The North Hill Hotel Colchester listed for sale by owner

The North Hill Hotel, in North Hill, has been listed on Rightmove for a cool £1.3 million after Rob Brown opted to retire.

Mr Brown has seen it all during his stewardship of The North Hill Hotel and feels a “sense of pride” at what he has achieved since 2008.

The hotelier has steered his ship through the troubled waters of the Covid pandemic and seen every type of guest imaginable.

Now, the 60-year-old plans to take a break from the all-consuming world of running a hotel as he retires.

Great location - The North Hill Hotel is based in Colchester city centre (Image: Google)

Mr Brown has said once the hotel is sold, he can finally breathe out.

“It’s quite sad actually, if I’m honest. We've loved it," he said. “It gets into your blood when you get a place like that.

“We took what was a very rundown building and turned it into something we're proud of.”

Mr Brown, who lives just behind the hotel, admitted he aimed to retire three years ago but the pandemic put the brakes on his plan.

Putting his feet up - Rob Brown is selling The North Hill Hotel after 15 years of running it (Image: Newsquest)

Instead, he buckled down and worked with his dedicated staff to protect the future of his hotel.

“Covid put a bit of a kibosh on my plans and it didn’t feel right to sell, but then we reopened and that didn’t feel like the right time either because it felt dishonest,” he added.

Paying tribute to his staff, the hotelier said: “They are such a nice bunch of people who have been loyal to me and I’ve tried to be loyal to them as well.”

Reflecting on the past 15 years, Mr Brown said he has no regrets.

Busy - The North Hill Hotel has been successful since Rob Brown transformed its fortunes (Image: Google)

“You know when you want to do something and in your head it seems a great idea but in reality it’s more like ‘what have I done here?’, well I never had that,” added the hotelier.

“I always wanted to have a hotel and we did it. We opened it, we ran it and it has been successful for 15 years.

“There is a sense of pride and no sense of regret at all. It has just been fun and I would recommend it to anyone.

“You see all sorts of people, all sorts of situations occur and that is a lot of fun.”