Celebrity favourite The Feathers in Woodstock has been sold

The Grade ll-listed 21-bedroom hotel had a guide price of £2.75 million with commercial property specialist Colliers.

It has been owned by the Munir family since 1997 and came on the market in July 2020.

Management company Brightstar Hospitality, which manages 14 independent hotels in the UK, is now looking after the day-to-day running of the Feathers on behalf of the new owners.

General manager Dominique Ghislain said: "Working with the new owner, Brightstar Hospitality propose to reposition this iconic hotel and take it to new heights.

"There are talks of a good freshen up in the coming months."

Peter Brunt, director in Hotels Agency at Colliers, said: “The Feathers must be one of the few hotels where you only need to say the name and people will complete the location, as both the hotel and the picturesque town of Woodstock are hugely popular with both international and UK tourists.

“Understandably, we received keen interest from a range of potential purchasers attracted by the strength of the business operated since 1999 by the private vendor, as well as the potential for the business to be developed further under new ownership.”

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The Feathers was renamed and expanded by hotelier Gordon Campbell Gray around four decades ago and is the sister property to Lords of the Manor in the Cotswolds.

It was given a new lease of life in 2011 when it was given an extensive refurbishment, costing around £900,000, a project which saw all 21 bedrooms and all the public areas revamped.

The hotel has hosted a number of celebrity guests, although it tries to remain as discreet about its famous residents as possible.

Several Formula 1 racing teams have their bases near by and Rubens Barrichello signed his contract for Ferrari in one of the rooms.

In 2012 the hotel was used by the wedding party following the marriage at Blenheim Palace of TV presenters Rochelle and Marvin Humes attended by The Saturdays, JLS and Harry Styles.

Then general manager Jeremy du Plessis said at the time: "They were so nice to look after, they were charming people and very well behaved. Although, obviously I am more of an Andy Williams, Simple Minds type of guy myself, being 50 now."

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Its unique selling point is its gin bar, which was officially recognised in the Guinness Book of World Records in 2012 as the world's largest with 161 varieties, which took judges 45 minutes to count.

Mr Brunt added: “The Cotswolds has traditionally been an area in which well-located hotels and pubs are in high demand, and all the signs are that demand is set to intensify as the country moves out of lockdown and UK staycations become increasingly sought after.”