A SCOTTISH hotel and wedding venue has abruptly closed down, with people having their wedding plans cancelled at the last minute.
The closure of the Gables Hotel in Gretna, famed as a town to which people elope from England, has left 16 people without jobs.
Local outlet DnG24 reported that liquidators will be appointed on July 16, and that all trading and reservations have been cancelled, even for fully pre-paid weddings.
The hotel’s website is down, and no one answered the phones when The National called.
On Facebook, people with wedding reservations were questioning what had happened at their chosen venue.
“Anyone who knows why Gables Hotel Gretna are cancelling people's bookings?” one user wrote on a local page at the start of July.
A second post, from Dave Moore, said: “Does anyone know what’s going on with the Gables hotel? We have our wedding there in a few weeks.”
Moore later told DnG24: “I tried to call them a number of times but there was no answer, so I joined a Gretna Facebook group and put a post on there asking if anyone had any information.
“I started receiving private messages from others who had been booked in at The Gables, asking if I had managed to find out what was going on. I believe there are quite a number of people who were booked in for a wedding and had paid in full like ourselves.
“By Friday we had still been unable to contact anyone from the Gables. I called the Wedding Bureau in Gretna (who we have our ceremony booked through) and they informed me that the Gables had ceased trading and that the liquidators would be contacting people this week.”
In February, the Gables Hotel was listed for sale with agents Colliers for offers in excess of £1 million.
At the time, the agents said: “This well-established wedding, corporate, and leisure venue presents an excellent opportunity for investors looking to acquire a thriving business in one of the UK’s most popular wedding destinations.”
The hotel was reportedly built in 1917 and features 31 en-suite letting bedrooms, including five four-poster bridal rooms. It has parking for 50 vehicles and a series of dining and event spaces for parties ranging from 16 to 80.
The National was unable to contact The Gables Hotel for comment.
