The new owners are planning a full refurbishment programme following the purchase of The Swan @ Hay Hotel in the book capital of Hay-on-Wye.
The 18-bedroomed hotel has been acquired by the owners of the multi-award winning Llangoed Hall at nearby Llyswen who plan a major project to re-roof and refurbish the property over the winter and early spring.
The workforce of 15 full and part-time staff is being retained as part of the deal and a new manager and head chef are in the process of being appointed.
Calum Milne, managing director of Llangoed Limited, said The Swan @ Hay Hotel was the third hotel to be acquired by the company, which has its sights set on further expansion.
The other hotels in the group are the multi-award winning Llangoed Hall and the 49-bedroomed, award winning Sudbury House in Faringdon, near Oxford.
The Swan @ Hay Hotel, popular as a location for weddings, conferences, family reunions and short breaks, was previously owned by the Mackintosh family for seven years. Able to cater for weddings and banquets of up to 120 people, the hotel’s restaurant has been awarded one AA rosette. Mr Milne now plans to update the food offering.
“The hotel will continue to run until January when we plan to close it for a full refurbishment, including a brand new roof, which will bring the property up to a more comfortable standard that will sit alongside its sister hotels, Llangoed Hall and Sudbury House,” said Mr Milne.
“We expect to complete the refurbishment by the end of April 2016 when it will be a very comfortable coaching inn offering very good food.
“The Swan @ Hay Hotel fits nicely in its locale and offers another price point for our customers and an alternative dining experience for guests at Llangoed Hall.
We will not be taking the dining experience to the same level as Llangoed Hall as there is no point in creating competition unnecessarily, but The Swan @ Hay Hotel will be serving very good food and certainly some good, old classics.
“Because of the successful growth of weddings at Llangoed Hall, we need to expand the number of bedrooms that we are able to offer to our guests and the acquisition will give us a much stronger base for the Hay Festival next year.
“Hay-on-Wye is a delightful town primarily renowned for its international book festival and book shops. It is also a tourist town popular for short breaks and is perfectly located on the edge of the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains.”
Mr Milne has overseen a remarkable transformation in the fortunes of Llangoed Hall since rescuing the historic property from administration in July 2012. He has invested more than £3 million on refurbishing the 23-bedroomed hotel and its 15-acre estate.
A string of impressive awards culminated in the hotel’s fine dining restaurant achieving three rosettes from the AA last year and it was recently named in the Waitrose Good Food Guide’s top 50 UK restaurants for 2016.
“We are delighted with the acquisition of the Swan @ Hay Hotel and have no intention of standing still, as we wish to be leaders in raising the standard of hospitality in Wales,” he added. “The group will look at further expansion in the near future.”
No comments:
Post a Comment