A LANDMARK Wrexham hotel is set to re-open its doors within the next few months.
The 300-year-old Wynnstay Arms Hotel, a listed building in Yorke Street, closed last July as part of the collapse of Stephanie Booth’s hotel business empire and has since been lying empty.
Now large parts of it are due to re-open in time to catch the Easter trade, according to Wrexham town centre manager Isobel Watson.
She said: “Marston’s, the company which leases it, have told me they intend to open it up again before Easter.
“I understand this will mean re-opening the older part of the building at the front, which includes the bars and function rooms, to serve food and drink, and not the newer hotel part at the back.
“Marston’s has a long lease on the Wynnstay – something like 100 years-plus – and had been sub-letting it to Stephanie Booth.
“Since her Llangollen Hotels chain went into administration it has reverted back to Marston’s. I think it is brilliant news for the town as the Wynnstay occupies one of our prime sites and having it closed was not good for the image of Wrexham.”
Days after the 70-bedroom hotel was closed with the loss of 30 jobs last summer it was the target of a number of break-ins and as a result administrators KPMG arranged for security to be stepped up.
Alcohol was taken from behind the still-stocked bar and foodstuff was stolen from hotel stores.
At the time, Cllr Keith Gregory, who represents the area, said he feared the longer the Wynnstay stayed closed the more it would be raided by thieves and squatters.
Yesterday, he said: “I have been told by our town centre management team that Marston’s is planning to open parts of the hotel again, such as the large bar at the front, the function rooms upstairs and the kitchens.
“That is great news as having such a famous Wrexham building closed for so long was just not acceptable.
“It was a shame to see it going to rack and ruin.”
Alex Jones, chairman of Wrexham Chamber of Trade, said: "This is fantastic news.
"The Wynnstay has been empty for too long now and I hope this will be a real boost for High Street and Wrexham as a whole.
“The historic nature of the building meant it was even more sad to see it empty, especially for visitors to the town.
“It would be great to think Marston’s might consider re-hiring those who lost their jobs because they know the job and the building.
“With all the closures we keep hearing about in the town it’s great to get some good news.”
A Marston’s Inns and Taverns spokesman said: “Our plans are in the very early stages but we can confirm we are looking to re-open this much-loved bar, restaurant and hotel as soon as we can this year.
“We are in the process of finalising our strategy at the moment.
“We are hoping we will have some good news for the town in the next few weeks when we will be able to speak in more detail about what we hope to achieve here.”