Decaying hotel perfect setting for film makers

But it was not for the elegance of the former 50-bedroomed pride of Bexhill that they came, but for its dowdy, dark, neglected look.

The Grand, once the town s biggest hotel, is hosting a film crew for the next six weeks.

Globocine Film Productions is producing a 500,000 thriller The Only Hotel, behind its shuttered and boarded windows.

Between 20 and 30 cast and crew are living in the hotel while they film the moody thriller.

Its cracking plaster, broken windows and decaying decor fit the bill for the haunting thriller which follows a girl through a voyage of self-discovery.

Producer Ivan Clements picked the hotel from several on the south coast the moment he saw it.

I was putting out feelers for a hotel location and a councillor e-mailed me to suggest the Grand. I got in touch with the owner and as soon as I saw it I thought it was ideal.

The owner left me to have a look around and I must admit it was a strange feeling. As I wandered around doors behind me would creak and it was dark and moody.

People have been breaking in and living here so I was half expecting someone to jump out and lunge at me.

Ninety-five per cent of the film is shot in the hotel, with exterior sequences already in the can from the East End s Bow area in London.

Filming will take place in the hotel s once grand ballroom, the dining room, foyer, kitchen and several bedrooms.

The last day of the shoot, October 14, will take place at the De La Warr for a spooky dream sequence.

Writer/director Stuart Collinge, from Melbourne, said the hotel was ideal for his film.

It is a low budget film and this hotel seemed by far and away the best. I like the long corridors and the grand staircase and the ballroom.

It is dark and spooky and there is a variety of rooms of different sizes to both film and live in.

In the story the hotel is slightly run down so this suits us well.