A Black Country hotel ravaged by fire in 2003 had been named as one of the top 20 restoration projects in the country by English Heritage.
The last guests at the Molineux Hotel checked out in 1972 after which the Georgian building deteriorated rapidly before it was destroyed in a blaze.
But it is now ranked alongside the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon as one of the most important historical buildings to be restored.
As part of the organisation’s Constructive Conservation scheme, local councils work with English Heritage to help save buildings that would otherwise be lost.
Kings Cross Central, Crystal Palace and the Regent Palace Hotel in London were also saved.
