In 1776, Lawrence Bailey, a farmer from the Layton area of Blackpool, began work on a hotel by the shore.

Construction was completed in 1785 and, on 14 June, Bailey began advertising his hotel in the Manchester Mercury newspaper.

Of those only two remain: Bailey's (or Baylie's)[3] Hotel, which became the Metropole, and Forshaw's, which became the Clifton Arms and is currently run as a Travelodge.

The other two hotels, Hudson's and Hull's Tavern, were later converted into department stores and remain in retail use today.

In 1900 the building underwent further substantial renovation resulting in its expanding to twice its previous size and taking on the Victorian appearance it retains to this day.