Aquitania

The Parkbury Hotel in Sandown looks like a normal large Victorian building from the outside and much the same as all the other myriad hotels in the area. Go inside into Reception, however, and you see something that is not the normal decor of a hotel reception area - lots of lovely wooden panelling which is from the old Cunard liner Aquitania which went to the breakers in 1950, this wood subsequently finding its way into the hotel. The hotel also has an 'Aquitania Bar', which also gives a clue as to the wood's origins.

Apparently it takes days to polish that lot. I can well believe it - the photos only show a fraction of what's there.

Sorry for the quality of the pictures, these were taken on my mobile phone's camera which doesn't do well in low light situations.