Imperial Hotel: Vaughan Street aspect

Image: © Gerald England Taken: 26 Apr 2016

The Imperial Hotel was formed in 1872 from the amalgamation of several boarding houses. It was expanded in 1972 after a serious fire in the top storey. There is good evidence that in August 1873 Prince Leopold, son of Queen Victoria, stayed incognito in the hotel with his aide-de-camp. Before the Second World War, the exiled Queen Rambai Barni of Siam was a long-term guest. She eventually had to leave to make way for the Inland Revenue newly evacuated to escape London's bombing. The first 200 civil servants arrived in spring 1940 and set up their headquarters in the Imperial Hotel. They soon requisitioned over 400 hotels, boarding houses and private residences in the area to house the Inland Revenue departments, its staff and their families. Another 900 civil servants arrived in summer 1940, and another 3,500 later that year. In September 1945, a month after the end of the war, the first 400 civil servants left Llandudno for London. http://historypoints.org/index.php?page=the-imperial-hotel-llandudno The 98-bed 4 star hotel is currently owned by Greenclose Ltd http://www.theimperial.co.uk/

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