Shock closure of St Annes seafront hotel

Customers have spoken of their shock after the Chadwick Hotel in St Annes suddenly closed its doors.
Chadwick Hotel, St AnnesChadwick Hotel, St Annes
Chadwick Hotel, St Annes

Customers with prior bookings or making inquiries diverted to other hotels within the locally-based HY Hotels group, which has run the Chadwick for the last two-and-a-half years.

The group said in a statement: “It is with regret that The Chadwick Hotel has closed its doors for the last time under our management.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“The building required significant investment to ensure the safety of our guests and the general public and after a considerable amount of time negotiating with the landlord we were unable to reach a mutual agreement.

“The matter is beyond our control and we apologise to our guests who have made bookings with us that we are now unable to fulfil.

“Any existing bookings can be transferred across to our other hotels, where it’s business as usual.

“We want to thank our loyal customers and staff for their hard work and support, and hope that we will see you all again very soon.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Anyone with a current booking with us that has not yet been fulfilled should send us a message so that we can review your options to be accommodated elsewhere.”

The HY group took over running the 73-bedroom Chadwick, on the corner of South Promenade and Lightburne Avenue and including a pool and health club plus a restaurant and bar, in June 2016.

It was a joint venture with previous owners the Corbett family, which had run the hotel for three generations and Assured Hotels, which specialises in management and consultancy services.

At the time, the move was said to have saved 50 jobs and HY Hotels owner Dan Yates said: “This is a very exciting project for us all. It is a fantastic opportunity.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The HY group includes the Howarth House boutique hotel and apartments on Clifton Drive, St Annes in its portfolio and acquired the Lindum Hotel, a few blocks from the Chadwick on the seafront, in December last year.

Since the Chadwick’s closure, guests ringing the Chadwick Hotel switchboard were being diverted through to reservations at the Lindum.

Customers spoke of sudden closure on Friday, November 10.

One said: “We went in for a coffee mid afternoon on Friday and the receptionist said no one was allowed in and they are moving people to another hotel.

“We spoke to a couple who were told they could not have a second drink and had to leave the hotel. We asked the receptionist why, and all she said was it was ‘the building’ and would not expand on that.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Later that evening, a large van was seen outside the main entrance, while over the weekend, cones had been placed at the car park entrance to block access.

Another customer contacted us via social media to say: “Just been to use the leisure facilities at the Chadwick only to find notice on the door saying they are closed for the foreseeable future.”

Andrew Whitaker, owner of the Mode Hotel, also on St Annes seafront, said: “The closure of the Chadwick is undoubtedly a blow to the town and tourism.

“It is very sad when any hotel goes out of business and there are no winners.

“Not only are guest disgruntled but employee livelihoods are devastated, along with damage to the supply chain.”