The Queens Hotel, a 16-room Victorian boutique pub hotel in Lytham, is fully booked a year in advance for the Lytham Festival, which runs from July 1 to 5, 2026. The festival, celebrating its 15th anniversary, attracts tens of thousands of visitors to the seaside town, with headliners including Teddy Swims, Alanis Morrissette, Michael Bublé, Pet Shop Boys, Scissor Sisters, and Pitbull.
Historic Venue at the Heart of the Action
The Grade II listed building, originally built as a bath house in 1853, offers views over Lytham Green, the Ribble Estuary, and Lytham Windmill. It was purchased by the Clifton family in 1857, demolished, and replaced by the Neptune Hotel, later renamed the Queens Hotel in 1870. It was the first hotel to feature fitted baths with plumbing.
General manager Jason Clegg, 34, explained that rooms sell out as soon as festival dates are announced. “The hotel gets booked up around a year in advance. As soon as Lytham Festival releases the dates for the following year, usually the week after the event finishes, the rooms are snapped up. We have 16 rooms, so they go very quickly,” he said.
Preparations and Atmosphere
Staff begin preparations up to a year in advance, ordering far more stock than typical busy periods. “We will order and go through way more than double or triple. Every venue in Lytham benefits from it,” Clegg said. During the festival, the beer garden is full, with live music and a bustling atmosphere. “With 25,000 people across the road at the festival site, we stay busy right up until the acts finish each night,” he added.
Despite the chaos, the hotel maintains a family-friendly environment. “It’s not a rowdy or drunken festival – it’s still very much a family event,” Clegg noted. The hotel is also dog-friendly and runs children’s events at Easter and Halloween.
Community Spirit
Clegg emphasised the community atmosphere, with regulars visiting two or three times a week. “People all know me by name and call out to me when they come in. It takes me about 30 seconds to recognise so many familiar faces. It’s all about the community. Pubs sometimes get a bad reputation, but places like this really bring communities together,” he said.
After the festival, regulars return, and the hotel continues its year-round role as a community hub. “There are people who come into the pub two or three times a week and have done for years. They’re old-school pub regulars who enjoy a traditional pint and we’re one of the few venues selling Old Peculiar,” Clegg added.
