following month, illegal immigrants working at the hotel were deported after police raids at the Sakura Japanese and Korean restaurant, and the Beijing Chinese restaurant, with one worker at the Sakura found living in a freezer.
The hotel was closed in November 2009, and in March 2010, arsonists were blamed for a fire at the hotel, which left it an eyesore in the eyes of many residents.