A hotel and popular wedding venue in Kent which turned down a £1million offer to house newly-arrived asylum seekers has been forced to close its doors.
The Blazing Donkey Country Hotel, near Sandwich, is just a few miles from the Channel beaches where countless small boats have landed.
Now, after 36 years under the ownership of Richard and Sherry Martin, administrators have been appointed amid financial pressures and personal tragedy.
Mr Martin revealed in 2022 that he was offered £1,080,000 and a guarantee of 100% occupancy for 12 months at the 22-bedroom hotel, which had recently won a prestigious AA rosette for its food and service
‘We spent 30 years building up the business but the money doesn’t come into it,’ he said at the time. ‘We didn’t consider the offer at all as our reputation would have been shattered overnight.
‘Quite honestly my wife and I felt repulsed and very angry that they would think I would ever consider it.’
Couples due to be wedded have now been left in turmoil after having to abandon carefully laid plans, with some due to walk down the aisle this week.
Kenna Nicholson was due to have her dream wedding on Friday after spending more than £12,000, but was warned this week that she would be lucky to receive any money back.
The venue was offered £1,080,000 and a guarantee of 100% occupancy for 12 months at the 22-bedroom hotel to house asylum seekers
The Blazing Donkey Country Hotel, near Sandwich, is just a few miles from the Channel beaches where countless small boats have landed
Richard Martin said the hotel had about 100 weddings and more than 8,000 guests staying every year
‘We’re devastated – our whole day is just gone,’ said the bride-to-be, adding: ‘I sympathise with the owner, but the way they’ve gone about it is disgusting.’
The Home Office is still scrambling to find accommodation across the country to house asylum seekers, with more than 50,000 people crossing the Channel on small boats since last summer.
Mr Martin said back in 2022 that asylum seekers needed to be looked after but the use of hotels was the wrong approach.
The hotel was then financially sound and profitable, so accepting the seven-figure opportunity would have been a ’12-month fast buck.’
He said the hotel had about 100 weddings and more than 8,000 guests staying every year.
‘I could not believe they even approached us as they must have known that such a move would mean letting down all our couples who have weddings booked for next year, not to mention our hotel, restaurant and glampsite clients,’ Mr Martin added.
‘The government are effectively becoming disruptors in the hotel industry.
‘I hope no other hotelier in the county worth their salt considers this sly approach.’
Restaurant manager Christopher Cooper said it would have been a ‘betrayal of the staff’.
‘We knew Richard and Sherry wouldn’t go down this route,’ he said.
‘We’ve taken in refugees here, we’ve taken in homeless people at Christmas – but this would have been a betrayal of the staff and we’ve got hundreds of brides and grooms booked over the next few years.’
Kenna Nicholson was due to have her dream wedding on Friday after spending more than £12,000, but was warned this week that she would be lucky to receive any money back. pictured: Kenna Nicholson and her fiancé, Anthony
The Home Office declined to comment on whether or not an offer was made by a third party to house asylum seekers at the Blazing Donkey.
But now the sudden closure has left prospective brides and grooms scrambling to find alternative arrangements, with some due to get married this week.
Among them is Kenna Nicholson, who was set to walk down the aisle on Friday after spending more than £12,000 on her dream wedding at the ‘beautiful’ venue.
She said administrators called her yesterday, warning her she would be lucky to receive a penny back for every pound she has spent.
‘We’re devastated – our whole day is just gone,’ said the bride-to-be.
Restaurant manager Christopher Cooper said it would have been a ‘betrayal of the staff’ to house asylum seekers
‘When we booked it 18 months ago, everything looked great, but we thought something was up when we saw staff looking for new jobs on Facebook.
‘I sympathise with the owner, but the way they’ve gone about it is disgusting. Even yesterday, they accepted a hotel room booking from one of our friends.
‘The communication has been terrible – we’ve had four wedding coordinators in that time, which seemed odd.’
Ms Nicholson and her fiancé, Anthony Russell, have now been forced to spend yet more money finding a new venue and putting friends and family up in hotel rooms.
Bosses at the Blazing Donkey – which is run by Edenlodge Associates Ltd – say they ‘deeply regret’ the disruption, acknowledging the ‘disappointment this may cause to couples affected by these circumstances’.
No details have yet been released on how payments and deposits will be handled, but the statement says contact details for the appointed administrators will be provided ‘very soon’.
It also reveals how the Martins’ lives changed ‘irreversibly’ in January when co-director Mrs Martin was admitted to hospital with an aggressive brain stem cancer, which ultimately claimed her life at the age of 63.
Her illness had forced the couple to step back from running the venue, which hosted more than 2,000 weddings since becoming one of the first in the country to be licensed for outdoor ceremonies in 1999.
Companies House reports for Edenlodge Associates Ltd are yet to show confirmation of the business entering administration
Without their day-to-day involvement, administrators say the business quickly became unsustainable despite ‘significant cash injections’ from the couple’s personal savings.
Mr Martin is now understood to be in poor health and, according to the statement, has been unable to return to the business in any capacity following his wife’s death.
The statement reads: ‘Immediate action was taken to close all non-event operations so that the team that remained could focus on looking after wedding clients that had already booked and ensure that every wedding and event due to take place last year and this year could proceed as planned.
‘Since the couple withdrew from the business, the team that remained in post were able to deliver all events.
‘However, despite significant and sustained cash injections from the couple’s personal resources, without the wider core business operating alongside, and with overheads remaining high, it has become impossible to continue hosting these events and operating the business in any form.
‘The family acknowledge the disappointment this may cause to couples affected by these circumstances and extends their deepest regret that such action has to sadly become necessary.’
Companies House reports for Edenlodge Associates Ltd are yet to show confirmation of the business entering administration.
Mr Martin – who on August 24 incorporated a new property company classified as ‘buying and selling of own real estate’ – is listed as the sole director of Edenlodge.