Landmark Samlesbury Hotel now under new ownership

The award-winning Preston hotel will now undergo a £1.5m revamp and will be rebranded and relaunched in April as the Mercure Preston Samlesbury Hotel.

And the move will mean the return of the Samlesbury hotel’s former famous name – The Five Barred Gate .

KRO has chosen Mercure, part of the Accor brand family, as a franchise partner. KRO will operate the hotel.

The 80-room hotel is complete with restaurant, bar and eight well-appointed meetings and events spaces including the Canberra Suite, which can hold up to 160 guests and is fully licenced for weddings and other events.

Part of the refurbishment plan will draw from the historical roots of the hotel’s previous incarnation as an iconic Lancashire pub, The Five Barred Gate.

The Five Barred Gate Bar & Grill will serve Lancashire favourites with a twist with attention to local seasonal produce.

Owner of KRO Hospitality, Kim Eivind Krohn, said: “We are delighted to welcome the Mercure Preston Samlesbury Hotel to our portfolio.

“It is a fantastic hotel with enormous potential and is situated in an ideal location to attract business travellers and leisure guests alike.

“We have some very exciting plans for the hotel refurbishment and our new food offer, and we look forward to working with the Accor team to bring these to fruition.”

He added there would be no disruption to the day-to-day operation of the hotel.

KRO Hospitality owns a number of North West hotels and restaurants including Velvet Hotel, Mr White’s English Chophouse and Asha’s Indian restaurant in Manchester.

It also has 47 Peter Street, which is in the process of transforming into a luxury 47-bedroom hotel.