A LANDMARK Crewe hotel is set to reopen in time for the start of the football season.

The Royal Hotel has been closed throughout the pandemic, but its owners are preparing to invite customers back to its Corner Bar, with a particular welcome to Crewe Alex fans on the opening day of the 2021/22 campaign.

Knutsford-based Property Capita had put the Nantwich Road hostelry up for sale along with an adjacent plot of land for which it secured planning permission in 2018 for a multi-storey car park.

While the company had no plans to reopen last year after Covid struck as they looked for a buyer for both hotel and land, it has reacted to the depressed state of the property market and the prospect of building up custom again from passing rail travellers and fans attending Crewe games.

The reopening of the Corner Bar is scheduled for Friday, August 6, along with the hotel's 36 bedrooms, which were part of an extensive refurbishment before Covid.

Richard Lever, a land and planning director with Property Capital, said: "The aim is to connect the reopening with Crewe Alex's first home match (v Cheltenham on August 6). Traditionally, a lot of football fans use the Corner Bar.

"We'll play it by ear and see what sort of take-up there is as things are not going to be back to normal straight away. Langtry's, our function suite will remain closed at this stage."

The Royal remains up for sale as a going concern at a £1.6m list price, but the land earmarked for a 243-space six-tier multi-storey is now being run as a temporary surface car park.

Several out buildings, including one housing the former Box nightclub, have been cleared to make way for the parking use.

"We appreciate the commercial climate is difficult, but we haven't taken the hotel off the market" explained Mr Lever. "We want to get the bar and hotel back up and running. We hope that train usage will get back to pre-Covid levels and that will increase our footfall.

"We've spent upwards of £300,000 on refurbishing the hotel and it does look very good.

"At the back we've opened a pay and display car park aimed at rail travellers. In the future we do still hope to have a multi-storey there and we would like to work with a development partner."

The Royal's management team are recruiting bar staff ready for next month's reopening. Anyone interested should ring 07919 214660.