Holidaymaker still waiting for refund after hotel closure
A FRUSTRATED holidaymaker says she remains left in the dark about a refund more than six months after the sudden closure of a Derbyshire castle.
In the summer of last year Willersley Castle Hotel in Cromford - one of the county’s most picturesque - closed down after the first national lockdown.
The historic building overlooks the River Derwent and Matlock Bath on the edge of the Peak District National Park, making it a popular tourist spot for holidaymakers.
According to its website, the venue was built for inventor and industrialist Sir Richard Arkwright at the end of the 18th Century.
In July, its then owners, Methodist Guild Holidays Ltd, took the “difficult decision” not to reopen the hotel. The owners then stated the building would be sold privately.
While on a trip to the Willersley Castle Hotel in December 2019, Cherri Moseley booked and paid £552 for a six-day holiday called Rails Through the Valley, which was scheduled for August last year.
But the holiday was cancelled after it was announced the hotel would be closing.
Freelance education consultant Miss Moseley says she wrote to Methodist Guild Holidays in August requesting a refund after the company initially contacted her about the cancelled booking.
However, five months on, she says she is still waiting for her money back and has been left in the dark over when she will get it.
And her fears have grown further after it was announced Methodist Guild Holidays had gone into administration last month.
Miss Moseley, 65, who lives in Norfolk, said: “With the hotel group appearing to be in administration, I wonder if I will ever get my money back.
“It is a great place, the staff were lovely and I made lots of friends there. So the difficulty in obtaining a refund leaves a sour taste.
“It is such a shame that Methodist Guild Holidays decided not to reopen Willersley Castle after the first lockdown.
“The trip was to be my main summer holiday, so it was very disappointing when it was cancelled, not simply postponed like so many others in the pandemic. Indeed, we might well have been able to go ahead with the holiday in August as the situation was better then.”
The Derby Telegraph approached Methodist Guild Holidays and joint administrators FRP for a comment. A spokesperson for FRP said: “We’d encourage customers with outstanding refunds to get in touch with the administrators to lodge a claim.”
The firm can be contacted by emailing leicester@frpadvisory.com or calling 0116 303 3333.
Have you been affected by the closure of Willersley Castle Hotel? Let us know by emailing newsdesk@derbytelegraph.co.uk