Hotel Leofric Set to Close
The city centre’s landmark hotel, once called the Hotel Leofric will close in May after its current owner Travelodge decided to move out as part of a financial restructuring to offload its considerable debts.
That’s another mighty blow to the fortunes of the city centre. Travelodge is very much central to our major attractions—the Cathedral Quarter with the new and old cathedrals, the Parish Church of Holy Trinity, Herbert Art Gallery and of course the Transport Museum.
But it looks as though the promotion of our city wasn’t enough to keep the occupancy rate of Travelodge’s 120 bedrooms in profit.
When the Leofric first opened in 1955, local people were drawn to its comfortable lounges and restaurant, the Black Eagle bar. The Leofric was famed for its cocktails. This resulted in it being the place to stay for luminaries playing at the Hippodrome —names like Morecambe and Wise, Ruby Murray,Jimmy Jewel, Bill Haley and his Comets, the Goons.
The Leofric hotel was opened on 28th April 1955 by the Lord Mayor of Coventry, Alderman John Fennell. It cost £800,000 to build. A single room with breakfast cost 37/6d and 45/- with a bath. A double room with breakfast was 65/- and 85/- with a bath! The hotel was a key building in Gibson's vision of Broadgate and the city centre.
It was a sad day when the Leofric went down market to become a budget enterprise. It’s even sadder to see that fail as well.