After a period of sixteen years as a  Residential Care Home proprietor, the time had arrived for a change in the daily routine of business. I decided that I would prefer to continue in the service industry, so with my business colleague, the search began to find a suitable establishment to convert into a small hotel.

No 7 Windsor Road was chosen as the ideal venue and after completion of contracts the hotel concept began. It was in a very poor condition of maintenance and required  a completely new  electrical installation, all the pipe work for the plumbing to be re-placed and a re-plaster throughout the building. There were certain minor subsidence cracks showing and these had to be rectified with the use of a builder.

This was under the jurisdiction of Building Control and Planning to ensure that all was within the control legislation.

This  needed the introduction of tradesman into the equation and the  problems then became apparent. The quality of work in some cases was subject to scrutiny and an  architect, plumber and joiner  were quickly despatched.             

These were re-placed at speed and the work progressed at a steady pace. Unfortunately, tradesman do not stay on a task until it is finished and there were periods of idleness when they had to depart from  the site for another job in their itinery. 

These were quite frequent and frustrating but the task was completed after  thirteen months. It then just remained for  Enid and myself to start the internal decoration,  the purchase of furniture, beds, carpets and all the requisites that make up the daily running of a hotel. This was by no means a simple task but was achieve without too much “raising of the blood pressure”, and the 21st of July finally arrived.

We have received  an abundance of  highly complimentary comments from  residents in the area, mothers and children passing by,and professional people who all seemed very pleased with the appearance that we have achieved. It has given us the confidence, as two unknown outsiders coming to the area, to impose a new business on the homes and lifestyle of existing residents.

The effort and time it has taken to complete the project has been worth the final accolade of achieving a Quality Assurance rating from the Visit Britain Tourist Board of Four Diamonds, This has made it all worthwhile.

                                                       Ian M Gell (Proprietor)