Hotels were beginning to develop before the Age of the railways. But what the railways did was to rapidly develop them, creating the Victorian grand hotel, and pioneering the modern hotel industry. At various times they operated over 110 establishments, large and small. Hotels were built outright, purchased, or leased, and in 1913 the net receipts exceeded £ ½ million.

The first hotel for rail travellers was built alongside Crewe station for Lord Crewe, opened in 1837, leased by the LNWR in 1864 and bought outright in 1877. The first to be built by a railway were the twin hotels at London Euston, opened in 1839 by the London & Birmingham Railway.

They began a long period of building or acquisition of hotels by or for railways that lasted into the 20th century. In 1840, the North Midland Railway opened a hotel for passengers needing to change trains at Normanton, designed by Francis Thompson who built Cuff’s Station Hotel at Derby in 1841. It was bought outright by the railway in 1862 and renamed The Midland Hotel. In 1844 the first hotel adjoining a station was opened at Gateshead, followed in 1851 by the handsome Royal Station Hotel built across the head of the platforms at Hull, in what became a customary position. A year later the opening of the Great Western Royal Hotel at London Paddington, with 103 bedrooms the largest in the country, immediately set a new standard in comfort and marked the beginning of large palace-type hotels.

The Great Northern Hotel at London Kings Cross was opened in 1854, and until company law legislation in 1856 and 1862 relaxed restrictions on share ownership and introduced limited liability, the railways were the only organisations with the capital resources to build hotels. Strictly parliamentary powers were required. Few had them, and a number of companies obtained them only retrospectively, or made recourse to subsidiary companies, for financed others. The LBSCR assisted a private company to build The Grosvenor Hotel at London Victoria in 1861, bought it in 1893 and quickly leased it out. Eventually all the London termini had a hotel except Fenchurch Street, Blackfriers and Waterloo.

Nor were the provinces neglected, where railway rivalry often produced hotels. The LNWR opened The Queens Hotel at Birmingham New Street in 1854, the GWR at Snow Hill in 1863. In Leeds, the Midland’s Queens Hotel opened in 1863, followed by the Great Northern Hotel in 1869. The same happened in Glasgow were there were three hotels, in Edinburgh and in Bradford. At Liverpool the LNWR’s North Western Hotel had no rival from 1871 until the L&YR opened its Exchange Station Hotel in 1888. Then the Midland Railway bought the ageing Adelphi Hotel  in 1892, and rebuilt it in Neo-Classical style 1912-14. Curiously, Manchester lacked a comparable hotel until the Midland Railway, through its energetic hotels manager William Towle, built the massive Midland Hotel outside its Manchester Central station in 1903.

Railways also owned hotels at ports, like the London & Paris Hotel at Newhaven in 1847, and the Lord Warden Hotel at Dover in 1853. The Great Eastern Hotel at Harwich (1865) was largely superseded by one of the same name at Parkeston Quay in 1883. The Chester & Holyhead Railway bought a hotel at Holyhead in 1850, replaced by the New Station Hotel in 1880.

Seaside resorts received rather less attention. The Stockton & Darlington Railway built The Zetland Hotel at Saltburn in 1863, as part of a railway inspired development, and there were others like The Sandringham Hotel at Hunstanton and the Station Hotel in Ayr. The GWR bought Tregenna Castle, a mansion near St Ives, for a country house hotel in 1878, possible the first of its kind. The idea was not pursued again until it bought the North Bovey Manor, Moretonhampstead, in 1929 and renamed it the Manor House Hotel . Also the LMS opened the Welcombe Hotel near Stratford upon Avon in 1931. There were a number of smaller hotels which railways owned or held an interest in e.g. at Keswick, Windermere and Rudyard Lake in North Staffordshire, but in general they ignored the popular inland resorts.

Golf received considerable attention, particularly in Scotland, e.g. at Dornoch and Strathpeffer, Turnberry, and Gleneagles. The last two had championship standard golf courses. But the GNoSR’s hotel and course at Cruden Bay, near Fraserburgh was too remote to be successful.

Architecture followed current fashion, becoming more flamboyant as the 19th century progressed. Well-known architects were employed: E. M. Barry at London Cannon Street and Charing Cross, C. E. Barry at London Liverpool Street, Alfred Waterhouse at Liverpool’s North Western, and George Gilbert Scott at London St Pancras, where the Midland Grand, opened in 1873, reached the apogee of High Victorian Gothic architecture and was the last word in hotels in its day. Interiors were no less lavish, with vast, impressive dining rooms and lounges. Some catered for special interests, such as City functions at Cannon Street, and exemplified by the two Masonic temples in the Great Eastern at London Liverpool Street. The ultimate innovations were made at the Midland, Manchester, which included in its attractions a winter garden and an 800 seat theatre, and the Great Central Hotel (1899) at London Marylebone - built by a separate company - which boasted a palm court, and a cycling track on the roof.

After the 1923 Grouping some of the older hotels that could not be economically modernised were sold or converted into offices: the North Western at Liverpool Lime Street in 1933, the Midland Grand at London St Pancras in 1935. A degree of modernisation took place elsewhere, and the LMS replaced two hotels: the 1848 Midland at Morecambe was rebuilt in art deco style by Oliver Hill in 1930, the Queens at Leeds City in 1937, by W. Curtis Green and W. H. Hamlyn, setting a new high standard. Generally, only the Southern Railway continued to use contractors to run hotels.

On nationalisation in 1948, hotels were divorced from railways under a separate Hotels Executive, only to return to them in 1962 as British Transport Hotels. The total of 61 in 1901 was now 37, mostly rundown after World War II. Uneconomic ones began to be sold off, although one new hotel was built, the Old Course Hotel in St Andrews in 1968. A policy of refurbishment, aimed at the growing tourist market, was succeeding when the 1979 Conservative Government ordered privatisation of ancillary railway services.

The 29 hotels remaining in 1981 were sold, some returning to a new glory, albeit with new and unnecessary names like the Midland Holiday Inn at Manchester, the Copthorne (formerly North British) at Glasgow, and the Royal York (formerly Royal Station). After 41 years as offices the Great Central Hotel at London Marylebone was reconverted to the luxury Regent Hotel, now renamed the Landmark Hotel, while the greatest of them all, the Midland Grand, has been splendidly restored externally. Painstaking sample restoration of the interior shows what treasures remain to be uncovered, but they await finance, which means finding a use for the building.

In 1948 the British Transport Commission formed on the nationalisation of the railways. Its divisions were as follows:

- Railway Executive

- Hotels Executive

- Docks & Inland Waterways Executive

- Road Passenger Executive

- Road Haulage Executive

- London Transport Executive

In 1962 the British Transport Commission is abolished and its activities are separated off into the following public corporations.

                        - Railway Executive > British Railways Board

                        - Hotels Executive > British Transport Hotels

                        - Docks & Inland Waterways Executive is split

                                                - Docks > British Transport Docks Board

                                                - Inland Waterways > British Waterways Board

                        - Road Passenger Executive > Transport Holding Company

                        - Road Haulage Executive > British Road Services

                        - London Transport Executive > London Transport Board

At nationalisation on the 1st January 1948, hotels and catering came under the control of British Transport Commission's Railway Executive. This included all the on-railway catering interests: station refreshment rooms and restaurant/buffet services on trains. However, on the 1st July 1948 the hotel and catering activities were separated from direct railway control and placed under British Transport Commission's Hotels Executive. This arrangement lasted until the 1st October 1953, when the Hotels Executive was abolished and direct responsibility assumed by the Commission. They became part of a Division known as the British Transport Hotels and Catering Services. In 1963, the division was formed into a subsidiary company, British Transport Hotels Ltd. On the break-up of the British Transport Commission in 1963, ownership passed to the British Railways Board. They remained known as British Transport Hotels Ltd. However the on-railway catering business was later separated out as Travellers Fare in the 1970s. The British Rail Board also promoted its hotels through Golden Rail package holidays.

In 1982 the British Transport Hotels are privatised and sold off individually. Starved of adequate capital and infrastructure investment for many years, the hotels were profitable but had never been able to fulfil their true potential. Private hoteliers and speculators had always been aware of their real value, and in 1983 when a management buyout failed, 23 of the hotels were quickly purchased by various companies for £50.35 million.

Summary of former British Transport Hotels:

London:

The Great Northern Hotel

Station Served: London Kings Cross
Current Operator: ?
Website: ?

The Great Eastern Hotel

Station Served: London Liverpool Street
Current Operator: Hyatt Hotels Group
Website: http://london.greateastern.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp

The Great Western Royal Hotel

Station Served: London Paddington
Current Operator: Hilton Hotels Group
Website: http://www.hilton.co.uk/paddington

The Grosvenor Hotel

Station Served: London Victoria
Current Operator: Thistle Hotels Group
Website: http://www.thistlehotels.com

The Charing Cross Hotel

Station Served: London Charing Cross
Current Operator: Guoman Hotels Group
Website: http://www.guoman.com

The Midlands:

The Welcombe Hotel

Station Served: Stratford upon Avon
Current Operator: Menzies Hotel Group
Website: http://www.welcombe.co.uk

The Midland Hotel

Station Served: Derby
Current Operator: Best Western Hotel Group
Website: http://www.midland-derby.co.uk

The Great Northern Hotel

Station Served: Peterborough North
Current Operator: Privately Owned
Website: http://www.greatnorthernhotel.co.uk

The South West:

The Tregenna Castle Hotel

Station Served: St Ives, Cornwall
Current Operator: Tregenna Castle Estate
Website: http://www.tregenna-castle.co.uk

The Manor House Hotel

Station Served: Moretonhampstead
Current Operator: Peter de Savary / Hilwood Resorts & Hotels
Website: http://www.boveycastle.com

Northern England:

The Midland Hotel

Station Served: Manchester Central
Current Operator: Quintessential Hotels Group
Website: http://www.themidlandhotel.co.uk

The Midland Adelphi Hotel

Station Served: Liverpool Central
Current Operator: Britannia Hotels Group
Website: http://www.britanniahotels.com/hotel_home.asp?Page=129

The Exchange Hotel

Station Served: Liverpool Exchange
Fate: Closed in 1971

The Queens Hotel

Station Served: Leeds City
Current Operator: Quintessential Hotels Group
Website: http://www.qhotels.co.uk

The Midland Hotel

Station Served: Bradford Forster Square
Current Operator: Peel Hotel Group
Website: http://www.midland-hotel-bradford.com

The Royal Station Hotel

Station Served: York
Current Operator: Principal Hotels Group
Website: http://www.principal-hotels.com

The Royal Station Hotel

Station Served: Newcastle upon Tyne Central
Current Operator: Cairn Hotel Group
Website: http://www.royalstationhotel.com

The Royal Station Hotel

Station Served: Hull Paragon
Current Operator: Quality Hotel Group (Choice Hotels Europe)
Website: http://www.choicehotelseurope.com/hotels/hotel?hotel=GB611

The Royal Victoria Station Hotel

Station Served: Sheffield Victoria
Current Operator: Holiday Inn Group
Website: http://www.holidayinnsheffield.co.uk

The Zetland Hotel

Station Served: Saltburn by the Sea
Fate: Converted to apartments in 1990

Scotland:

The Caledonian Hotel

Station Served: Edinburgh Princes Street
Current Operator: Hilton Hotels Group
Website: http://www.hilton.co.uk/caledonian

The North British Hotel

Station Served: Edinburgh Waverley
Current Operator: Rocco Forte Hotel Group
Website: http://www.thebalmoralhotel.com

The Central Hotel

Station Served: Glasgow Central
Current Operator: Quality Hotel Group (Choice Hotels Europe)
Website: http://www.choicehotelseurope.com/hotels/hotel?hotel=GB627

The North British Hotel

Station Served: Glasgow Queen Street
Current Operator: Millennium Hotels & Resorts
Website: http://www.millenniumhotels.com

The Gleneagles Hotel

Station Served: Gleneagles
Current Operator: Gleneagles Hotels Ltd
Website: http://www.gleneagles.com

The Turnberry Hotel

Station Served: Turnberry
Current Operator: Westin Hotels & Resorts
Website: http://www.turnberry.co.uk

The Old Course Hotel

Station Served: St Andrews
Current Operator: The Kohler Company
Website: http://www.oldcoursehotel.co.uk

The Station Hotel

Station Served: Inverness
Current Operator: Privately Owned
Website: http://www.royalhighlandhotel.co.uk

The Station Hotel

Station Served: Dumfries
Current Operator: Best Western Hotels Group
Website: http://www.stationhotel.co.uk

The Lochalsh Hotel

Station Served: Kyle of Lochalsh
Current Operator: Privately Owned
Website: http://www.lochalshhotel.com