Celebrating 30 years in business

It’s our birthday! We are thrilled to be celebrating thirty years in the business. 
Over the next few months we will be sharing memories, photos & stories from the past three decades, starting with a recent press release.

30 Years of Legendary Memories

As we enter our 30th year in business we thought we would take this opportunity to look back at how it all started & see how far we have come over the past three decades…

How it began…

In February 1991 Kim & Len O’Driscoll received the keys and were the proud new owners of ‘The King’. The pub was rundown and in desperate need of a refurbishment but after just five hectic weeks they had managed to completely renovate the front bar, restaurant & hallway, ready to open the first week of April 1991. The first night was packed wall to wall and the rest as they say is history.

Developments…

The King Arthur soon became established as one of the finest traditional pubs in the area with people coming from far and wide to sample the local ales and home cooked Welsh dishes.

1998 saw the developments of the seven en-suite bedrooms on the first floor above the main bar and the addition of the nautical style Gower lounge, now called The Gower Room. In 1998, Len started work on landscaping the ponds and gardens. Weddings and parties were held in a large marquee behind the pub until work began on the fantastic new banqueting hall in 2002, a vision of Len’s for many years. Unfortunately Len never saw it completed as he was tragically killed in a car accident in October of that year.

Work on the aptly named ‘Avalon’ was completed and the first wedding was held in July 2003. The extensive renovations also included 12 beautiful en-suite bedrooms, the conversion of the 18th century Guinevere’s stone cottage and the completion of the landscaped gardens and lily pond.

In more recent years there has been the addition of the cottage apartments. Kim acquired the neighbouring Brynfield and Sanctuary cottages in 2013 and painstakingly restored the cottages, converting them into four beautiful self catering apartments- winning a design award from the Gower society. The first guests were welcomed in the cottages at the end of 2015 and have been very popular ever since.

Achievements…

With much hard work and determination the business has developed into a multi award winning venue twice listed on the Fast Growth 50 list, three Gower Society Design Awards, numerous Swansea in Bloom awards, Best Inn, Best Pub, Best Meal Out, three times winner of Best Regional Wedding venue, Best Wedding Venue in Wales, Best Wedding Venue Coordinator in Wales, the Women In Business Lifetime Achievement Award (to Kim in 2018) and many, many more.

During the thirty years we have hosted many charity nights and we feel the money raised has been one of our greatest achievements. With the help of our loyal suppliers and customers, we have raised tens of thousands of pounds for both local and national charities including Muscular Dystrophy, Breast Cancer research and The Gower Co-Responders Unit.

It’s a Family Affair…

It’s always been very much a family affair at the King Arthur. Len & Kim’s children have all worked in the business, Laura front of house, Aimee in the kitchen and of course Alex who helps his mother run the business.

Katherine, Kim’s sister joined the team in 2000 and Mary (Kim’s mum) helps out with admin in the office. But there are lots of staff who have worked here for many years and are just as much part of the family including Anouska and Rhian who both started in the 90s and still here today. There are many, many others who are part of the King Arthur family that has made it the success it is today. Our reputation has continued to grow over the years and we pride ourselves on our excellent service with the warmest welcome. We feel incredibly lucky to have an amazing team of staff, and this is testament to them.

Events…

We have hosted many events over the years from the ever popular Bonfire Night (one of Len’s favourites) to Fish Nights and from Curry and Carols to Wear It Pink Nights. We also support local businesses and artists with events such as Painted In Gower art exhibitions and Christmas Local Produce and Craft Fayres.

The future…

We look forward to unveiling our newly refurbished restaurant in the coming weeks.

We feel very lucky to have such loyal, supportive and friendly locals who we have developed strong relationships with over the years. All businesses are not without hardship and difficult times and we are no exception. However we have not only survived but thrived thanks to our customers who return to us time and time again.

We are incredibly proud that we have reached this milestone, especially during the current climate, and want to say our heartfelt thank you to our loyal customers – it wouldn’t have been possible without you.

Here’s to 30 more!

If you have any you would like to share with us, email carly@kingarthurhotel.co.uk

Check back here for more updates soon