Blackpool entrepreneur invests £3.5m in transformation of seafront hotel

Blackpool-born entrepreneur John Westhead and his business partners continue to invest in his hometown resort’s improving hospitality and leisure offering with the £3.5m transformation of an iconic seafront hotel into luxury boutique accommodation. 

Central Beach Leisure, founded and operated by John and Elishar Westhead and their partners, has transformed the landmark Royal Carlton Hotel on Central Promenade into The Glass Tower, a luxury boutique hotel with 38 bedrooms and new restaurant and bar called XI (Eleven), open to guests and the public. 

Having acquired the Royal Carlton in March 2025, John appointed fellow Blackpool-based firms Joseph Boniface Architects to design the new hotel, Thompson Contractors - which played a key role in creating Gordon Ramsay's Lucky Cat Restaurant on the 60th floor of 22 Bishopsgate, London - to deliver the bar and restaurant, alongside Investworth Homes to complete works in the hotel bedroom areas. 

Now open for bookings, The Glass Tower and Eleven represent the latest major investment in further improving the hospitality and leisure offering of Blackpool via Central Beach Leisure. 

Central Beach Leisure has spent a total of more than £15m on the hotel and premier serviced accommodation schemes in Blackpool and on the Fylde Coast, with 35 suites available and another 45 coming on stream by May. 

Luxury serviced accommodation owned and managed by the business includes Park Road Suites, 59 St Chads Road, Pleasure Beach Apartments and Breck apartments on Poulton le Fylde. 

John said: “No expense has been spared on the creation of The Glass Tower, a spectacular offering to rival anything that Manchester, Liverpool and London have to offer and bringing something truly inspirational to Blackpool. 

“Although Central Beach Leisure is a winning mixture of local and international expertise, I'm born and bred in Blackpool so take immense pride in being able to offer these properties in the resort and be part of the ever-changing face of Blackpool.  

“We are creating a brand that people can trust and that delivers excellence consistently. When our guests interact with Central Beach Leisure, whether in accommodation or our bar or restaurant, we want them to experience and enjoy guaranteed quality, service and excellence.” 

Developed by the Lancashire Combined County Authority (LCCA) and championed by the Lancashire Business Board (LBB), comprising members of the county’s leading regional, national and international businesses, the Lancashire Growth Plan identifies transformational projects in five high-growth business sectors including culture and tourism with the potential to attract more than £20bn of additional public and private investment.  

Together, these projects could create thousands of jobs and strengthen Lancashire’s role at the heart of the national economy. 

Among the transformational projects in the Plan is Blackpool Central Leisure Development - the seven-hectare former Central Station site is one of Blackpool’s most strategically essential development sites, and central to the ambition of developing a world-class tourist destination with a vision to provide a unique leisure quarter underpinning Blackpool’s appeal as a national tourist destination.