Initially built as a boarding house in 1820, the hotel rests inside one of Margate Old Town’s original façades. Located atop the peak of Fort Road, across from the Turner Contemporary gallery, Fort Road Hotel was rescued from dereliction by a trio of collaborators: the founder of 

 magazine Matthew Slotover, artist Tom Gidley and developer Gabriel Chipperfield. Anecdotally the historical landmark is said to have been patronised by JMW Turner who famously captured scenes of the surrounding seascape.

The hotel has been sensitively restored marrying early 19th Century architectural features reminiscent of Victorian boarding houses and hotels and contemporary amenities. Similarly the approach in conceiving the new identity and signage heavily borrowed from the building’s history for the hotels present day requirements.

The most prominent typographic feature is the logo visible on the hotel fascia. The bespoke grotesque lettering and setting was based on sign painted examples found in postcards of the boarding house (of the same name) from the early 1900s. The generous word spacing formed the basis of the principal logo and subsidiary marks. Reminiscent of period hotel stationary and correspondence, a complimentary line drawn illustration of the fascia is sometimes paired or used singularly across all design touch points, including menus, door swings, guest welcome packs and stationary. Hand painted signage is used throughout the hotel’s exterior and interior.

Designed with Carol Montpart
Bespoke lettering by Paul Barnes
Photography by Ed Reeve