Mardi Gras
A gay-owned public bar and hotel on Lord Street with three areas, cabaret, hot food, Sunday roasts and keen drink prices.
Mardi Gras 2 and the Northern Star (closed)
A gay hotel with its own bar at the seaward end of Lord Street, under two names.
Permanently closed
Mardi Gras 2
At 9–11 Lord Street, in the guest-house streets of the quarter, stood a small adults-only hotel known as Mardi Gras 2. It was openly a gay hotel, with a cosy, lively gay bar downstairs serving drinks and light snacks. It followed the classic Blackpool pattern of rooms upstairs and a bar below, where guests and locals could mix before heading out to Funny Girls or the Queen Street bars.
The Northern Star
The building later traded as the Northern Star Hotel. It described itself as being in the heart of Blackpool's vibrant gay scene, a couple of minutes from Funny Girls and the village bars, and it stayed on gay hotel listings into the 2020s.
The bar closes
The Northern Star's alcohol licence was suspended in September 2023 and surrendered in February 2024, which brought the bar to an end. The latest guest stays we can find date from 2024. Some booking websites still show the hotel, but we have found no sign that it is trading, so treat any listing with care.
Open bars nearby
Trades Hotel and Bar
A men-only members' hotel and late bar for gay and bi men, spread across several joined townhouses on Lord Street.
Neon Bar and Hotel Neon
An intimate cocktail bar with a garden, attached to the modern, adults-only Hotel Neon on the corner of Lord Street.
Rendezvous Bar and Rooms
A small, friendly bar with rooms at the station end of Lord Street, with something on most afternoons from Thursday to Sunday.
McGraths Bar and Hotel
An adults-only guest house with a lively public bar at the seaward end of Lord Street, known for resident drag and singers.
Evanescent Bar and Rooms
A small, laid-back bar with budget adults-only rooms on Cocker Street, popular as a pre-party stop.