Basset family sells Spot in the Woods

By Lisa Riley

Published: 31 January, 2020

The Basset family has sold its New Forest hotel, Spot in the Woods, to luxury hotels and pubs group Hillbrooke Hotels.

Gerard and Nina Basset acquired the property in 2007, following the sale of the Hotel du Vin Group, co-founded by Gerard. Together they created a boutique luxury retreat that won numerous hospitality accolades and became a destination for wine lovers.

The couple rebranded the hotel as Spot in the Woods, turning it into a more relaxed kitchen café with rooms, enabling the couple to focus on Gerard’s treatment following his cancer diagnoses in 2017.

The business was put up for sale with Nina Basset determined to find a buyer who would continue their legacy following Gerard’s death in January 2019.

Spot in the Woods would continue to operate with the current team under the new ownership of Hillbrooke Hotels, said Nina Basset.

“Gerard and I worked together for many years and it was his final wish that a suitable buyer could be found to enable the business to flourish after his death.

“I have been fortunate to have enjoyed a rich career in hospitality from my days at Chewton Glen (where Gerard and I first met) to becoming the youngest ever hotel and restaurant inspector before helping to create the phenomenon that was Hotel du Vin,” she said.

The time was now right to hand over the business to others and “I look forward to the end of one era and the start of a new chapter,” she added.

The news follows yesterday’s announcement of the shortlist for the Gerard Basset Travel Scholarship 2020, which was created in honour and memory of the late Gerard Basset.

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