Homes Under the Hammer star Martin Roberts is attempting to transform a Welsh pub into a major tourist attraction
Martin Roberts says he has “failed on every single level” in his new project.
The Homes Under The Hammer star has helped homeowners renovate their properties for decades on his BBC show. However, the TV property expert has admitted things haven’t going well with his latest DIY project.
Martin is currently trying to transform an old Welsh hotel and pub into a top tourist attraction but the back of the building is crumbling and is still in dire need of renovation. He thought it’d cost around £500k and take two years to rebuild and renovate the Hendrewen Hotel in the Rhondda Valley.
But the 61-year-old has sadly faced huge setbacks on the eight-bedroom property. He told The Sun: “For a man who spends all his time telling people to make sure they stick to their budgets and timescales, I have failed on every single level.”
He added: “I’m still smiling but, oh my word, what a challenge it’s been. I’ll be honest, it’s the first commercial property I’ve ever done. There have been lots of residential houses and flats, but commercial properties have a lot more complications.”
He says he’s around “60%” of the way through the project and expects things to “come together really quickly” in the final months of the renovation. He’s aiming to open it by next Easter at the latest, but the star has to grapple with planning permissions in case of flooding in the area.
Martin admits there are still “lots of hoops to jump through” in building, which had “cock-eyed” walls, “every single window falling down” and bats nesting in the roof – which was also leaking. He didn’t even tell his wife Kirsty that he had bought the rural pub while staying in Wales to recover from a heart operation.
The pub and hotel will feature in a ten-part ITV documentary next year, titled Oops! I Bought A Pub. Martin plans to hang a Rolls-Royce upside down from the ceiling in the dining room, likely inspired by Jeremy’s boozer – The Farmer’s Dog – which has a chrome tractor suspended from its roof.
The hotel’s eight bedrooms will be available to stay in, and all named after TV shows with an “individual feel”. The pub is looking to employ around 30 locals and house a teaching kitchen for celebrity chefs to come and teach the younger generations – it will even feature a stage area for budding musicians to try their hand at performing.
Martin previously said of the project: “I won’t lie, it’s the most challenging project I’ve ever undertaken, it’s the most daunting project I’ve ever undertaken but it’s one that I feel I’ve been given as a bit of a gift and I’ve got to make the most of it.”
He added: “It’s been a bit spiritual for me in lots of ways, I can’t really explain it. I just feel it and I felt it when I started to come to Wales in recent times, I just felt this sense of being at home, at peace and happy.
“I’m a Roberts, so obviously somewhere in my deep and distant past I obviously have some Welsh ancestry. My grandmother and granddad moved to Anglesey, they bought a bungalow and I spent lots of my happy childhood visiting them.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
