Tiki Central / Locating Tiki / Beachcomber, Shanklin Hotel, Isle of Wight, Shanklin, Isle of Wight, UK (bar)
Post #345497 by atomictonytiki on Thu, Nov 22, 2007 7:41 AM
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atomictonytiki
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Thu, Nov 22, 2007 7:41 AM
Name:Beachcomber, Shanklin Hotel, Isle of Wight Description:
I bought these two postcards on eBay back in June and did a bit of urban-archeology and discovered the hotel still existed so I sent of an email and this is the reply I got back.. Thank you for your email. The two pictures you have are the only ones we currently have on file. The Beachcomber closed in the late 80s (around 86) but there is no one that currently works here that know much about it. One piece of information that we are told on numerous occasions from guests that remember the hotel in the 60s and 70s is that the water features had live baby alligators in them - in one of the postcards you can just make out the pool - in 'beachcomber 1' the lady in mauve and the chap in orange are sat next to it. I understand that the bar was built in the early 60s when major development work took place on the Shanklin Hotel by the then new owner, Mr Ben Brown. He was a purser with P&O Cruises in the 50s and early 60s, before buying the hotel and is said to have got the idea for the Beachcomber from his many travels around the world. We do still have in store several bits of memorabilia, including the totem poles, shields and spears which are for sales through one of our directors. I am sorry we could not have been of more help. Kind regards Geoff Holt ...I suspect Mr Ben Brown had the touch of "Trader Vic" about him, the bar inspired by his world travels eh! not the beachcomber in Mayfair then. I wonder if this "Beachcomber" was inspired by the mayfair one or is it another GCB installation.
The bar as it is now, the beachcomber leisure facilities, tiki replaced by indoor grass bowling. [ Edited by: atomictonytiki 2007-11-22 07:46 ] [ Edited by: atomictonytiki 2009-05-06 14:44 ] |
