Culture
29 Aug 19

The Libertines to open The Albion Rooms bars and recording studio in Margate

The Libertines to open <i>The Albion Rooms</i> bars and recording studio in Margate

The Albion Rooms will become a hotel with two bars and a recording studio.

This Saturday sees The Libertines unveil the 'first phase' of The Albion Rooms, their vision to convert a five storey ten room Victorian building overlooking the sea in Margate into a den of artistry (and occasional iniquity).

The opening includes two different bars and a recording studio. All three of them will open for the public on Saturday, August 31 at 1pm.

The downstairs bar is 'The Waste Land', (as in the T.S Eliot poem, written two doors down from The Albion Rooms, whilst Eliot was recuperating from a nervous breakdown), will be open to the public all year round. The bar will be a home for international and local artists to perform poetry / live music and exhibit art.

The Upstairs bar will initially be open to the public before becoming a private bar and lounge space for the studio and residents. For the first month, both bars will only be open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The state of the art recording studio is available for viewing and bookings.

The 'second phase', the opening of The Albion Rooms hotel and restaurant, is scheduled for early 2020 and will feature seven individually decorated rooms, including rooms themed by each member of The Libertines. The restaurant is going to host local and guest chefs from across the globe to create distinctive and unique eating opportunities. Once completed, The Albion Rooms will be utilised as a functioning guest house, installation art space and residential studio.

The Libertines acquired the keys to The Albion Rooms, 31 Eastern Esplanade Margate CT9 2HL, in September 2017. Carl Barât says: "It might be a while before we challenge The Savoy or The Grand Budapest in the hotel stakes, but we've put a lot of love into this. Meanwhile it's a colourful and inspiring home for the Libertines and I look forward to The Albion Rooms becoming our very own Warholian Factory."

Carl Barât and Peter Doherty play two sold-out acoustic shows at London's Hackney Empire on September 5 and 6, as part of Somewhere Festival. The Libertines also play the following shows in the UK and Europe this autumn and winter: