The Moorland Garden Hotel near Yelverton is seeking locals celebrating an eightieth birthday or anniversary in 2014 to help mark the hotel’s eightieth anniversary year.
With a packed calendar of events planned for the milestone year, the Moorland Garden Hotel is looking for a local resident to help kick start the celebrations at a very special 1930s cocktail party to be held in January.
The lucky resident will also enjoy their very own tea party to celebrate with up to 20 family and friends to mark their special occasion.
In July 1934, three fields totalling 12 acres were purchased by five Plymouth business men and one woman to build The Moorland Links Hotel. The foundation stone was laid on 15 August 1934, and the hotel opened for business nine months later on 3 May 1935 as a modern luxury family hotel which had cost £15,000 to build.
A large ballroom with a sprung maple strip dance floor attracted guests in their hundreds to tea-dances and evening-dress balls, accompanied by the hotel’s own band, Frank Fudge and his Moorland Links Orchestra. Famous guests in the hotel’s heyday included President Truman, Rex Harrison and David Niven. Purchased by business entrepreneurs Brian and Sonia Meaden in 2011, the hotel has undergone an extensive refurbishment programme to help return it to its former glory.
Anyone marking an eightieth in 2014 should contact the hotel by email (mm@moorlandgardenhotel.co.uk) or by post (Moorland Garden Hotel, Yelverton, Near Plymouth, Devon, PL20 6DA) before Friday 3rd January 2014. The team is also interested to hear from anyone with stories to share from the hotel’s 80 year history. More information on the anniversary events and special offers can be found on the website: www.moorlandgardenhotel.co.uk
