Shropshire hotel owners hand over the reins after 20 years

Canadian businessman, Khalil Viraney, has purchased Hadley Park House Hotel for an undisclosed sum and took ownership this week, but has pledged it will be ‘business as usual’ with the same management team in place to ensure that the hotel continues to provide excellent customer care and create lasting memories.

Khalil adds, “The moment I saw the hotel, I fell in love with it, and I am excited to build upon the accomplishments of Mark Lewis and Geraldine Lewis. I look forward to knowing more about our loyal customers and the local area to ensure years of success and future growth. In the meantime, it will be business as usual, and I will ensure that customers experience the same level of service in both the accommodation and events side of the business.”

Business partners Mark Lewis and Geraldine Lewis have been involved in managing Hadley Park House Hotel since 2003 when the hotel had just nine rooms and catered mainly for international businesses. Today the multi-award-winning hotel has 22 bedrooms and two function room and hosts 100 weddings a year.

Mark Lewis, Director said he had mixed feelings about leaving the hotel. “Hadley Park House Hotel has been a big part of my life; we have invested both in expanding the business and in staff development to ensure that we always offer a very personalised service to all our customers. It will be hard to walk away, but the time is right for me to take a step back and let a new custodian build on our very successful business model.”

With Telford being one of the fastest growing towns for housing growth in the UK and attracting new employment, Mark and Geraldine recognised the potential to expand the business and today the hotel has an enviable mix of corporate, leisure, and wedding reception trade due to its accessible location.

Geraldine Lewis added: “Working in the hotel industry has been both rewarding and challenging. It's incredibly satisfying to be able to meet and greet people from all over the world and ensure they have an enjoyable time with us. On the other hand, there have been many challenges along the way which we have overcome as a team. Every day is different, and I shall miss the thousands of customers we have served over the years, who have entrusted us with their holidays, business or special celebrations. We will have fond memories of all of them for years to come but I must admit December is certainly going to be a change this year as it will be the first Christmas Day I have had off in 20 years!"

Mark said: “We have a fabulous management team led by Jason Morgan General Manager and a great bunch of staff all pulling together, which has helped us win several awards over the years including the prestigious AA Rosette for our restaurant, numerous Regional Wedding Industry Awards, Trip Advisor Certificates of Excellence and winning the Shropshire Business Award for Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality.”

“The leadership team have kindly renamed the lounge as the Lewis Lounge and given us a plaque so our name will live on in the tradition of the hotel being an independent family hotel. We named the Mulliner suite after the family that owned Hadley Park House and estate for nearly 40 years, from 1903 to 1941 and the Dorrells restaurant named after Edward Dorrell who used to run the farm at Hadley Park and lived in Mill House, the house next door in the 1960’s.”

The hotel has also had its fair share of famous faces staying at the hotel, including Julian Clary, Joan Collins, Diversity, Tom Allen, Pete Waterman and Teresa May on a fundraising mission which Mark recalls involved a considerable amount of security and planning.

Although both partners never intended to stay at the hotel for more than 10 years, they are more than happy to have celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2024. Still, they are both looking forward to having the time to explore new opportunities and want to thank all their customers, suppliers, staff and stakeholders for all their support over the last 20 years.