For the past three years the Victorian building has been lying vacant, but last month new owners Trish and Steve Ellyatt were granted their tourism licence and reopened the doors to both visitors and local residents.
The Ellyatts have been interested in running their own establishment for a couple of years now, but it has taken a while to find the right location.
Having set their hearts on another site only to be disappointed, they were immediately drawn to Maison Gorey – particularly as Steve had considered buying it some years before, at the time when he was running the Marina restaurant.
Initially they did wonder what sort of a monster they had taken on.
‘We had to strip the place completely and when we first turned on the water, it leaked from every joint,’ said Mr Ellyatt.
‘It was damp and smelly and sad and friends told us we were mad, but we really liked the village environment,’ said Mrs Ellyatt.
‘We felt that if it was turned into flats – like so many other hotels in Jersey – it would take the heart out of the village.
Undoubtedly the most expensive requirement of their ‘labour of love’ has been the fire regulations, with a number of other regulatory hoops to go through including Environmental Health, Tourism, and obtaining that vital liquor licence.
