Royal Yacht Hotel

Royal Yacht Hotel The Royal Yacht Hotel on the corner of Mulcaster Street and The Weighbridge has been completely rebuilt as a four-star hotel in the 21st century, but it claims to be the island's longest established hotel, a claim shared by the Royal Hotel in David Place.

Penthouse rooms on the roof of the hotel which have since been removed

The Royal Yacht Hotel in 1893. To its left on the opposite corner of Mulcaster Street, is the Star hotel, previously Adderson's Star, and before that the Elephant and Castle, and even earlier the Old London Hotel

Founded in the 1820s

The Royal Yacht Hotel almost certainly has a better claim to be the island's oldest than its near namesake the Royal Hotel, because it was probably founded in the 1820s. A 1832 advertisement below calls it the Royal Yacht Club and London Hotel, and the following year a guide book referred to it as 'The London and Yacht Hotel'. Ten years later it was known briefly as 'Hotel de Paris', before it became the 'Royal Yacht Club Hotel'. The Royal Hotel, however, can only trace its origins back to a 'probable' 1842.

In 1890 the name of the Weighbridge hotel was shortened to The Royal Yacht Hotel. Perhaps the hotel's most distinguished visitors were members of the French Royal Family: the Duc du Montpesier, the King's fifth son and Duc d'Alençon and Compte d'Eu, the King's grandsons, who in 1848, forced to flee the revolution in France, took refuge in Jersey.

1874 Lillie Le Breton and Edward Langtry held their wedding reception at the Royal Yacht Club Hotel. During World War 2 the hotel was commandeered by the Geman Navy.

Ownership of the lane between the hotel and the adjoining buildings cannot be determined and the new hotel has been built spanning this gap, but with an open area with glass wall and roof. The facade of the original building has been maintained and a contrasting new building erected on the adjoining site, which was the headquarters of the island's bus company, Jersey Motor Transport, in the second half of the 20th century.

Picture gallery

The hotel in 1866, known as Chase's Royal Yacht Club Hotel at the time

Click on image to see larger version

• 
• 
  The Royal Yacht Hotel in 1893
• 
  The hotel in the early 20th century
• 
• 
  Penthouse rooms on the roof of the hotel which have since been removed
• 
  E Pope was the manager at the time this picture was taken
• 
  An early picture taken before the fourth storey and second balcony were added at the front
• 
• 
  19th century Chases Royal Yacht Hotel
• 
  1890
• 
  1893

The hotel cocktail bar

• 
  The hotel in the early 20th century
• 
  Cocktail bar and lounge
• 
• 
  A painting showing the Old London Hotel on the left with Lowe's London Hotel and Royal Yacht Club next to it. These businesses merged to become the Royal Yacht Hotel in due course.
• 
  A photograph by Philip Morel-Laurens
• 
  Mr Hartfield of the hotel staff, photographed by Ernest Baudoux
• 
  Mr Hale of the hotel staff, photographed by Ernest Baudoux
• 
  Mr Sherwood of the hotel staff, photographed by Ernest Baudoux
• 
  1960s
• 
  1893
• 
  1935
• 
  A guest's bill from 1881

Hotel advertisements

• 
• 
• 
  1880
• 
  1890
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
  1922
• 
  1922
• 
  1970 advert
• 
  1948 advert
• 
  1968
• 
  1964 tourism guide advert
• 
  1972 advert
• 
  The hotel was known as Gardener's when this advertisement was published in the early 20th century
• 
  1863
• 
  1873
• 
  1933
• 
  William Lowe was the proprietor of the Royal Yacht Club and London Hotel in 1832

The hotel in 2026

Newspaper records

• 1848 advert in the Jersey Times