The Old Thorns Hotel and Resort is a hotel and leisure resort in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, close to

Liphook Liphook is a large village in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 4.1 miles (6.6 km) west of Haslemere, bypassed by the A3 road, and lies on the Hampshire/West Sussex/Surrey borders. It is in the civil parish of Brams ...

and the A3 trunk road. The Old Thorns estate (which later become a hotel, golf and leisure resort) was previously the property of Ken Wood, inventor of the Kenwood food mixer, in the late 1950s. It was another 24 years before a golf course was constructed on the 400-acre site. Commander John Harris was commissioned to build the golf course in the 1970s but his death meant that the task was passed to

Peter Alliss Peter Alliss (28 February 1931 – 5 December 2020) was an English professional golfer, television presenter, commentator, author and golf course designer. Following the death of Henry Longhurst in 1978, he was regarded by many as the "Voice of g ...

and Dave Thomas. The new design team had just completed the Lansdowne and Brabazon courses at the Belfry so were regarded as rising stars in this field. Once completed, a course launch was arranged involving Bill Rogers,

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...

Seve Ballesteros Severiano Ballesteros Sota (; 9 April 1957 – 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won 90 inte ...

and Isao Aoke.

Present day

The course and attached hotel was acquired by the Shaw family in 2007 the previous developers of Dunston Hall and Ambassador Hotel (both in Norwich). Old Thorns underwent further development to include increased accommodation, conference and banqueting facilities and a large health spa facility. In 2013, UCF Chinese investment group purchased the 400-hectare estate from the Shaw family. Further investment in facilities and accommodation followed, including the development of 50 apartments on site. July 2022 marked the 40th anniversary of Old Thorns Hotel & Resort.

References

External links

Old Thorns Hampshire Hotel Site
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