who hasn't wanted to escape the world and live in a secluded floating fort in the ocean that's
been turned into a hotel well now you have that opportunity if you have a few million dollars to
spare as several former military forts off the coast of great britain were converted
into luxury hotels and now they're for sale and you can pick them up today we're going to take
a look at each of the three forts on the market that are owned by the same company we'll examine
their history just how much each of them is and the features you can enjoy so let's get started
based in soland a strait between britain and the isle of wight and located near the city of
portsmouth sits what's known collectively as the solent palmerston forts there's no
man's land fort spitbank fort st helens fort and horse sanford these locations have even appeared
in tv productions with the doctor who serial the sea devils using no man's as a location in 1972
the forts were created as protection against possible attacks from france from 1865 to between
1878 and 1880 all four of the strongholds were built horse sand and no man's land were 200 feet
in diameter and fully armored plated while saint helens and spitbank were 150 feet in
diameter and only armored on the front according to the uk's royal navy museum excluding weapons
saint helens cost 123 311 pounds around 169 thousand four hundred dollars today to construct
spit bank cost 167 300 pounds or 229 900 horse sand cost 424 694 pounds or 583 600
and no man's land was 462 500 pounds or 635 500 giving us a grand total of one million
one hundred seventy seven thousand eight hundred and five pounds or 1.6 million dollars
with inflation that would be the same as 144.9 million pounds or 199.9 million dollars
by the time the first fort was completed the fear of a french invasion had long passed
the structures wouldn't become active again until world war 1 and then world war
ii according to reports by the time the latter event came around life on the forts was very
difficult after all they had suffered years of neglect as such only those serving that couldn't
swim were stationed on the forts to limit people abandoning their post and swimming back to shore
after the wars the structures were decommissioned from military service by 1963 the royal navy tried
to offload the forts to a private buyer however there were no takers it wasn't until the 1980s
when a buyer came forward to purchase spit bank they then turned the fort into a museum
later the other citadels found new owners as well no man's land was eventually turned into a luxury
hotel by bob's leisure limited back then corporate clients could book the stronghold 4 events at
five thousand pounds or thirty four thousand four hundred dollars per day
in 2004 the fort was valued at 14 million pounds or 19.2 million dollars however
also that year disaster struck one guest ended up catching legionnaires disease investigators
found the legionella bacteria at no man's as a result the hotel was closed the owners soon went
out of business and the bank put no man's on the market for 3 million pounds or 4.1 million dollars
in early 2006 lexi holding bought the fort but six months later they also went under with debts over
100 million pounds around 137.4 million dollars in 2008 harmesh pooney who was the director of
bob's leisure limited claimed he was still the owner of no man's so he barricaded himself inside
the fort he was eventually evicted in 2009 the administrators for no man sold the fort for just
910 000 pounds around 1.25 million dollars by 2009 spitbank was the first of the forts to
be picked up by clarenco for more than 1 million pounds or 1.4 million dollars clerenco then spent
3.5 million pounds or 4.8 million dollars on refurbishing the fort into a luxury hotel that
was opened in 2011. by 2012 the group bought no man's and horse sand as well
they plan to expand their retreat portfolio as well as create a living museum on horse sand
the fourth palmerston solent fort st helens remained with an undisclosed private owner
it's reported that mike clare the owner of clerenko had spent around 5.5 million pounds
or 7.6 million dollars to buy all three forts he then spent between 8 million pounds nearly 11
million dollars to 12 million pounds around 16.5 million dollars on refurbishing the forts by 2015
the hotel on no man's was open to guests but by 2020 the three forts were put up for sale
at the time of writing horse sand is still listed for 750 000 pounds or one million dollars spit
bank for four million pounds around 5.5 million dollars and no man's is up for 4.25 million pounds
around 5.8 million dollars as for the features for each fort firstly we have horse sand beyond
being more run down the citadel is essentially the same as when it was built minus any potential
dangerous equipment across 99 000 square feet of living space the listing states it has quote
100 chambers and living quarters and the original gun carriages and armored plated walls unquote
as for spit bank it has 33 000 square feet of interior space surrounded by 15 foot thick
granite walls it comes with nine bedrooms and nine full bathrooms since it's been operating as
a three-story hotel it has guest suites and many luxurious features such as the crow's nest this
is a contemporary bar located high up in spit bank it's able to fit up to 60 people for events such
as weddings there's the officers mess restaurant that is decorated with original iron work to
give it that authenticity for those wanting a more ambient drink there's the victory bar
complete with a laurent perrier champagne bar the area also has various games for guests to enjoy
for more private events there's the wine cave it's available for wine tasting and for a more
quiet drink if you want to enjoy a meal in more open surroundings guests can dine in the courtyard
finally there's the roof terrace there you can find a sun deck a hot pool a sauna and a fire pit
spitbank also offers a host of activities including cocktail making rum tasting wine
and cheese tasting champagne sabridge and fishing as for no man's land fort
there are 23 bedrooms and 9 full bathrooms within 000 square feet of interior space
as for features there's a tv room a snooker room a pool table room a library a games room with a
card table and chess board a spa a sauna a hot pool a fire pit and even a laser battle room
as for food and drink there's the lord nelson pub the cabaret club the scuttlebutt and the mess hall
guests could even stay within the fort's lighthouse and take in some of the stunning views
unfortunately the forts are not currently accepting guests at the time of writing
previously the cost of room started at around 400 per night but if you're willing to pay to own one
port or buy all three for a combined 9 million pounds or 12.4 million dollars then you can enjoy
all of the features and rooms soon final fact finish if you want to move to england and have
a boatload of cash then we suggest one of the most expensive houses on the market
at the time of riding hampton hall this luxurious mansion located in london is
currently listed for nearly 40.2 million dollars this 11 bedroom abode comes with staff
quarters a bowling alley a gym and an indoor pool thanks for watching we'll see you next time