Our History

Built in 1898, to a grand Edwardian/Victorian design, Imperial Hotel was owned and run by three generations of the Mobbs family from the early 1930s. 

Until the late 1960s, the hotel was run by grandfather Campbell Lindsay, who hailed from Aberdeen. Nick’s parents, Roger and Jill Mobbs, took over the helm, running the business until the late 1990s. Nick joined the business in 1984, straight from University, as the Hotel Manager, while his father, Roger, ran the kitchens, and his mother, Jill, looked after Housekeeping. 

Nick and Aileen first met at the Scottish Hotel School at Strathclyde University in Glasgow in 1981, while studying for degrees in Hotel and Catering Management. Nick and Aileen were married in 1987, and together, took over the Imperial Hotel in 2002. Nick and Aileen worked tirelessly to raise the standards at the Imperial Hotel and, over time, took the hotel from a 2-star property to Norfolk’s only 4-star hotel, boasting the resort's only 2 AA rosette restaurant.

In March 2023, following a carefully managed succession plan, Nick and Aileen announced their retirement from the day-to-day running of the hotel, and the Imperial Hotel became an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), maintaining its independent status.   
Established Hotel Director, Grant Smith, remains at the helm and is a part-owner of the Imperial Hotel.