Four Rooms is one of Blackpool’s only 5 Star Bed & Breakfast establishments. A Boutique B&B close to The Winter Gardens and the Town Centre, it is run by Michael Elt and Paul Sinnott – who have put heart and soul into the business since taking it on almost 2 years ago.

From first meeting it was apparent that only the very best would do in terms of a website build. The new website was constructed using WordPress and has benefitted from several bespoke customisations and features. Ongoing organic SEO work has seen the site grow month on month in terms of value and visits.

Michael and Paul are able to easily add new photos and blog posts – which of course helps with raising the profile of the website with Google and other search engines.

The reviews the business receives on platforms such as Facebook, Trip Advisor and Booking.com are truly exceptional – and very much deserved.

Visit the Four Rooms website here.

Here is Michael’s story…

Four Rooms was discovered on a second thought after Paul and I discussed opening a tearooms or cafe. It was discussed that this would be a seven day a week project and considering that Paul would like a sort of semi retirement position this idea was put to the back of the cupboard and the property search was on for a B&B. Up and down the country we looked – as far as the Shetland Isles.

A chance finding

I just happened across Four Rooms (formerly Four Seasons) which although not trading for the prior 3 years and in a certain state of disrepair seemed ideal for us.

I asked Paul the question “Will we be ok if we don’t get any bookings for the first couple of years or so?” his answer “Yes I should think so”.

Hitting the ground running

This was not to be the case as there was not a 2 year wait. The first 3 weeks were taken up with trying to tidy up the place and then for the following 10 weeks The cast of Cats arrived so we were tending to their needs whilst embarking on the upgrades at the same time.

When “The Cats” departed we went live on booking.com and from there onwards the guests started to arrive.

A new website

I was then looking for a window cleaner and it so happened his website was far better than the one I had been using for the previous business which I transfered to Four Rooms. I contacted Chris who had built the window cleaning site and we have never looked back. A professional looking site backed up by home comforts and personal service has bulit Four Rooms into a far bigger success than we could have ever imagined.

Online advertising

Booking.com played a part in the first instance but as guests got to know us they began booking via our own booking platform on the website.

Facebook also plays a large part with guests sharing our pictures and hundreds of views are always being reported.

In just 20 months we are No. 1 out of 915 Blackpool B&B’s on Tripadvisor and No.28 on Booking.com out of 7269 in England, No. 3 in Blackpool and Lancashire.

Continual improvements

We continue with our upgrades to decor and service levels as initially this is our home but with the added bonus of an income. We are now into the realms of guests returning and we are up to for some their 10th visit in the 20 months we have been here.

A far cry from the advice from others when we embarked on this. “Why Blackpool” “Its a dump” “Oh don’t go there”. We now look to the future in the potential growth due to the winter gardens expansion with the conference centre and hopefully Blackpool Council bucking up their ideas and smartening up the whole town.

Happy guests mean happy hosts

Guests now return to our doorstep with a big hug and say “Oooh I feel like I’m back at home”. They really do all arrive as strangers and leave as friends.

We now state on the website that Four Rooms is 5 star Gold for 5 star Gold Guests. Accredited by Visit England. We are real people with a passion for our guests’ needs is this really is all that we adhere to – and this will inevitably work for us both in the future.

Four Rooms – A 5 Star B&B in Blackpool