Hotel goes back in time to mark 1970s heyday

The hotel has a long history of celebrity guests, including The Beatles and Queen Elizabeth II

An historic hotel is celebrating its delayed reopening by holding a "Berni Inn night" on Friday - an event named after the famous steakhouse chain - to mark its 1970s heyday.

The Stroud, formally known as The Imperial Hotel, in its namesake town in Gloucestershire, only reopened in January 2024 after redevelopment was delayed when the building was awarded Grade II listed status, by Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.

The protection added £1million to the renovation costs and delayed the reopening by several months.

Laurence Saffer, one of the hotel's partners, said that the costs were worth it to properly preserve the "iconic" building.

Owner Laurence Saffer said that he wanted people to feel at home in the newly redeveloped hotel

"In lockdown, we came across this building and we found out the Beatles had visited here when they were performing, and Her Majesty the Queen visited us in 1950.

"It was a great honour (to receive listed status), and it's something that we really do cherish," he added.

"It put us back about six months and at considerable cost, but we're really proud of what we've done - something that's got a heartbeat.

"There's a lot of life in this area and we thought that creating something which is warm and people want to go to would be a great idea."

Kate Yates said that she was looking forward to revisiting 1970s cuisine

Local resident Kate Yates said she was excited to attend the 1970s throwback event having had her wedding reception at the venue in 1978.

"It was new, it was exciting. There weren't really many other places to eat," she said.

"I think we had orange juice to start. Then we had steak, and black forest gateau.

"I can't wait to try it again. We have done it at home to show them to my children what we used to have.

"My daughter has come in with me this evening to experience it too."