Wensleydale Hotel: Grade II listed Wensleydale Hotel where race horses trot by is up for sale

Dating back to the 18th Century and holding a four star AA rosette rating, the 17-bedroom hotel is also home to the highly regarded and aptly named Tack Room restaurant. In April 2019 Charles and Fiona Merchie purchased what had originally two hotels the White Swan Hotel and the Wensleydale Hotel and knocked into one by the previous owner.

"It was Charles’s dream to have his own hotel, something he could put his stamp on and make his own,” explains Fiona, whose French husband is a well known face in the world of hospitality having been general manager of some of the county’s top hotels including the Feversham Arms in Helmsley, Swinton Park and Woodhall Spa and Hotel near Wetherby.

Despite having to close less than a year after purchasing the hotel, the Merchie’s took the opportunity during lockdown to carry out the internal and external renovation and refurbishment to turn the Wensleydale into a comfortable and welcoming hotel in the heart of the picturesque town in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.

“We also did ready meals for people to take away which was really good and then did a big refurbishment in the bedrooms. We replaced all the soft furnishing, carpets, curtains and redecorated and upgraded some of the bathrooms. It was good use of our time but when you’ve done all your forecasts and projections and all you have is money going out it’s quite scary.”

But fate dealt this family another cruel blow.

Just after reopening the hotel to the public and having upgraded the hotel’s kitchen, Charles suffered a devastating stroke at home. He was rushed to hospital where it was discovered he was also suffering from Covid. Fiona and her two sons Monty and Hugo were warned he might not pull through and were advised to prepare to say their goodbyes.

Charles did survive but has been left with severe disabilities including being paralysed down one side and needing a wheelchair to get around and aphasia which means he struggles to communicate.

He is currently in a nursing home that specialises in young (under 65) stroke patients but Fiona really wants to get him home.

"We live on a working farm and the house isn’t suitable for Charles and his wheelchair and so I really want to convert one of the outbuildings into a place for him that would all be on one level but we need to sell the hotel to do that.”

The hotel is run by a small team including Rui who Charles brought with him from the Feversham Arms and lives on site, Marielle and Amrav as well as Fiona when she can get away from the farm and Hugo when he’s not at university and Monty.

It was Charles who wanted to incorporate a horse racing theme into the hotel. It can clearly be seen in the Tack Room Restaurant and a number of the ensuite bedrooms all designed by Fiona with fabrics from Walton’s Mill Shop (waltonsmillshop.co.uk) in Boroughbridge.

With the help of Charlotte The Harrogate Furniture Painter (https://theharrogatefurniturepainter.co.uk) she repurposed and upcycled a lot of the existing furniture to complement the history of the hotel. She brought in three four poster beds

She has built up a great following within the local community running a book club and nibbles and natter with the neighbours and supper clubs – just advertised locally. Before Charles’s stroke the plan had been to promote the hotel and bedrooms to the 15 racing stables nearby and also tourists coming to this stunning part of Yorkshire.

"There are three pubs very close by and so we wanted the hotel and Tack Room to offer something different – we are a restaurant rather than offering pub food,” says Fiona of the restaurant that has 2AA Rosettes. “We get a lot of people booking dinner, bed and breakfast but we also get a lot of local people coming to eat in the restaurant.” People can stay at the hotel with their dogs and they have made the bar dog friendly, making it also popular amongst walkers who often choose to eat in there rather than the restaurant.

“We really wanted to sell the hotel as a going concern. The staff have been amazing and so supportive, I cannot thank them enough,” says Fiona.

"We’ve done all the hard work, we’ve had fantastic reviews, the potential is there to double what we’ve done because I just don’t have time to market and expand and run the business. People like the fact that it is a family run hotel and we get a lot of repeat business because of that and the personal service we offer.”

The hotel, which Fiona describes as being more like an inn than a luxury hotel, has five different room categories, some with views of the castle at the front and other with a view of the horses as they go past towards the trainers’ yards every morning.

It is in an ideal location and has a lot of potential for expansion.

"We work with Muddy Boots who organise bespoke holidays and so we get a lot of walkers and cyclists. “We are at the end of the Six Dales Trail and we get a lot of people staying with us for that,” says Fiona.

The Castle and the horseracing heritage plus the proximity to a multitude of tourist attractions including Forbidden Corner, Jervaulx Abbey, Richmond Castle and a host of quaint Dales towns such as Leyburn, Ripon and Masham, as well as the stunning beauty of the fells and valleys of

the National Park, all help to swell visitor trade into the area.

The Wensleydale Hotel is for sale through Christie & Co for £800,000.

www.christie.com/5444092