We've looked at some tourist attractions, but all those tourists had to stay somewhere so I'll be looking at one of the many sadly now defunct hotels on the island - The Majestic.
Although there is still a request stop in Onchan called the Majestic Halt, the hotel is long gone having been razed to build apartments .
The hotel started life as a mansion in 1893 and was sold in 1920 to a couple looking to build a hotel to cater to tourists who wanted to take advantage of the attractions of Douglas and not have to travel from the South of the island to do so.
Tho hotel open in 1922 and boasted a ball rooms, billiard room and bar. The swimming was not added until 1935 and the same year the hotel changed its name to the Majestic Lido Hotel. In the following decades the hotel became a popular place for wedding receptions and was increasingly used by non-residents.
The decline of the hotel is a familiar one. As foreign holidays become more available, domestic based holidays fall out of favour and the local tourist industry suffers and so it was the case with the Majestic. It ceased functioning as a hotel in 1987 but the building remained for a few years as an auction house before, as stated earlier,it was razed to build apartments.
I'm not sure when the above postcard is from, it's not dated, but I've seen similar pictures used on adverts for the hotel from the early 1970s so that seems about right.
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