The prospect of Bristol’s first five-star hotel could soon be a reality as plans for a £10 million luxury hotel have been recommended for approval.

A property company is hoping to transform the historic old Guildhall laws courts into a new high-end hotel, with 91 rooms, a spa and a restaurant.

The hotel will sit at the heart of Bristol city centre, taking over the Grade II* listed law courts and next-door buildings in between Broad Street and Small Street.

The plans were originally revealed in spring 2013, and it emerged in April this year that they were being extended to create an even larger hotel.

The Trevor Osborne Property Group, which bought the Guildhall from the city council, wanted to use the adjoining former Bank of England building to create more rooms for the plush new development.

And the rewritten plans are now recommended for approval by Bristol City Council’s development control committee.

The proposal is now to convert the building into 91 suites, along with a spa complex and rooftop swimming pool.

The Guildhall was built in 1843, and suffered from bombing damage in 1940 and the interior was rebuilt.

It has been empty since 2010.

During the conversion, it is expected that the most of the 1960s fabric of the building will be demolished.

There will also be a two-storey extension with room for a roof terrace and pool, and a roof extension at the back of the Bank of England building.

An events space will also be available for the general public to hire downstairs.

A report made for the development control committee said: “The proposal is for a high-quality hotel with a wide range of facilities which will be of significant benefit to the tourism, entertainment and leisure offer of the city.”

It was noted that while the hotel will do some harm to the Listed Building and Conservation Area in the old part of the city, the damage will be “fully mitigated by the substantial public benefits of bringing the buildings back into use.”

Historic England, The Victorian Society and City Deign Groups had concerns over the use of metal sheet cladding on the two-storey roof extension to the Guildhall, and the insertion of a corridor in the old Bank of England building.

According to the report, these issues have been resolved, although the Victorian Society has yet to comment on the new plans.

The development control committee will decided on whether to allow building work to start at the Guildhall on October 28.

Trevor Osborne, of the Bath-based property group, said: “We have worked very hard with the staff at the council and Historic England and everybody seems to be to favour of it.

“I am very excited to start work if it get approved on October 28.”

The history of the site

The site is at the heart of the medieval “old city” of Bristol, where there has been a Guildhall since at least 1348.

*The current former Guildhall was built in 1843, and the Small Street frontage was built in 1863 to house the Assize Court, replacing a terrace of merchants’ houses.

*The Guildhall was adapted for a new use by the Courts of Justice in the early 20th century.

*Following the impact of a WW2 incendiary bomb in 1940, the building underwent substantial internal modernisation.

*Currently, the inside of the building is still a partitioned law court.