A relaunched hotel in the famous Welsh Marches book town of Hay-on-Wye is celebrating a four-star grading from both the AA and Visit Wales.
The Swan at Hay, a beautiful listed Georgian hotel with 19 en-suite bedrooms and banquet facilities for up to 120 people, has just received the good news following the completion of a £1 million makeover in February.
The AA has also awarded the hotel’s restaurant two rosettes for the quality of the food served by talented head chef Jerry Adam and his brigade.
The Swan at Hay employs 24 staff and manager Ronan Hunter is now looking to recruit another 10 part-time workers in the build up to the Hay Festival, which runs from May 26 to June 4 and attracts celebrities from around the globe.
“Having only relaunched the hotel in February, it has been a very quick turnaround to achieve four-star status and a nice reward for all the hard work, care and passion that has gone into The Swan at Hay,” said Mr Hunter. “The mantra of the entire team is to ensure that as every guest leaves, they are doing so wanting to return.”
“We want to continue to drive the hotel forward and make it the pinnacle of hospitality in Hay on Wye. We are committed to using local suppliers wherever possible, including many within a 20-mile radius of the hotel and are now part of the Hay-on-Wye Chamber of Commerce and hope to play an important role in aiding the development of Hay as a year-round destination.”
Calum Milne, managing director of the company that owns both The Swan at Hay and Llangoed Hall at nearby Llyswen, said: “I am absolutely delighted that for the first time in The Swan’s history she has been awarded four stars, but she will not be losing her character and quality cuisine.
“I can reveal that head chef Jerry scored extremely highly above two rosettes and I look forward to him taking the cuisine forwards, with superbly cooked meals at a reasonable price using local suppliers.
“It’s great news for the team at The Swan, but more importantly for this little corner of Powys. We are proud to be flying the flag for the independent ‘kingdom’ of Hay. In tandem with the Hay Festival celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, we are making Hay the destination to go to.”
Originally built as a coaching inn, The Swan at Hay was used as a private house for a time before reverting to a hotel in the 1950s. It was originally popular with English visitors attracted to the spa towns of Mid Wales.
It was the third hotel acquired by Mr Milne’s company, which has since added three more properties, in Cambridgeshire, Shropshire and North Wales, to its growing portfolio. The two latest acquisitions are Hawkstone Park Hotel at Weston-under-Redcastle, Shrewsbury and Chateau Rhianfa, Menai Bridge.
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