This 17-acre camp first opened in the 1930s as the Torquay & Paignton Holiday Centre. Unlike most seaside camps of the era, it was set inland in the village of Marldon, around two miles from the beaches at Paignton.
It was later renamed the Torbay Chalet Hotel, and in 1948 a large new swimming pool was added. The pool, however, was not without controversy. Torbay Council had initially refused planning permission, citing the post-war shortage of building materials and arguing that the pool was “non-essential.” The Ministry of Works overruled this decision, granting approval on the basis that most of the required materials were already on site. Reluctantly, the council agreed, though they remarked that “the use of cement for this work at a time when it is in such short supply was to be deprecated.”
The camp was sold to property developer Reginald Spooner in January 1959 who soon carried out a number of improvements including the installation of a new bar, new ballroom and games rooms, the renovation and enlargement of the dining room and the provision of contemporary style chalets. In the main hotel building there was room for 56 guests. and another 250 could be accommodated in the chalets dotted around the grounds. A brand new ballroom was added in 1963. The site also had its own riding stables.
The camp wasn’t just for holidaymakers. It remained a popular venue throughout the year and was open to non-residents, becoming the go-to place in the Paignton area for major social occasions. From wedding receptions and conferences to charity fundraisers and even political gatherings,
During the 1970s, diversification became the buzzword for many established companies, and several turned their attention to the leisure industry. One of the more surprising entrants was Godfrey Davis, then the country’s largest Ford dealer and best known for its nationwide car hire business. In 1972 the company stepped into the holiday camp market, purchasing the Torbay Chalet Hotel for £275,000.
Determined to make it work, Godfrey Davis invested in new chalet accommodation, boosting capacity to around 400 guests. Their ambitions didn’t stop there – they went on to acquire a second camp at Bracklesham Bay along with a caravan park in Teignmouth, creating a small holiday division within the wider business.
The riding stables had always been a well-loved part of the camp, but in July 1974 they were struck by tragedy. Stable manager Lily Snowball, aged 33, sadly lost her life after an accident involving a lorry, in which a holidaymaker was also injured and two horses were killed. After this heartbreaking event, the stables never reopened.
After moving into the holiday market, Godfrey Davis chose to withdraw just a few years later. In 1983 the company sold its three holiday parks to Pontins for £1.8 million.
Pontins kept the Torbay site running much as before, and it remained a busy and popular facility throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. It was always a full board camp with 3 meals a day provided in the communal dining hall, which could accommodate all campers in one sitting. Chalets were hotel-style, basically just a bed and bathroom. However some chalets only had toilets, whilst others only had showers and no toilet.
In March 1995, Pontins announced the sale of four of its parks—including the Torbay Chalet Hotel—to a new venture called Manor Parcs, promoted as “Britain’s brightest new holiday company.” On paper it looked like a fresh start, but in reality Manor Parcs was controlled by many of the same figures behind Pontins. The sale was less a change of ownership and more a strategic spin-off designed to pave the way for redevelopment.
Within three years Manor Parcs had disposed of all four sites, three of them for housing development. Among the casualties was the Torbay Chalet Hotel, which last opened to holidaymakers around 1997 before closing for good. Demolition followed soon afterwards, and the land was redeveloped as Brockhurst Park in Marldon. .
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