LAP OF LUXURY
Hotel’s makeover
THE owners of the historic Plas Glynllifon mansion near Caernarfon have completed the restoration of the South Wing and revealed the final cost of the project has increased.
Paul and Rowena Williams took on the 102-room stately home, the original seat of Lord Newborough, last year and announced multi-million pound plans to transform the house into a five-star hotel – creating 100 jobs.
The mansion has been empty for several years after a previous attempt to create a wedding venue failed.
Paul said they had completed work on the South Wing – including the restoration of 10 bedrooms and 12 state rooms – and remained on target to open in autumn 2020.
He said the final project cost now is expected to total £16m, which includes plans for a banquet suite and spa in the courtyard.
They will now move on to the North and East wings of the mansion as well as starting on the restoration of the external walls.
There will be a number of planning applications submitted in the coming months to enable them to carry out their plans.
Paul said: “We are very happy with the work so far, this is how we imagined it when we set out our vision.
“It has been a lot of work and we have had between 20 and 40 workers on this.
“It is painstaking work, particularly the cornices. There have been 11,000 cornice and plaster repairs. I want to thank everyone involved in the restoration so far, with many of them coming from the local area.”
They have also laid 30 miles of data cables and 12 miles of electrical cabling to ensure the site also has the mod-cons alongside the stunning heritage features.
The roof restoration has been completed and they believe they have the correct solution for a silica external wall repair, which has been trialled on a small area of the building.
Paul, who held a meeting with planning officials on Friday, said: “We are now living on site and this has become a seven days a week project; we don’t get much time off.
“We have been so pleased by the reaction of people who have seen the work. Everyone has been very supportive.
“They are very happy with how this is going.”
Under the masterplan they want to infill the courtyard, with an application to be submitted for a spa and banqueting suite on that part of the site.
They will also submit plans for a Champagne and cocktail bar at the former bat roost, which has been successfully relocated to another part of the building.
The couple also bought the Seiont Manor in Llanrug last year with ambitious plans to expand the site, again creating more jobs in the area.
They have received support in principle for the expansion plans and will now submit a planning application.