Accounts filed with Companies House revealed that the hotel suffered a loss of £179,000 in the year to April 2020 and a deficit of £817,000 fo April 2021, marking a total loss of £996,000.

However, Nicholas Russell, managing director of the hotel, is confident about the hotel’s future, with 2022 set to become the hotel’s busiest year in its history.

In June 2020, Mr Russell predicted that the impact of the pandemic would end up costing £1m. He told The Courier that containing losses to this level has been a “huge achievement by his management team who had to resort to extreme levels of innovation”.

To withstand the COVID-19 pandemic, the hotel opened a takeaway service, external dining, became cashless and utilised virtual technology to attract future wedding bookings.

Mr Russell said: “Having taken the £1m hit, we have somehow subsequently managed thereafter. It has been a truly epic challenge on the hospitality rollercoaster, but we have held our financial ground. Broadly speaking we are at break-even since then, despite all ongoing trading restrictions.”

He added: “The directors are optimistic financial results to the end of April 2022 may show a return to profit. This is despite trading with very severe restrictions especially through the first quarter of the financial year.”

Now, the number of weddings booked at the hotel stands at 184.

Mr Russell added: “It’s been two years through a financial grinder and now we’re getting firmly financially back on track, back to where we were before the pandemic. Fingers and toes crossed that there are no further lockdowns.

“Many hospitality operators were clinging on before the pandemic, never mind the implications of Brexit. Many have very sadly not survived. Others, especially in remote locations and unable to recruit EU nationals, have closed as they cannot find staff locally.

“We are thankful we are fully staffed and ready for our busiest year in history. It has been a truly epic challenge on the hospitality rollercoaster, but we have held our financial ground.”