The refurbishment of this Grade 2 Listed Royal Dart Hotel removes the detrimental intrusions of 160 years of ad-hoc development and reinstates the fabric and proportions of the building's late 19th Century heyday as a grand railway hotel. Extensive pre-application discussions were required to find an acceptable scheme, which both unlocks the potential of this fine building and safeguards its future. The building's prominent location at the head of Kingswear, both on the water's edge and where the ferries and steam train meet, required a light touch externally and led to a challenging construction site. The existing building's poor state of repair was seen as an embarrassment to the residents of Kingswear as it forms the first and last impression for visitors to the village. The internal conversion strategy sensitively accommodates generously scaled apartments, as befitting such a grand and prominent building. The interiors feature herringbone oak flooring and aged brass fittings to add warmth to the reinstated principle rooms. The zinc clad roof-top extension has been sensitively detailed to sit comfortably within the roofscape without impact on either the building’s silhouette or views of the village beyond.