As it approaches our first anniversary, we have been reflecting on our incredible journey as hoteliers.

From the moment we first stepped inside the grand porch into the beautiful hall, we fell in love – with the stunning hall and grounds but also with the idea of realising our dream of running our own luxury boutique hotel.

We have achieved so much in our time here – we were finalists in the Best New Business category at the Tees Businesswomen Awards; we have achieved excellent reviews across a range of booking platforms; we have welcomed so many wonderful customers – and precious return customers; we have hosted a range of special events including corporate luncheons, networking and B2B events; we have worked behind the scenes to curate the history of the hall to share with future generations; we have put our mark on the hall and grounds from our special little touches in the rooms to substantial grounds work, and so much more.

It has been such an amazing experience, and we are very thankful of everyone we have met throughout our time at Rudby Hall Hotel. We appreciate every single one of you – our wonderful customers, our supportive partners, everyone who has visited the hotel, and everyone who has liked, shared and commented on our social media posts.

However, following a planned investment deal breaking down and challenging trading conditions in the hospitality industry, we have made the difficult decision to step down and explore other opportunities.

This has been an incredible chapter in our story and has taught us so much about the industry and we have met so many phenomenal people. We are very proud of all that we have achieved in such a short time and it has been fantastic to meet so many people who had never been to the hall before.

Now, just as we always invited our guests to do, we are “taking a pause” ourselves. We have no regrets for giving this a go. We are very proud of what we have achieved, but it has also been a very challenging experience and we have decided that now is the time to move on and see where the next adventure takes us!

Thank you so much for your invaluable support in realising our dream.

Mark and Suze