Royal Albion Hotel

Royal Albion Hotel
The eastern façade of the hotel
Location of the hotel within central Brighton
General information
Location	35 Old Steine, Brighton, Brighton and Hove BN1 1NT, United Kingdom
Coordinates	50°49′11″N 0°08′14″W / 50.8197°N 0.1373°W / 50.8197; -0.1373Coordinates: 50°49′11″N 0°08′14″W / 50.8197°N 0.1373°W / 50.8197; -0.1373
Opening	5 August 1826
Owner	Britannia Hotels Ltd
Management	Britannia Hotels
Technical details
Floor count	4
Design and construction
Architect	Amon Henry Wilds
Developer	John Colbatch
Other information
Number of rooms	195
Number of restaurants	1
Parking	0
Website
www.britanniahotels.com/hotels/brighton/

The Royal Albion Hotel (originally the Albion Hotel) is a 3-star hotel in the seaside resort of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Built on the site of a house belonging to Richard Russell, a local doctor whose advocacy of sea-bathing and seawater drinking helped to make Brighton fashionable in the 18th century, it has been extended several times, although it experienced a period of rundown and closure in the early 20th century. A fire in 1998 caused serious damage, but the hotel was restored.

The Classical-style building is in three parts of different sizes and dates but similar appearances. Large pilasters and columns of various orders feature prominently. Amon Henry Wilds, an important and prolific local architect, took the original commission on behalf of promoter John Colbatch. Another local entrepreneur, Harry Preston, restored the hotel to its former high status after buying it in poor condition. The building took on its present three-wing form in 1963. The original part of the building was listed at Grade II* by English Heritage for its architectural and historical importance, and its western extension is listed separately at the lower Grade II.

The site itself is connected with the life and career of Richard Russell, a doctor who advocated sea water as a cure of ailments. After Russell's death in 1759, Old Steine developed as the centre of fashionable life in Brighton. Russell House, as it became known, was used as lodgings for visitors such as the Duke of Cumberland, and later became an entertainment venue with activities such as a puppet theatre, a camera obscura and resident jugglers.

In the 1820s, it passed to entrepreneur John Colbatch, who demolished it in 1823. The local authorities tried to arrange for the land to be kept as open space, but negotiations collapsed and Colbatch began planning the construction of a hotel.