Owston Hall: 'Grand plans' for Doncaster country house hotel as new owners unveiled

A new lease of life is set to be given to Owston Hall Hotel following the purchase of the estate by Doncaster businessman Richard Martin and his family.

The family purchased the 32-bedroom hotel and championship golf course last year – and they have announced plans to restore the hall to its former glory and develop the estate into multi-outlet leisure destination.

Mr Martin says the family has “grand plans” for the estate, which they have always had close connections with.

He said: “My father played golf here at Owston Hall and I myself have always used the hotel and been a great admirer of this wonderful property. When the opportunity arose to potentially purchase the estate it made perfect sense to me as I always felt that it had so much potential”

Richard, now semi-retired, has a great track record of growing businesses within Doncaster, most notably Synetiq, which was formally Motorhog, which itself was previously known as Doncaster Motor Spares, originally started by Richard’s father in the 1930’s.

The whole Martin family are extremely excited about the Owston estate project, testament to this is the inclusion of Kristy Martin, Richard’s daughter in the project.

Kristy has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the spa, beauty and wellness sector and she brings all those attributes with her in the role of Business Development and Spa Director.

Kristy commented: “We are a family-run business that wants to deliver exceptional experiences and deliver the highest levels of service, our proposed spa plans which will see an expansion to the current spa area aims to set the scene for guests to flourish, relax and create a safe place. I believe that once the spa reopens, it will elevate the guest experience and assist the city in becoming a true destination.

"We are really excited about all of our plans and cannot wait to share them with everyone.”

To spearhead the new project, Owston Hall is also delighted to announce the appointment of award winning general manager Joseph Farrar.

Joseph, a Doncaster native is returning to his home city after many years away managing some of the top hotels in the region.

He joins Owston Hall Hotel after most recently leaving his role as general manager of the 4 star, 2 rosette, Holdsworth House Hotel in West Yorkshire.

An experienced, ambitious and driven hotelier, Joseph commented about the project: “I share the vision of the property with the Martin family, this is a fantastic property with so much untapped potential.

“I am really excited about the project and the opportunity to develop the business into one of the leading country house estates in the region, something which Doncaster and its new city status deserves.”

Richard Martin said: “We are confident that Joseph is the right man for the job to help us push Owston Hall forward and establish the entire estate. Joseph has a wealth of experience and is a local lad so bringing him home to Doncaster made a lot of sense to us all. We are all excited about what we can achieve together.”

The firm also runs Dario’s Ristorante, a newly opened Italian restaurant on the A19.