THE new owners of a seafront hotel said they hope to restore some of its ‘nostalgic charm’ by giving it a revamp.

Nick and Ellie Richardson took over ownership of The Royal Clarence Hotel on Burnham-on-Sea’s Esplanade just three weeks ago and are already making changes to make the space more inviting to customers.

The 17 room hotel was previously owned by Paul Chatwin and employs five part time staff.

Nick said he decided to buy the seafront hotel after falling in love with the building.

“My family and I used to live in Slough and decided to relocate to a lovely, quiet seaside town like Burnham for a change of pace,” Nick said.

“I have always wanted to be self employed and when we came and saw The Royal Clarence Hotel we fell in love with the building and knew we wanted to take it on.

“We are very hands on here and want to make sure that our customers have the best experience possible.

“This is a budget hotel with rooms starting from £40 a night but I don’t think that customers should have to walk into a room and see things which are broken or damaged so we are working to give this place a bit of TLC.

“This building has a long history so we are not making any major changes but just tidying things up and making it a nicer place for customers.

“We have ordered new towels, bedding and pillow cases for all of the rooms already but we have also been fixing things like towel rails which were broken around the hotel and giving it a freshen up.

“Since we took over three weeks ago business has been good, we have had lots of bookings and hopefully it will continue.”

Nick said he has no plans to open a bar and restaurant in the hotel in the future but has plans to update the outside of the building.

He said his family have received a warm welcome from the community and he is excited for the future.

“Years ago the hotel had lovely black and white frontage which really made it stand out and I really want to get back to that to bring back its nostalgic charm,” Nick said.

“The whole community has been so welcoming, we have had lots of people pop in and say hello which has been nice.

“We will be replacing the front door and windows in the hotel over the next few months as well as slowly making other changes. We look forward to serving customers here in Burnham.”