# The Abbey Hotel, Tintern - July 2020



## Fluffy (Jul 16, 2020)

History; (Shamelessly stolen from Glymo, sorry mate!)

For well over a century the site traded as the 'Beaufort Arms Hotel' (first recorded officially in 1835) and for a time, the pubs landlord was also the guide and keyholder for the abbey. There is a relatively interesting recent history for the building, which underwent a full refurbishment in 2002, at the same time it was renamed. The owners at the time were the victims of a fraud which cost them their business and home. More can be found by following the link below for anyone who is interested.

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/16m-hotel-fraud-left-retirement-2107313.amp

Following this, the site was operated by new owners until it was sold by administrators in 2009. It continued to trade until late 2012 when it was closed, and an application placed to redevelop for residential use. These plans were approved by a planning committee in 2014 but it appears that not much has happened since then. (Probably due to the family of bats currently using the place rent free!)

Explore;

A lovely little mooch, with very little to report really, except for this (not so) little fella giving us a heart attack as he swiftly left the bar area just as we entered it;




The above photo taken using light painting, so as not to frighten the poor guy too much by shining light directly at him.

The inside of the place is a lot worse for wear than the outside;




With some rooms having completely succumbed to natures reclaim;
















































All the best guys x


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## NoseyGit (Jul 17, 2020)

Nature has intruded so quickly it makes me wonder about the structural integrity of the building when it ceased trading.


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## Sam Haltin (Jul 17, 2020)

That one is in a bit of a mess.


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## odeon master (Jul 21, 2020)

stayed here once on holiday with the parents in 1988 ! remember the bar areas, bet the locals despair how this once popular hotel as become such an eyesore, looks to have been ransacked for scrap hence the leaking roof


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## jhluxton (Nov 20, 2020)

When I was in Tintern on September I they have tried to tidy it up a bit by painting a mural on the hoarding facing teh main road entitled "The Marian Way"

It is the first phase of a Words and Landscape project and development of a Pilgrimage route, proposed for 2021 by Friends of Our Lady of Tintern.

The circular path, which will begin at this point, will be mapped onto parts of a mediaeval Pilgrimage route to and from Tintern Abbey, taking modern day walkers along the arduous Stony Way - the path of sorrows - to Penterry Church, St. Arvans, for rest and contemplation before returning to Tintern Abbey and the statue of our Lady through luscious forested landscape - the path of joys.


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## GeoffB (Jul 8, 2022)

I used to stay here and Hugh Jones the owner put nothing into the building ,why hasn't the council done more,if you knocked down the new part and kept the original and just made it a holiday property.


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## jhluxton (Jul 9, 2022)

GeoffB said:


> I used to stay here and Hugh Jones the owner put nothing into the building ,why hasn't the council done more,if you knocked down the new part and kept the original and just made it a holiday property.


I stayed at Tintern again a week or so ago. The Abbey appears to be locked in some planning wrangle with the local council and frankly is making the southern approach this this otherwise attractive village look so shabby.

One of the arguments was that the hotel was not viable.

I have only been staying in Tintern since 2014 and on each occasion I have stayed just a few hundred yards down the road at what was until 18 months or so ago "The Royal George".

Around 2018 the Royal George was acquired by a dynamic young couple who have turned it from a very sleepy and quiet hotel into a much more busier and lively hotel cum real ale gastro pub, coffee bar concern. The change has been quite remarkable especially considering Covid has had to be coped with during this transition.

Surely the Abbey Hotel had the same potential for development as the Royal George?

I wonder if the Abbey's owner has not regretted continuing to trade as a hotel as the fast buck redevelopment plans have well and truly stalled!


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## Jules27 (Oct 19, 2022)

It is so very sad to see the old Hotel like this..I have visited it a few times over the last 4 years rather hoping that something would be done with it but it just gets worse..I worked there in 1995 and 1996 as mantainance and decorated a lot of rooms, so it is not at all nice for me to see this happen to it..I am looking at these pictures on here now because I have a visit to it planned for tomorow 20/10/2022. I know nothing will have got better..It is criminal to let a piece of history just rot like this and be such an eyesore for such a welsh historic site as Tintern Abbey.


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## Jules27 (Oct 19, 2022)

jhluxton said:


> I stayed at Tintern again a week or so ago. The Abbey appears to be locked in some planning wrangle with the local council and frankly is making the southern approach this this otherwise attractive village look so shabby.
> 
> One of the arguments was that the hotel was not viable.
> 
> ...


The Abbey owner did not have much of an option. From what I remember the owners that were Christians wanted to set it us a Christian centre and it was doing ok but the owner had been bankrupt and could not be a director so 3 people were empolyed as directors and they fiddled the place to the tune of a million I beleive..Now as I say this is just from memory so lets say aleged to all of this lol. But because of that the Hotel went bankrupt and proceedings took a long while and the place fell into disrepair, then planning was given for apartments but that has never happened..It is very sad as I worked there in 95-96 when it was The Beaufort hotel owned by Jarvis Hotels.


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## Jules27 (Oct 19, 2022)

I am going to the hotel tomorrow . I dont intend on going in unless there is very easy access and then not for long..I will however take what photos I can and post them.


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