A WINCANTON club and hotel that left staff and customers shocked when it closed suddenly last month has re-opened, thanks to the property owners and staff.
On September 12, leaseholder at the picturesque Holbrook Manor hotel, club and wedding venue – Hillbrooke Hotels – announced it was closing the estate “with immediate effect”, leaving staff and customers uncertain of what the future held.
However now, just four weeks later, the venue is back up and running thanks to the Oceana group, which owns the building.
“They were the leaseholders, so they were responsible for the business and its operations, us as landlords,” said Muhammed Malik, group director of finance and business support at Oceana.
“We were only responsible for refurbishing the property to a really high standard. So we started working towards it and we have picked up where they left off.”
While work is still progressing on refurbishing the hotel rooms, the company said it was keen members were still able to access the gym, spa and cafe as soon as possible.
Holbrook Manor Hotel & Spa is a popular club and wedding venue
“They had it taken away from them so suddenly,” Mr Malik said. “You can see we’re not finished – we’ve got work to do – but we’ve managed to open in such a short time.
“The rooms are not open yet, but we plan to get those open fairly soon. We have a tentative date of the beginning of November, but that’s depending on lots of factors.”
The venue has already seen major refurbishments.
The gym at Holbrook Manor Hotel & Spa
The gym, which had been utilising the same equipment for the past 20 years, has received all new gear – which is bought, not leased, Mr Malik said, signalling a long-term commitment to the popular venue.
The main function room has also been fully refurbished, keeping only its wooden floor, on which sit a bar and new toilets.
The venue also boasts a heated indoor swimming pool, hot tub, sauna, four private spa rooms and a huge garden on the 20-acre estate, complete with woodland, where members are encouraged to go for walks.
The spa at Holbrook Manor is open
In the garden, they plan to build shepherd huts for guests to stay in, alongside the picturesque summerhouse.
“We actually have planning permission for that already, but I suppose it’ll be a little while before we get onto it,” Mr Malik added.
Group operations manager at Oceana, Pat Green, said: “It’s actually licensed, you can get married in there should you want to. Obviously, just the very small, intimate wedding party.”
“We’ve got a few big projects on; get the rooms open, to get it operating as a hotel,” she added. “They are lovely and I think there’s going to be a lot of demand for them, but also to reinstate the weddings, [the previous operators] had a plan to stop weddings and just have a restaurant.
Gym and spa users can also enjoy the pool at Holbrook Manor
“To me that seems crazy, because it’s such a perfect wedding venue. It shouts weddings.
“We’d also like to do things they didn’t do before; a lot more other events, local events, race days (at Wincanton Racecourse), which I know is very big in this area.
“There’s a lot of corporate business we hope to bring in. We’ve got the facilities, we just need people to know what we’ve got and what we can offer them.
“We’ll be starting a food offering in the cafe shortly and we want to know what the members want.
“I’d love to see it as the kind of place ladies come in and have lunch and a little bit of Prosecco.”
The business leaders were keen to praise staff, who went above and beyond to reinvigorate the venue and get it open once again.
READ MORE: Wincanton hotel and wedding venue closes ‘with immediate effect’
READ MORE: Holbrook Manor closure: Staff remember ‘magical place to work’
“They have all embraced it, I think they’re just so pleased to see that we want to continue the business,” said Pat.
“Some of them have been here 20 years; to be told in that manner, to have a successful wedding and then the next day, close. They all thought they were going to be given a bonus or something. They were just told, ‘sorry, you’ve not got jobs, leave the building’.
“They are so happy it’s been taken on so quickly. It could have taken months if we hadn’t happened to own it.
“They’ve gone over and above to support us in getting the place up and running.”
An announcement on the hotel website said: “We are delighted to announce that Holbrook Manor is now open with the spa, gym and café fully operational. The Manor House will also be opening its doors very soon for accommodation, weddings and events.
“We have received phenomenal response from all our guests and your presence holds immense value for us. We are incredibly grateful for your contribution. With your help, we’re working towards restoring this beloved space.
“Thank you sincerely for being a part of our journey. We await to welcome all at Holbrook Manor Hotel & Spa.”
To learn more about Holbrook Manor as it continues to re-open and expand, visit theholbrookmanor.com.
I stayed here recently and was appalled at what my partner and I experienced. This is far from a 3 star hotel and spa. No hospitality, really bad customer service. Dirty everywhere, bed was awful mattress was so bad my partner used a sprit level and was 0 at our heads and 15 at our feet. The door lock was dodgy. Breakfast was ??? Well there wasn’t anything left we can down at 9.45 and we were not offered any thing. Staff were rude, not very polite and didn’t speak!!! This place will proberly close again due to lack of standards amd unhappy guests.
It’s fucking shocking. The rooms are dated and your service is sloppy. Just check before you book a hotel that it’s not being run by none Nationals. They really don’t give a fuck!!
Here right now, mould in the bathroom rotton patio doors and step out. My friend caught her foot on a rotton piece of frame told reception who said they would send maintenance. They apparently came while we were out and “looked” at it. The wood ( i use that term loosely is still sticking out. Breakfast terrible. Got here had to wonder round the grounds to find our “garden room”. There is nothing 3*about this place.
Arrived today staff rude finally checked into room and it was disgraceful mouldy cracked tiles broken bath panel no WiFi no curtains in bedroom never have I been so disappointed in all my life I went straight back to reception asked for money back do not stay at this place no bar restaurant no staff disgusting place
No remote in room. So no working tv. Blinds dont cover bedroom window on ground floor. Wobbly tape in kitchen. Shower head constantly dripping. Rude male staff called Zia. Jacuzzi in spa luke warm no bubbles. Very poor standard- breakfast was tastless and warm. however lady on reception last night was lovely and she did try to help.
This is 100% run by a dodgy manager. No standards whatsoever. I’m in the process of making a complaint to Somerset council environmental health department due to the experience we had there.