hotelThe Hotel Inspector · Season 4, Episode 5 · Aired August 7, 2008
Number Nine B&B
Torquay, England
This one survived. It remains in business.
What happened after
Period townhouse (8 bedrooms/5 bathrooms) now operating as self-catering holiday accommodation for up to 24 guests under 'Your Stay Devon' branding rather than a traditional B&B model.
What happened on the show
Alex Polizzi's series 4 plan for Number Nine in Torquay was unusually specific: relaunch the establishment as a 1950s-themed bed and breakfast. That points to a property lacking a clear identity, the sort of eight-bedroom Devon townhouse that blends into a crowded seaside market unless it stands for something. Polizzi's design-led approach favoured giving a place a single strong concept guests could remember and book on, and the mid-century relaunch was her answer here. The gamble was that a coherent theme, executed well, would lift Number Nine out of the anonymous middle of Torquay's accommodation and give it a story worth telling, rather than leaving it as one more interchangeable townhouse on the English Riviera. The mid-century relaunch aired in August 2008, during Polizzi's first full series after taking the show over from Ruth Watson.
After the cameras left
Number Nine is still trading, though the model has moved on again. The period townhouse now operates as self-catering holiday accommodation for up to twenty-four guests under a Your Stay Devon branding, rather than a traditional bed and breakfast. A Facebook post in June 2026 confirms current management activity. The shift from B&B to whole-property let is a genuine change of business type, but the same building and name continue, so this is a survival and adaptation rather than a closure, held at medium confidence given the branding change.
Sources
Confidence: medium. Last checked 2026-07-19.