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Design duo Justin and Colin on their bid to become hoteliers in Canada…
Interior designers and TV presenters Justin Ryan and Colin Mcallister have never shied away from new challenges.
The Scottish couple, who found fame with their TV shows including How Not to Decorate and Million Pound Property Experiment, have spent their lives transforming properties. However, nothing prepared them for the biggest gamble of their lives: renovating a hotel in Nova Scotia, Canada.
‘I’d always dreamt of owning a hotel,’ says Justin who moved with Colin to Toronto in 2008. ‘I became totally fixated with this particular one and when it came on the market, I did everything
I could to persuade Colin it was a good idea to take it on.’
The couple poured their savings into the outdated 21-bedroom hotel in the small town of Louisbourg on the Atlantic coast, and this four-part series follows their progress.
‘Everything that could go wrong went wrong,’ says Colin. ‘There were huge delays in materials arriving, storms, power cuts… and all against the backdrop of pandemic.’
‘It’s been the toughest thing we’ve ever done,’ adds Justin.
‘But we’ve managed it!’