2007-05-17

Great Britain | Commercial property: Hotel Property Restoration Expansion International

Yorkshire Company to Transform Historic Welsh Castle Into Five Star Country House Hotel

Great Britain: Yorkshire-based Clayton Hotels has unveiled ambitious plans to transform one of Wales's major historic buildings into a five-star country house hotel.

Gwrych Castle - a Grade I listed building and a structure of national importance located near Abergele in North Wales - has fallen into disrepair over the last 17 years. However, it will soon be restored to its former glory accommodating over 90 luxury rooms, a world-class health & beauty spa, a fine dining restaurant and banqueting, wedding & conferencing facilities.

Clayton Hotels purchased Gwrych Castle for GBP850,000, and the company is anticipating that the entire project will require a total investment of GBP6m.

Kris Clayton, chairman of Clayton Hotels, said: "Local residents have witnessed a unique historical building slowly falling down as a result of years of neglect, whilst Clayton Hotels' plans will fully respect the unique architectural features of Gwrych Castle.

"We have both the vision and financial backing to ensure that the castle once more becomes a focal point for local, national and international visitors to the area."

Clayton Hotels is a sister company of Clayton Homes, a property and construction company based in Elland, near Halifax, which is renowned for sympathetically restoring and developing former mill buildings. Gwrych Castle is the first property in the Clayton Hotels portfolio and will be the company's flagship hotel.

Kris, who is also chairman of Clayton Homes, added: "I formed Clayton Hotels to provide people with the ultimate country house hotel experience and Gwrych Castle will enable us to set those new standards.

"The castle is a superb example of romantic architecture, and we are hugely excited about the restoration project we are about to undertake. Not only will it breathe life back into the building, but it will also provide the area with the very best that the hotel & leisure industry has to offer. I will personally oversee the restoration project and also select the management team to ensure that Gwrych Castle becomes synonymous with excellence."

Although Gwrych Castle is the first hotel in Clayton Hotels' portfolio the company is already looking at a number of other possible country house locations throughout the UK.

It is anticipated that the new hotel will also directly and indirectly create over 100 quality jobs, boosting the local economy.

The restoration and development project by Clayton Hotels at Gwrych Castle is subject to planning and is anticipated to take two to three years to complete

Yacht Vacations & Charters Magazine - 2007-05-17