A hotel in Blackpool once voted a top TripAdvisor destination has suddenly closed, leaving staff and customers confused and out of pocket.

The website for the Blackpool Resort Hotel was updated to say 'closed' earlier this month and the email and phone lines seemingly cut off out of the blue.

A former employee was among the locals most caught off guard by the news after they were suddenly made redundant despite successfully passing their probation period.

"I worked there for around four months and passed my probation then received an email out of the blue that I was being made redunant," they told the Blackpool Gazette.

Another visitor was also left out of pocket after shelling out £140 for a booking at the seaside hotel before finding out that it no longer existed.

“I booked the hotel back in August for a getaway and got told to phone two weeks before arrival to pay for the car park,” she told the local newspaper.

“I was advised that the hotel is now closed and I haven’t been contacted by the owner or heard anything from them about a refund.”

A spokesperson for Booking.com said customers who had made reservations through its site would be offered alternative accommodation or receive a refund.

The three-star hotel was in a prime location on the Golden Mile, under 20 minutes from the South Pier on foot.

The most recent TripAdvisor reviews for the tourist spot were made in October and largely skewed negative, with visitors criticising the “prison cell” rooms, “threadbare carpets” and “dirty, chipped paintwork”.

Travellers who stayed earlier in the year described it as a “nice overnight spot”, however, with “brilliant and helpful staff” and sea views. It was also among the recipients of TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards for 2024, putting it among the top 10% of accommodations on the platform.