'After 150,000 guests it's time to say goodbye'

Kevin Hyland took over the hotel from his mother in the late 1970s

"If home were here you would be there by now," reads the enigmatic sign outside an unassuming Nottinghamshire property.

The Hylands Hotel has been a fixture in Beeston since the 1970s, offering free breakfasts and home comforts for travellers.

However, because of the "nightmarish" situation for the hotel industry, owner Kevin Hyland said he had not paid himself for the last six years, and the property has now been sold at auction for £795,000.

After hosting about 150,000 visitors he said he and his partner Dorothy are now preparing to bid farewell to the business and their loyal guests.

The sign is visible from the road, and residents have long scratched their heads over its meaning

Rooms in the Hylands still carry their late 20th Century charm - though the prices have had to change slightly.

A list dating back to 1976 has a family room costing £5.25 per night, a far cry from the average price in Nottingham today of £56 per night, according to travel agent Rapid Travel Group.

Outside the main entrance of the Queens Road hotel is a sign that has puzzled passers-by for years.

Mr Hyland, who took over running the hotel from his mother, said the sign began as a meaningless joke in the 1980s to try and boost business during a slump.

"No other reason, I don't know whose idea it was, but it worked," the 70-year-old said.

"I could have written something vulgar, couldn't I?"

An old charge list from 1976, which would see you to a single room for £4.50 per night

Mr Hyland said that, as a family-run hotel, comfort and quality was a major focus for him, and that involved giving his guests extras that they would not have in national chains.

He said it was important to him to always offer a free breakfast, though eventually this became a millstone as prices for food and energy rose.

"Everybody has two eggs, two rashers of bacon, beans, whatever it is, and it literally is breaking the camel's back," he said.

"That's a big sacrifice to the price of the bill."

Victoria Smith said the hotel had been in a good location

One of the regular guests who appreciated the Hylands' family touch is Victoria Smith, a self-proclaimed lover of the 1980s, who said she cherished the guest house for its quaint interior.

The 23-year-old said the hotel was a one-of-a-kind in the area because it "stayed true to its roots" and she hopes the now-sold property could remain a hotel.

"I wear 80s clothes every day, I love 80s interiors, 80s buildings, and I see so many of them being knocked down and modernised – I hate it," she said.

"It sort of feels like a villa, like from the outside with all the plants and everything.

"The staff were lovely, the breakfast was lovely, it just felt really nice."

'Miss it desperately'

The hospitality industry was hit especially hard during the Covid pandemic and the cost of living crisis.

Mr Hyland described the hotel industry as "nightmarish" in recent years but he said he will still remember the good times.

"It's a shame that money dictates [staying open], because the customers I have are lovely people - really genuinely lovely people," he added.

"I miss it desperately and will continue to.

"You know, it says Hylands Hotel, and it will still be Hylands Hotel until someone gets a big hammer and knocks it around."

Mr Hyland said young people today would not have the stamina to run the hotel