Idle Rocks closes for 10 weeks following storms
The newly refurbished Idle Rocks hotel in St Mawes, Cornwall, is expected to be closed for 10 weeks following devastating storm damage to the sea-front property.
Tim House, hotel director of the 20-bedroom hotel, said that hundreds of thousands of pounds of damage was caused by violent storms on 3 and 4 February.
High winds and waves crashed through the windows of the 100-year-old property on two consecutive days, resulting in the entire contents of the ground floor being swept away. Fortunately, the hotel was closed at the time for some minor repairs and non-one was hurt.
Bought by David Richard, chairman of luxury car company Aston Martin in 2010, the Idle Rocks was only reopened last summer after an extensive refurbishment which transformed the property into a luxury, boutique hotel.
"The ground floor has been gutted and is now under-going a complete like-for-like refurbishment," said House, who has only been in place as hotel director since 13 January. "We aim to open brighter and better than before around the 7 April."
Meanwhile, 32 diners and restaurant staff had a miraculous escape when flying pebbles from the beach at Milford-on-Sea, Hampshire, crashed through the windows of Marine restaurant where a Valentine's Day diner was in full swing on the first floor.
Hotels suffer hundreds of thousands of pounds in lost business due to bad weather >>