A state-of-the-nation look at modern Britain through the lens of a lasting emblem of grandeur, and decline

‘Today there is no one alive who remembers what it felt like when Great Britain was the richest country in the world. But there is a way to access that feeling. You just walk along the seafront of the medium-sized coastal town of Scarborough, and look up.’

Hotel Britannia explores the story of modern Britain through the iconic Grand Hotel in Scarborough, Britain’s first seaside resort. It charts the hotel’s journey from symbol of unprecedented wealth and power to flashpoint in Britain’s nostalgia-ridden culture wars. And it dives into the Grand’s past and present, interviewing historians, Reform campaigners and Afghan asylum seekers, local characters and celebrities – even working at the Grand as a cleaner – in search of what made Britain great, and what defines us today.