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’
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“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.