Residents of Hope Cove, a village in Devon, have objected to plans to redevelop the historic Cottage Hotel into a "luxury waterfront venue," fearing it will price out locals and visitors and turn the village into a replica of nearby Salcombe, which has been nicknamed "Chelsea-on-Sea" due to rising costs. The hotel, run by the same family for over 50 years and treated as a community fixture, has been bought off-market by Beach Barefoot Hospitality, the UK arm of a Dubai-based hospitality group, prompting concern that the quaint, family-oriented character of the village could be lost.

The 45-bedroom hotel sits on a three-acre site overlooking Bigbury Bay with direct beach access, and was advertised with an £8 million guide price for the freehold and business, though the final sale price has not been disclosed. Beach Barefoot Hospitality's acting director, Mehdi Rheljari, is a French-Moroccan entrepreneur based in the UAE with a background in luxury hospitality and large-scale developments across Africa and the Middle East. Locals, including long-time residents Dave Clarke and Will Murray, have urged the new owners to be transparent about their plans and sympathetic to the village's character, drawing parallels with how Salcombe's hotels were converted into apartments decades ago, driving up prices.