During the late 1800s, Lord Palmerston, the British Prime Minister of that time, commissioned the construction of several sea forts in the Solent to protect Portsmouth harbour from French invasion following news that Napoleon III had become Emperor of France. The attacks never materialized, yet the forts continued to be fortified with guns and kept in order for the better part of a century. After being decommissioned in the 1980s, the forts were sold off to private parties. Now, after a £3 million (US$4.85 million) makeover, one of these forts has been transformed into an exclusive luxury hotel, with two others soon to follow.

The Horse Sands Fort is now a museum, the Spitbank Fort has been transformed into a luxury hotel with eight suites, and the No Man’s Land Fort will become an even larger hotel.