Holiday Inn, Preston

The Holiday Inn in Preston, beside the bus station, is closely connected to the city’s large-scale redevelopment during the 1960s and 1970s. At that time Preston was being reshaped into a modern transport-focused city, with new roads, office blocks and public buildings replacing older Victorian streets around the centre.

The hotel stands next to Preston Bus Station, which opened in 1969 and later became one of the best-known examples of Brutalist architecture in Britain. The surrounding area was planned as a complete transport district, combining bus services, car parking, offices and hotel accommodation within a single modern complex. The hotel building was constructed in the mid-1970s and was designed to complement the bus station’s futuristic appearance, using curved lines and long horizontal sections that matched the style of nearby developments.

The property was purpose-built as a city-centre hotel in 1975. Although many people associate it entirely with the Holiday Inn name, the building has changed ownership and branding during its history before becoming part of the Holiday Inn chain operated by IHG Hotels and Resorts. Today it contains 133 rooms and remains one of Preston’s main central hotels.

The hotel is also an important surviving part of Preston’s post-war redevelopment. During the late twentieth century several nearby modernist buildings were demolished or heavily altered, but both the hotel and the bus station survived. In the early 2010s the bus station itself faced possible demolition before being granted listed status and restored, helping preserve one of Preston’s most recognisable architectural landmarks.