SOHAM Lodge Hotel could be turned into a private care home for 18 residents.
Plans have been submitted to East Cambridgeshire Council for permission to change the use of the building which has been boarded up since the hotel closed suddenly in March.
The application was put forward two weeks ago by Eastcliff Developments L
td, an Essex-based company which would carry out the work on behalf of the building's owner David Lidford.
Sean Marten, of JTS Partnership, the agents for Eastcliff Developments, said: "The application is a simple change of use from the hotel to the care home.
"This is a major application which will take 13 weeks to be decided. After that, it will be the clients decision as to when he wants to clear the outside and start work on the care home."
According to the planning application, the outside appearance of the building would remain the same and a mix of 12 full-time and part-time staff would be employed.
Consultations will be carried out with Soham Town Council before a decision is made on the scheme in late October.
The proposal has received a mixed response from town councillors.
Cllr Rosemary Aitchison said: "I think it is a crazy idea as it is a very busy place to put a care home.
"It should be what it is, a hotel, as we need somewhere like that in Soham.
"I was hoping someone else might take it on as a hotel again."
Fellow town councillor Julie Webb said she was surprised when she heard the news as she thought the building would re-open as a hotel.
"The thing we are lacking is accommodation," she said.
"Really a motel of some kind would be more beneficial for people travelling to Cambridge.
"We are pretty well catered for with care homes as we already have Keith Leonard House, Fair Haven and Fenland Lodge."
The council's planning committee was due to discuss the plans as the Journal went to press yesterday.
Soham Lodge Hotel became the centre of attention in February when police launched an investigation into an allegation of fraud against a former employee.
The amount was believed to run into many thousands of pounds.
It then closed down in March, costing couples who had booked their wedding receptions hundreds of pounds worth in lost deposits and leaving them without a venue for their big day.
