Hotel & Apartments Social Club Blackpool
The Hotel & Apartments Social Club will host the CIU Entertainment Showcase on Friday, April 17 and will once again give a warm welcome to CIU members from all over the UK
Tucked away in the heart of Blackpool and just a short walk from the famous Winter Gardens, the H&A Social Club is a beloved venue for locals and visitors alike, with people from all over the UK walking through its doors to enjoy its warm Lancashire hospitality and excellent live entertainment.
While many venues have struggled in recent years, the Hotel and Apartments Social Club, AKA The H&A Social Club, has invested £160,000 in refurbishments during the past 12 months and is preparing for another busy holiday season.
Club Secretary Chris Mulley, who also runs the Sunnyhurst Hotel directly opposite, has overseen a remarkable transformation. When he became heavily involved eight years ago, the club was struggling to remain relevant with trade tailing off. Today, in Chris's own words, it is "punching above its weight" in one of the UK's most competitive entertainment markets.
The challenges facing traditional social clubs in recent years in Blackpool are formidable. All-inclusive deals at major hotels have fundamentally altered visitor behaviour.
"The biggest problem clubs in general have faced recently is that the bigger hotels have started doing more or less all-inclusive deals as they don't want you to go out of the hotels," says Chris. "Whereas before, holidaymakers would be more likely to come down and see the acts that we put on, the hotels are trying to keep them 'in house' with very good deals and their own entertainment."
Yet the H&A has found a way to thrive by understanding its unique position. Located amid the small hotels and apartments that dot this part of town, the club has always relied heavily on holidaymakers.
"We've got our membership and we have our locals, but we rely heavily on holidaymakers and visitors to the town, so trade holds up well throughout the year because there's always something going on in Blackpool," says Chris.
Last year, the club made a bold statement of intent with that six-figure investment in its facilities. The timing was fortuitous – a flood had damaged flooring both upstairs and down, triggering an insurance claim. But rather than simply repair, the committee saw an opportunity to update the entire club.
"When we were getting all the works done through the insurance, we decided to spend quite a lot of our own money to upgrade the rest of it in one go," says Chris.
The club closed completely for two weeks in February 2025, while the upstairs Concert Room remained out of action for several weeks. The transformation has been significant. New carpeting throughout, improved stairways, more welcoming external signage and a refreshed interior have modernised a building whose deeds date back to 1894, even if its current incarnation dates from the 1960s.
"There's still some work to do, but we spent significant amounts to ensure that it's a modern venue," says Chris. "Inside, it's very nice and comfortable for customers. Outside, we've got new signage to let people know that they're welcome to come in."
From the end of April through to November, the H&A offers live entertainment seven nights a week. The programming is carefully considered, mixing established favourites with fresh talent.
"Some of the acts have been here for a fair while, but what we're doing – even with some, especially when they're on with backing tracks– we actually pay to get some new music done for them on the backing tracks, say four, five, six songs, so they can add it into their set and mix in some really up-to-date songs. It really freshens it up and helps span the generations."
The quality on offer is remarkable given there's no admission charge. "We've got an Amy Winehouse tribute act who is phenomenal while another regular, Kearra Bethany, was playing the Opera House at the Winter Gardens last year," says Chris. "It was £38 a ticket to see her. And she comes here once a month and you can see her perform for free."
The funding model relies on bingo revenues to cover entertainment costs. "Effectively we don't charge admission because we do well on the bingo but we are spending more on the artists in order to keep it as fresh as we can."
Bingo is a cornerstone of the H&A's success, with multiple sessions each evening drawing enthusiastic crowds. The game has been revitalised with simplified pricing, screen-based play, and characterful callers who bring their own personality to proceedings.
The investment in improving bingo was a direct response to customer feedback. Chris noticed guests from his hotel were getting taxis to other clubs. When he asked why, the answer was blunt yet revealing: "Same artists and crap payouts on the bingo."
The club addressed both issues, and the results have been striking. "Now I haven't had anyone ask in two years to go to another club," he says. "They all come over here and have a fantastic time."
Perhaps the most dramatic transformation has been in catering. The club has brought food operations in-house after a difficult period of franchising that left them with little control over opening hours or quality.
"We had about three or four people who ran it in a row. We had no control over when they were going to open or what they were going to do," says Chris. "So now we run it in-house. We always make sure that it's staffed and we can always guarantee that the food's available when people want it."
The impact on trade has been remarkable. "It's gone from around £10,000 turnover to £80,000 turnover since we took it in-house," reveals Chris.
Weekends now feature breakfasts and Sunday dinners, alongside a standard menu available throughout the day and evening. The food is homemade, competitively priced, and serves a crucial strategic purpose, keeping customers on the premises.
The club has recently expanded its profile through social media channels and this has helped to bring in a younger demographic to the club's entertainment nights. "We are getting more and more younger people," says Chris. "We find that young people love bingo and the live entertainment – it seems to have gone full circle."
The club's location proves advantageous for attracting a mixed demographic. "Generally each week it's more or less a different audience because 95 per cent of people in the Concert Room on any given night will be holidaymakers, although a lot of them are members, even if they don't live in Blackpool," says Chris.
His dual role as hotelier gives him unique insight into what brings visitors to Blackpool – and what keeps them coming back to the H&A.
"The reason I got involved heavily was because it was struggling and it wasn't moving forward," he says. "To me, it was the biggest asset my hotel has got because so many of my guests were coming here because of the club.
"Then once they started drifting elsewhere to other clubs, it made more sense to stay in hotels nearer to those other clubs. So that's why I took it on, in order to try move it forward as well. And it has worked."
The symbiotic relationship is now so strong that guests plan their holidays around the club's entertainment schedule. "I know from my guests and when I speak to other hoteliers, a lot of guests plan their holiday around what's on at the H&A," says Chris. "That's a testament to the high-quality entertainment we put on and to the whole experience we offer."
With the CIU Annual Conference approaching, the H&A is preparing to welcome delegates for the Entertainment Showcase event on Friday, April 17. Last year's event proved a success, and expectations are high for 2026.
The club's upstairs concert room, with its fantastic sound system, state-of-the-art lighting and open layout, provides an ideal venue. "We're really looking forward to welcoming CIU members for what will be a fantastic night with some great artistes performing," says Chris.
For CIU members descending on Blackpool, the H&A offers a traditional club that has successfully adapted to survive and thrive. As Chris puts it: "I think what we've got – our strength – is that you can come in here and it's a 'one-stop shop'.
"You don't need to leave. Because you've got your food, you've got your bingo, you've got your entertainment, you've got your gaming machines, your live sport on the TV and the Games Room – there's everything here."
In a town where too many clubs have disappeared from the scene, that ability to offer a complete package – combined with substantial investment, smart marketing, and a clear understanding of their holidaymaker audience – has kept the H&A Social Club not just surviving, but flourishing. And as the CIU gathers for its Conference in April, delegates will find a warm welcome at a venue that exemplifies the resilience and adaptability the wider Union is now seeking to secure its own future.
