Another historic Bath hotel has gone on the market as the city’s hospitality sector continues to undergo rapid change.
The 15-bedroom Tasburgh House, pictured, on Warminster Road is being marketed by agents Savills with a price tag of £2m.
The hotel, which has been owned by former air stewardess Sue Keeling since 1996, also has a lounge, bar and dining room as well as spacious owner’s accommodation.
Sitting alongside the Kennet & Avon Canal, it boasts views over Bath, a fountain and terraces to the rear for al fresco dining, pictured below, according to Savills.
The Tasburgh, which was built as a family home in 1891, joins a long list of Bath hotels to change hands over the past few years.
While Bath’s tourist offering remains strong and visitor numbers are high, some existing hotel and guest house managers and owners fear a proliferation of new overnight accommodation in recent years means the sector is now at saturation point.
Two more hotels – the Hotel Indigo and Z Hotel – are due to open soon, bringing a further 300-plus rooms to the market.
Adding to this is the rise of Airbnb – there are an estimated 800 rooms in Bath available at any one time on the accommodation website.
The fact that the owners of these rooms do not have to meet health and safety and other obligations of guesthouses and hotels, means room rates also under intense pressure, particularly for smaller establishments that also compete with the increasing number of budget hotels in the city.
Despite this, hotel agents report no shortage of potential investors looking to move into the market, particularly for at the boutique accommodation level.
Savills hotels associate James Greenslade said the Tasburgh House Hotel presented “a fantastic opportunity for a new owner to acquire an established business”.
He added: “The property benefits from a fantastic location in one of the UK’s most popular tourist destinations.”
The house was built by John Berryman, Royal Photographer to Queen Victoria, as a family home. By the time Sue Keeling, who spent five years an American-based Air Stewardess for Pan Am, took it over, it had become a ‘tired and dated’ bed and breakfast.
Sue gave it a new lease of life as a five-star boutique guesthouse, renovating the entire building with a much-needed facelift.
Other recent Bath hotel deals include Ian and Christa Taylor’s Kaleidoscope Collection acquisition of the four-star, 22-bedroom County Hotel for an undisclosed sum from Seasons Group just a month they sold their flagship four-star, 62-bedroom Abbey Hotel to US-UK group KE Hotels.
Last year they opened No.15 Great Pulteney in the former Carfax Hotel after selling the 21-bedroom Villa Magdala to the Indian-owned Roseate Hotels & Resorts.
Bath-based hoteliers Tim and Ros Forester, who previously owned the city’s Duke’s Hotel, last year acquired the 13-bedroom luxury boutique bed-and-breakfast Dorian House.
In 2016 the Ayrlington, Kennard, Griffin and Aquae Sulis were among Bath hotels and guesthouses to change hands.
