The Libertines have revealed details of their new hotel and studio in the seaside town of Margate.
Located on the Kent town’s Eastern Esplanade, The Albion Rooms will be situated in a renovated five-storey, ten-room Victorian townhouse previously known as the Palm Court Hotel.
It was bought by the rock group in September last year at a reported cost of £450,000 and planning permission was subsequently granted for a rear extension by Thanet District Council.
The recording studio is due to be finished in February and a new bar and individually designed guest rooms will follow soon after.
But while guests cannot book a getaway just yet, the musicians themselves have already moved in and are hard at work writing their fourth album, ahead of its expected release this summer.
Explaining their decision to move in, The Libertines said on their website: “Margate is a classic seaside resort, particularly popular with Londoners, for those looking for sandy beaches and a good knees up.
“But, Margate also has rich artistic roots and a free spirit that thrives today, embodied by its old town and the Turner Contemporary gallery. This mix of traditional English charm and modern cool gives it plenty of libertine appeal.”
The bandmates – Pete Doherty, Carl Barat, John Hassall and Gary Powell – were said to have been inspired by “the celluloid co-habitation antics of The Beatles and The Monkees”.
No doubt they will be hoping the hotel is better received when it reopens than its former incarnation, the Palm Court Hotel, which generated an average score of 2/5 on TripAdvisor.
One visitor said it had been “sadly neglected” and another described it as “a truly ghastly place to stay”.
Regardless, Margate is becoming something of a destination for creative talents, with the artist Tracey Emin announcing her plans to move back to her home town from London last year.