The Giltar Hotel and area railings

Hotel, formerly three houses, each painted stucco with slate roof, basement and four storeys and attic, two-window range, with a full-height stucco canted bay to left, single windows over door to right. The first house has window to ground floor right as entry was from side, and centre and left houses are stepped slightly back from the one to right. Windows are mostly 4-pane sashes, but 2-pane narrower sashes to sides of canted bays. C20 dormers behind parapet with inset mouldings with rebated angles in sunk panels. Cambered headed windows in moulded surrounds to upper two floors, arched French windows opening onto a continuous iron balcony on the first floor, with moulded arched heads, plain fanlights and pilaster sides. Ground floor has channelled rustication and plain square heads to windows and door. First floor balcony is on iron brackets and has attractive slightly Gothic iron railings, akin to earlier C19 designs. Four-panel door with overlight to left house, C20 fixed glazed door with overlight to centre house. Basement sash windows. Right bay of right house is slightly different, with cambered-headed window onto the balcony at first floor and plain 4-pane sash to ground floor instead of door, not aligned. Right end wall to Picton Terrace has plaque 'Ethelstone House, 7 Esplanade'. Stucco with 2-storey oriel each side of centre 4-panel door with overlight in corniced doorcase. Four-pane sash to ground floor right. Rear of each house has projecting stair tower. Fleur-de-lys heads to iron area railings, twisted stanchions with larger fleur-de-lys heads.

Entry into left house, former No 9, with glazed screen with top-lights and side-lights. Elaborate plasterwork: entrance lobby has small square ceiling with egg-and-dart and leaf cornice and border and small rose. Ceiling borders have undercut rosette at corners. Inner hall has similar rectangular ceiling and elliptical arch with egg-and-dart moulding. Sitting room to left has similar ceiling with big fleshy acanthus-leaf rose. Timber C19 fireplace re-used from elsewhere. Stair has fat bulbous newel, turned balusters, and scrolled tread ends. Middle house, former No 8, has similar stair to rear. Plasterwork of hall and stair hall also elaborate but different, with acanthus modillions and undercut 4-petal flowers. Front room combined with entrance hall, has cornice with rope-mould and clasped ball motifs, border with lily scroll. Left house has had greater alterations, cornices redone, stair removed. C20 plasterwork in 2 rooms now one, some copied from originals.