thanked for restoring the building

12th May 2005

After a hideous and back breaking 4 months of renovation, we found peace in the spaces that now occupy a bit of our souls and identities. We had partially exorcised the old spirit ( recent old, not the very old as we are sure they would be mortified to see the damage done to this glorious building) .

The building is so large and has been severely hacked up that we are finally aware of the garguntan task ahead of us. Despondency has set in. We replumbed the top floor of the building so that the water in the shower did not trickle but had full blast of power. But externally there is little to show. Shovelling in vast amounts of money into an old building like this should surely contribute to the history of the building.

The awful part of all this is to unearth work that must surely have been done by cowboys. The governmnet ought to pass legislation against owners who hack the architecture of a building for private gains without any thought of the beauty of the original constructions.

The Swimming Pool:

Our beautiful building has faced such a denigration. Like all emotionally compelled buyers we did not examine the building too closely. For eg- the swimming pool was 'functioning' according to our vendors. When we opened it for use we discovered a pump that was leaking ( for as long as it was installed, we subsequently learnt). It was formerly operated and filtered not by recycling the water but by throwing chemicals into the pool!! Shocked and dismayed we drained the pool of all water and now allow the our children and guest's children to use it as a den.

The Orangery:

A classic part of the building which we were quite shocked to see the state of disprepair. Simple acts such as repainting the wood had been forgotten. Then we climbed on to the false ceiling to discover that the original glass ceiling was still there, at least some of it, but slate tiles were placed on top of the glass panes!! They had not bothered to remove the glass before slating the roof.

Carpets:

When we decided to recarpet the rooms, we lifted one up to see the state it was in. The carpet was dated 1983. We bought the building in 2003.This implies that the previous owners who had run ( or run down) the hotel had not even changed the carpets they had inherited and this was formerly graded a 3 star hotel !!!

Dishwasher :

This was the most amazing machine. If we had sold it at an auction surely we would have earned a good amount. The machine was a huge aluminium contraption that looked like a Dalek and shook the building when one started it. Yes, we had to invest in a new machine.

Guests:

As always there are guests who are delightful and some who are a nightmare. When I was a practising Psychologist, I could choose not to see someone if they behaved obnoxiously, as an accomodation provider, I dont have a choice.( Maybe this should change as well) Some guests dont understand the costs incurred in maintaining a large building such as ours.The gardens require a full time gardener and the building a full time DIY person.

Occasionally, we have some well travelled and mature guests who understand the machinations of running such a venture and empathise. Some express gratitude for restoring such a beautiful building and I am grateful for these commenst.

We are however, running out of steam and finances. Only a miracle and some sound business strategies will help us survive.