Having recently purchased the Beacon Country House Hotel, as well as taken over the day-to-day running of this busy establishment, Nigel spared some time to answer some insightful questions about the Beacon Hotel, its new owners (Nigel, Jayne, Sam and Alice) and as well as its foreseeable future.
Read on for the first part of the interview.
Why did you decide to take over Beacon Country House Hotel?
As a family we were looking for an opportunity to relocate back to Cornwall, whilst also enabling us to provide the lifestyle benefits Cornwall has to offer to our children, in regards to location, area, education etc. When the prospect arose to purchase the ‘Beacon Hotel’ which has traditionally been a family run hotel we felt it was fate. Having close links with the hotel and the area, and with the hotel only coming to market a few times over the past 30 years we felt it was a now or never opportunity which we are so pleased to have been able to achieve, and we are looking forward to being the guardians of the hotel for the foreseeable future.
What is your connection to St Agnes and to Cornwall?
We have always had close links to St Agnes as my parents previously owned and ran the hotel between 1989 and 1994 (when it was known as the Sunholme). This led me to live and work at the hotel for a number of years and also immerse myself in village life (although being 16-21 I was probably out enjoying what Cornwall has to offer more than helping out!!). It was also here that both Jayne and I met whilst she was training to be a Veterinary Nurse before moving to Wales to start a family. Since then we have regularly visited St Agnes and Cornwall visiting and staying with friends so it was a natural thought to look to come back when the opportunity arose.
What are your plans for the hotel? Both short-term and long-term?
In the short term:
Our plans are to continue to offer the same high standard but personal/family approach to the hotel. Many of the previous staff have remained with us (to include Andrew, Steve the Chef, Kay & Vinnie the housekeepers, Gemma, Emma & Allison the waitresses and Mike the Gardener) together with a number of new members of the team. We obviously want to add our own personal touches to the hotel and are very pleased with the feedback and reviews over the past number of months from guests that have returned and many new ones.
In the long term:
We must continue to upgrade and develop the hotel to enable us to offer our guests (whom many return each year, and sometimes more than once) the type of holiday and facilities they need and desire in a competitive market. The Beacon Hotel is still, and remains the number 1 hotel in St Agnes in regards to customer feedback (TripAdvisor) and we plan to keep the experience at the highest standard possible. We are also looking in 2020 to upgrade a number of the bedrooms, provide greater disabled/assisted access to the building and open our restaurant to non-residents in the evening, whilst expanding our links with local and foreign organisations that offer specific holiday options (e.g. walking, sightseeing, etc.)
Read more about the Beacon’s future and its plans within the local community in Part 2.
