Royal Clifton Hotel

The Royal Clifton Hotel was originally built as a hotel in 1853-4 by Thomas Withnell, and was enlarged in 1865. It has been subsequently incorporated with a pair of large houses to its left, which were formerly the Clifton Hotel. The building is constructed of stucco with slate roofs and exhibits a mixed architectural style. The original section has a Jacobean influence, the 1865 extension is in a French Renaissance style, and the section to the left is more eclectic.

The hotel comprises three substantial blocks, with the right-hand (south-west) end being the original hotel and the central block the 1865 extension. It is three storeys high with cellars and attics, and has a 5:6:5 bay façade. The right-hand portion is nearly symmetrical, with the outer bays projecting slightly and featuring quoins and shaped gables. Two-storey canted bay windows are present throughout, with cornices to both levels; the lower cornices are dentilled, and the outer bays have pilasters and balustrade-style fronts. Windows are mostly 1/1 sashes to the ground and first floors, and 2/2 sashes to the second floor. Small round-headed windows are located in each gable.

A square tower is situated behind the ridge, with banded corner pilasters, a round-headed window, and a pyramidal roof with a finial. A large, late 20th-century octagonal conservatory has been added to the south-west corner. The central portion is symmetrical except for a linking sixth bay, and features a semicircular turret with a conical roof. The outer bays of this portion break forward and incorporate two-storey bay windows with curved corners and projected second-floor windows with arched gables and pavilion roofs. Sill bands are present on all floors, and the eaves are bracketed. Square-headed 1/1 sashes are located on the ground floor, tall round-headed 1/1 sashes are grouped at the first floor, and segmental-headed 1/1 sashes are found on the second floor, except in the outer bays which have paired round-headed sashes within 2-centred arches. A large, glazed, gabled canopy covers the entrance in the sixth bay.

The portion to the left is symmetrical aside from a porch in the fourth bay; it incorporates two-storey bay windows to the centre and outer bays (the latter canted) with bracketed cornices and a bracketed frieze. Shaped gables adorn the centre and outer bays, with segmental-headed dormers between them, culminating in a mansard roof. All windows throughout are 1/1 sashes, with square heads on the ground floor, segmental heads on the first and second floors, and round heads in the attic.

The interior includes dining rooms and ballrooms, featuring principal rooms with stained glass skylights.