Boom time for Wigan hotel following takeover

Up Holland’s Holland Hall Hotel, acquired several months ago by Wigan entrepreneur Bill Kenyon, is seeing all its Christmases and birthdays - and golden weddings and christenings for that matter - coming at the same time.

Other news: Drunken Wigan dad hit his partner in the face at hot tub partyFestive dinners and party bookings are running at three and a half times the volume of two years ago in 2016, with some dates sold out two months earlier than ever before, and the hotel is now releasing more dates to meet demand for party nights.

Meanwhile, there are only five complete weekends left available for weddings and other big-gathering events in the whole of 2019. And that’s before revamp work is even finished.

“The hotel is being refurbished in phases while carrying on as normally as possible.

“The wedding wing, with function room, catering, bar and outside area was completed in record time to a very high standard - and it is proving to be a real hit,” said former Wigan Athletic chairman Mr Kenyon who has since also been involved in pie-making.

“Different types of events are generally booked with different lengths of lead time, some, such as weddings, a year in advance, so we format the functions room accordingly for specific weekends dedicated to wedding events while leaving the remainder open for other celebratory events and gatherings.

“Around 70 per cent of the events are weddings, with landmark birthdays and wedding anniversaries taking up most of the remainder.

“We’re also ensuring we can accommodate short-notice occasions such as christenings and funerals, while there is also growth in both weekday corporate activities and events, and plans to create a supper club and cabaret programme.

“What is interesting and even more encouraging is that planned events, such as golden weddings, are even being moved into the week by customers just so they can ensure they use the venue.”

Meanwhile, the hotel accommodation wing will close for two weeks early in 2019 for refurbishment of the 36 guest rooms, after which the project will be almost complete.

“Work is going to plan and is on schedule for the public areas of the hotel: we’re recreating a traditional pub having acquired and started to install the bar and interior fittings of a Victorian-era pub, and our restaurant, which will be both high-quality and good value is welcoming diners now,” said Mr Kenyon.