A THRIVING pub in Lostock Gralam is returning to its roots as an hotel following an exciting £300k refurbishment.
The Slow and Easy on Manchester Road is huge by anyone’s standards, so it will come as no surprise to learn it was built in 1937 as an hotel.
The project to convert the pub’s many empty rooms into comfortable quarters for overnight guests started on Monday, January 5, with a healthy £300,000 budget.
Emma Smith, who took over the pub 18 months ago, says she is expecting nine hotel rooms when the work is finished at the end of February.
“We expect to be welcoming overnight guests from early March,” she added.
“It was a bit of a no-brainer really. Northwich is crying out for more hotel rooms.
"There's only really the Travelodge at the moment, and we're planning to offer something with a little bit more character.
“We were getting enquiries all the time from potential visitors, including corporate clients, so we thought it was something we just had to do.
“The place was an hotel for a long, long time, so it is going back to its roots really.
“Regulars shouldn’t worry though. We’re not putting the bar prices up to pay for the work, or just because it will be an hotel.
“We’ll always make sure the community is looked after. They’re the backbone of this business, after all.
“We like to think of it as an enhancement to what we already have, not a change of use.
“We’ll be keeping the traditional pub theme for the décor, though it will be modern and fresh.”
Emma says since taking over the pub in summer 2024, takings have trebled, and the place is often booked up well in advance for food, especially on a Sunday.
She added: “We’re very proud of what we’ve already achieved here in the last year-and-a-half.
“The place has been transformed.”
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