Don’t turn our village into another Chelsea-on-Sea! Devon neighbours declare war on Dubai-linked outsiders over plan to turn historic family-run hotel into luxury waterfront venue
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.
- Hope Cove locals fear Cottage Hotel sale threatens village's affordable, family character
- Dubai-linked firm Beach Barefoot Hospitality bought the 45-room hotel off-market
- Residents compare fears to nearby Salcombe, dubbed "Chelsea-on-Sea"
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Hope Cove is a small, picturesque village on the South Devon coast, close to the more well-known town of Salcombe. At its centre is the Cottage Hotel, a 45-bedroom hotel with direct beach access that has been run by the same family for more than 50 years and is regarded by residents as an important part of the village's character and community life.
The hotel has now been bought, off-market and for an undisclosed sum, by Beach Barefoot Hospitality, the UK arm of a Dubai-based hospitality company whose acting director is a France-Moroccan entrepreneur with experience developing luxury properties abroad. The buyers have said they intend to turn the site into a "luxury waterfront venue," though full details of the plans have not yet been made public.
The purchase matters because it has unsettled residents, who worry that redevelopment could push up prices and change the village's character, much as happened in nearby Salcombe, where old hotels were converted into flats and the town became known, only half-jokingly, as "Chelsea-on-Sea." The situation reflects a wider tension found in many small coastal communities, between the promise of investment and the fear of losing an accessible, family-oriented feel to affluent newcomers.