Hotels changing hands

All 56 jobs at risk at a Cotswold hotel which struggled during the Covid-19 pandemic are set to be saved. The Three Ways hotel at Mickelton, famous for its Pudding Club, faced insolvency but has now been bought out of administration.

The 48-bedroom Classic Country Hotels property was put on sale for offers over £4 million by administrators FRP in July and a buyer was found so that it can continue to operate as a going concern with the transfer of all staff. Also in the Cotswolds, Corse Lawn House hotel has gone on the market for £2.5million after owner Baba Hine, of the Hine Cognac family, decided to retire from the business she purchased with her late husband in 1978.

She explains: “After my dear husband Denis passed, I almost gave up, but I realised that this is really the only life I have known, and I love it. Seventeen years later it is finally time for someone new to take the reins. Corse Lawn Hotel will always hold a special place in my heart.” The 18-bedroom country house hotel now being marketed by Colliers was originally built in the mid-1700s and the Hines cared wonderfully for it over the years, adding numerous amenities.

After my dear husband Denis passed, I almost gave up, but I realised that this is really the only life I have known, and I love it.

Corse Lawn has received a multitude of awards, including AA Top 200 rated hotel, recent winner of Country Hotel of the Year in Good Hotel Guide, OpenTable Winner of Diners Choice 2016, AA Award for Notable Wine List 2019 and Certificate of Excellence in TripAdvisor.

Retirement also beckons for Simon Hughes at Milford Hall Hotel and Spa in Salisbury which has been sold via Colliers to expanding hospitality business Zarfeen Group & Investments. The Georgian former manor house went off a guide price of £3.5 million through Colliers.

Hughes Hotels has owned the property since 1998 and Simon Hughes says: “During 25 years of ownership we have taken Milford Hall from a small local hotel in Salisbury, and through extensions and improvements have made it a well-respected business with a boutique spa on site. We’re proud of what we’ve achieved thanks to the hard work and dedication of our staff. As I now move into retirement, we wish the new owners every success in their stewardship of Milford Hall.”

Also looking to a new future are Simon and Wendy Bennett, who have owned award-winning Augill Castle Hotel and Restaurant at Kirkby, nestled between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales, for the past 25 years. The property is on sale through Colliers with a guide price of £2.25 million.

The Victorian gentleman’s country residence packed with period features was originally purchased as their family home but over the years they developed the property from a three-bedroom guest house into a 12-bedroom boutique hotel, and separate five-bed owner’s cottage. The castle includes 12 acres of private grounds and sits on a small working estate where the owners raise cattle, sheep, and pigs. Simon Bennett says: “It has been a joy and honour to have shared our magical home and the simple joys of country life with our guests over the years. We couldn’t have asked for a more fulfilling life but after a quarter of a century it’s time for something new.”

Meanwhile the iconic four-star Daffodil Hotel & Spa overlooking Lake Grasmere has become the third landmark hotel purchased this year by Fairtree Alternative Real Estate backed by Blantyre Capital Limited.

They previously purchased luxury Scottish hotels Fonab Castle Hotel and Dunkeld House in Perthshire earlier this year. The 78-bedroom hotel sitting in nine acres of landscaped gardens and woodland has been sold through Colliers for an undisclosed price.