Is Walpole Bay Hotel Still Open? The Hotel Inspector Update (Margate, UK)

Part 1 — Season 5, Episode 2 Aired July 13, 2009

The Walpole Bay Hotel on Fifth Avenue in Cliftonville, Margate, was the second episode of series 5 of The Hotel Inspector (Channel 5), which aired on 2009-07-13. Wikipedia's episode list describes an Edwardian hotel in serious difficulty. Alex Polizzi returned for a follow-up episode that Wikipedia lists as Walpole Bay Hotel + B&B (Revisited), aired on 2012-08-30.

The hotel's own website, read on 2026-10-19 with page metadata showing it was last modified that day, says the hotel closes at midday on Sunday 2026-11-01 and reopens at midday on Thursday 2027-03-04, with the phone answered on weekday mornings in between. The site says the hotel is taking bookings for the 2027 season, online or by phone, and announces a new electric-vehicle charger available by advance booking at five pounds an hour. It describes the hotel as family-run by the Bishop family and carries pages on both Hotel Inspector visits, a museum and a gallery. Its footer copyright is dated 2022.

A Heritage Open Days listing for a historical talk by owner Jane Bishop and a self-guided museum tour runs from 12 to 21 September; a related event on the same page is dated 13 September 2025, which indicates the 2025 programme. The listing says the building dates from 1914, was extended in 1927 and has been owned by the Bishop family since 1995. A Google Maps listing for Walpole Bay Hotel Margate, checked on 2026-10-19, marks the business operational.

Part 2 — Season 9, Episode 9 Aired August 30, 2012

Series 9, episode 9 of The Hotel Inspector (Channel 5), titled "Walpole Bay Revisited," aired 2012-08-30. According to Wikipedia's episode list, presenter Alex Polizzi went back to Margate to see a hotelier she had advised earlier, and the welcome she received was cold. TVmaze's episode guide gives the same outline: a return visit to the Margate hotelier she had worked with before. The episode belongs to the show's run of follow-up visits to properties covered in earlier series. Neither listing describes what she found at the hotel or what happened afterward.