Shock sale leaves couple without wedding venue

Kirstie Wood and fiancé Luke Shalgosky have been left with no venue for their 2022 wedding

A couple have been left without a wedding venue after the hotel they had booked was sold with immediate effect.

The Moorland Garden Hotel in Plymouth, Devon said it would be unable to return deposits to couples who had chosen the site for their special day.

Kirstie Wood, 22, said she and her fiancé had lost at least £600 for their wedding after being told via email the hotel would cease to trade.

She said they were "devastated" by the announcement.

Ms Wood, who is 34 weeks pregnant, was due to get married on 23 July 2022 having booked the venue three years ahead.

She broke the news to her fiancé while he was at work.

"He broke down on the phone, we were both just emotional wrecks this morning.

"But quite quickly it turned from being upset to angry that we weren't given the option to get any money back."

A spokesperson for The Moorland Garden Hotel said it was being sold at a "significant loss"

The Plymouth venue said it had been seeking to sell "with a view to business at The Moorland Garden Hotel continuing".

"However, it has become apparent that on completion of the sale of the hotel, the buyer plans to convert the building for another use," it said.

It added the hotel was being sold "at a significant loss" amid the coronavirus pandemic and therefore was "unable to return any deposit payments".

Ms Wood said they would now have to search for a new venue, adding that it would be "difficult" to find a site "we both love" as much as their original choice.