Inside stunning £20m mansion restoration
THE developers behind iconic mansion projects in North Wales have sold six hotels in Mid-Wales and England to help fund the developments. Paul and Rowena Williams have bought Plas Brereton, Plas Ty Coch and Plas Glynllifon mansions near Caernarfon, and Seiont Manor in Llanrug. They are undertaking a £20m restoration project at Glynllifon to create a luxury hotel, plan a holiday development at the Brereton/Ty Coch estate and want to expand operations at Seiont Manor. Now, to support the funding of the multimillion pound projects in Gwynedd, they have sold a number of their hotels that were under the Leisure and Development brand. The sites are The Radnorshire Arms Hotel in Presteigne, Powys; The Knighton Hotel in Knighton, Powys; The Castle Inn & Holiday Park in Wigmore, Shropshire; The Bird in the Hand, Ironbridge, Shropshire; The Salutation Inn & Holiday Park in Berwick upon Tweed, Northumberland, and the Waves Resort in Seaton, Cornwall. They have been bought by Coast2Coast.
THE owners of Plas Glynllifon near Caernarfon have opened up the site as they continue their £20m transformation of the mansion into a five-star hotel.
Plas Glynllifon is a grand neoclassical mansion built in the 1830/40s by Lord Newborough and sits at the heart of an historical estate which exerted a profound influence over the landscapes and communities of Caernarfonshire for centuries.
In 1948, the estate was sold to a timber merchant and, in 1954, the house and park were sold to Caernarfonshire County Council, the buildings later transferred to Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor.
In 1969 Plas Glynllifon played host to the Prince of Wales’ Investiture Ball.
But the mansion has lain empty for several years after a previous attempt to create a wedding venue failed.
Paul and Rowena Williams took on the 102-room stately home in 2016 and announced multi-million pound plans to transform the house into a fivestar hotel – creating 100 jobs.
Last week, the Herald was given an opportunity to tour the site to see how the restoration was progressing.
Externally, the scaffolding remains in place, with work on the stone walls and windows due to step up in the summer.
The aim is to remove the scaffolding next February, once that part of the restoration work is completed.
Internally, good progress is being made on the south and east wings – with a stunningly grand suite among the bedrooms that have been completed.
Paul Williams said: “We have completed the south wing, along with the partial completion of the east wing. We have 12 bedrooms that are complete and 14 state rooms. The final number of bedrooms will be between 35 and 42, depending on how the north wing develops.”
The completed sections are packed full of artworks bought up from the local area and across the globe as the couple attempt to recreate the opulence of the mansion in its heyday.
Rowena Williams said: “Finding and buying these is the nice part of the job, we have lots of dealers helping us locate these pieces.”
The rooms are each unique and under various themes, from classical Chinese to French.
Outside, work has focused on the restoration of the Victorian terrace, while one excavation uncovered a buried original fountain that has been returned to its former glory.
A statue that once graced the estate garden was also tracked down in Italy and returned ‘home’. Paul said: “We started on the outside in early January and we have restored the old Victorian terrace, which is around 70% complete.
“By the end of the year, the whole of the terrace will be restored back to the far western point where you have vistas over the sea.”
The current hotel opening target date is the autumn of 2020. Paul added: “We are on target.”