Premier Inn heads to Hunstanton on the North Norfolk coast
Premier Inn, the UK’s largest hotel brand, has confirmed it is coming to Hunstanton.
The chain’s parent company, Whitbread PLC, intends to invest in a 108-bedroom Premier Inn hotel on Southend Road, subject to planning.
The company is in early discussions with planners at the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk on the design of the new hotel, with a planning application expected to be submitted in the autumn.
The multimillion-pound Premier Inn will feature the brand’s latest guest bedrooms, including its popular enhanced ‘Premier Plus’ rooms, and guest-focused restaurant alongside dedicated on-site guest car parking spaces.
If the application is approved, the Hunstanton hotel will be the first Premier Inn on the North Norfolk coast and the first to open in the county since the Great Yarmouth Seafront Premier Inn first welcomed guests in 2019.
Paul Smith, Acquisitions Manager for Whitbread, said:
“Hunstanton is one of the UK’s best-known seaside destinations and a place we’ve wanted to bring Premier Inn to for some time. It attracts visitors from across the East of England and beyond, yet it does not currently offer any branded hotel rooms to visitors.
“We believe a Premier Inn in Hunstanton would be a great addition to the town’s tourism offer, providing visitors with the quality, value and reliability they expect from the UK’s leading hotel brand while helping to support local businesses, jobs and year-round economic activity.
“The Southend Road site presents an excellent opportunity to bring Whitbread’s significant, multi-million-pound investment into the town and create new accommodation that can support both leisure visitors and those travelling to the area for work.
“We are looking forward to continuing our discussions with the Council and local stakeholders as we develop our plans.”
Whitbread’s commitment to Hunstanton comes at a particularly busy time for the UK’s largest hotel business in Norfolk following the granting of planning permission for a comprehensive redevelopment of its trading Norwich Nelson hotel on 9th July.
The brand is also searching for other suitable Premier Inn locations across the county.
Once trading, Whitbread expects the Hunstanton Premier Inn will generate multi-million-pound benefits for the Hunstanton economy through its spending on staff salaries and additional year-round visitor expenditure from its guests.
Cllr Simon Ring, Deputy Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Business, said
“This is huge news for Hunstanton, the culmination of years of discussions between the council and Premier Inn, and I’m so proud the agreements are finally in place, subject to formal planning consent.
“The exciting opportunity we’ve unlocked for Hunstanton is a major investment in the year-round local visitor economy and jobs, that will complement very well the existing offer in Hunstanton and our emerging Masterplan vision that’s currently out to consultation with the community.
“Through increasing overnight visitor stays and bed spaces, surrounding cafes, restaurants shops and tourist attractions will benefit from increased footfall and spend.
“The detailed designs of course will come out through the usual planning process and consultation. But the sheer fact the UK’s largest hotel chain wants to invest in Hunstanton is a vote of confidence in the resort’s future, placing us alongside Norfolk’s other big visitor destinations, and this investment and new facility will hopefully act as a catalyst for further money, guided by our Masterplan.”
The ambition of the proposed Hunstanton Premier Inn aligns with the Borough of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Council’s proposed masterplan for the town, which is currently being consulted on until 27th July. Promoting and diversifying the town’s tourist offer is a key objective of the plan.
The proposed location for the new hotel is a generally underutilised area of car park, known as Seagate East Car Park, Southend Road. The coach park and the Honeystone Public House car park do not form part of the proposed development site.
In launching the plans, Whitbread has confirmed it does not have any agreements with national government departments to house asylum seekers at any of its trading Premier Inn or hub by Premier Inn hotels in the UK and Ireland.
Premier Inn operates close to 850 hotels across its core UK market and is continuing to invest in locations which are not served by its ‘branded’ style of hotel accommodation and enjoy strong visitor and business economies.
Nationwide, Premier Inn customers split equally between leisure and business guests – with a higher proportion of leisure visitors expected in Hunstanton given the seaside location.
The elegant resort of Hunstanton is the ideal base to enjoy Norfolk’s superb coastline and is renowned for its unique striped cliffs and magnificent sunsets, made special by its position as the only west-facing resort on the east coast.
The seaside town began as a purposely built resort in 1846 and retains its Victorian charm and character to this day, remaining a popular holiday destination. Hunstanton’s excellent beach offers ideal conditions for playing on the sand, exploring rock pools, and enjoying the sea – and the town’s array of gardens are especially delightful during the spring and summer months. Find out more on the resort here: www.visitwestnorfolk.com/destinations/hunstanton
Image credit: Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Council (2026)
