Own Princess Margaret’s former home for £375k
FOR £375,000 you could own a historic mansion hotel that was once home to Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon.
Plas Dinas Country House in Bontnewydd, near Caernarfon, dates back to the 17th century, and is now a five-star award-winning country house hotel.
However, the low price for the accommodation, which includes 10 unique en-suite letting bedrooms, a drawing-room, The Gun Room Restaurant, plus a further dining-room, is a reflection of the 23-year lease remaining on the property.
The new owners will also need to pay a rent of £34,450 a year.
The most recent trading information available shows the property made £433,484 in the year ending December 2017, with a gross profit of £332,118 and an operating profit of £46,560.
Tom O’Malley, senior business agent – hotels, pubs and restaurants at Christie & Co, said: “We’re delighted to have brought Plas Dinas to the market. The high standard of both accommodation and dining that the hotel offers means that it attracts discerning guests wishing to experience the very best of the Welsh countryside.
“As a result we expect significant levels of interest from the market, and a large number of potential pur- chasers for this historic country house hotel.”
The house came into the possession of the Armstrong-Jones family around 200 years ago.
In 1960 Antony Armstrong-Jones married Princess Margaret at Westminster Abbey and a year later became Lord Snowdon.
He was the first commoner to marry into the Royal Family in centuries.
They spent much of their early marriage at the 15-acre estate while Lord Snowdon designed the setting for Prince Charles’ investiture ceremony at Caernarfon Castle.
The couple continued to spend weekends at the country mansion over their 18-year marriage and it is said that locals knew Princess Margaret as “Maggie Bont”.
In recent years the mansion was visited by Prince William while he was serving as a search-and-rescue pilot at RAF Valley.
The mansion, which was later passed to Lord Snowdon’s halfbrother, Peregrine Armstrong-Jones, became a nursing home and then a hotel, and now the leasehold has become available.
Commercial agent Christie & Co is marketing the property.
A Christie’s spokesman said: “This five-star award-winning country house hotel is steeped in history and is part of the Armstrong-Jones family estate, where in 1960 Antony Armstrong-Jones married HRH Princess Margaret.
“Plas Dinas still retains many family portraits, memorabilia and original furniture.”