Maitland City Council has approved a major revamp for one of East Maitland’s iconic pubs.
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The Windsor Castle Hotel will undergo a major facelift in the next five months.
Its new owners aim to modernise the Lawes Street venue.
The drive-through bottle shop will be removed and a new dining and function room, public bar, lounge areas and gaming room will be set up as part of the renovations.
An outdoor dining area, with a retractable roof and children’s playground, will triple the size of the existing beer garden.
Councillors approved the plan at last week’s council meeting.
Nic Quinn and his business partners bought the hotel about eight months ago.
The members of the group own 14 hotels between them.
Even though it wasn’t for sale at the time, the group saw potential in the pub and the Maitland region, so they made the then owners an offer they couldn’t refuse.
Mr Quinn said he had worked in hotels since he was 18 and had spent about nine years in Wagga Wagga before he moved to Sydney about three years ago.
He said he was unfamiliar with Maitland, but saw potential in the Windsor Castle that he couldn’t ignore.
Mr Quinn said the owners had planned the renovations based on their experience of success with the now popular Wagga Wagga venue, the Kooringal Hotel, which was a finalist in several categories at last year’s Australian Hotels Association NSW Awards.
“There are a lot of similarities between Wagga and Maitland,” he said.
“A lot of people don’t know about [the renovations] yet, but the people who have seen the plans think it’s positive.
“If you’re not moving forwards, you’re moving backwards.”
The renovations will only apply to the ground floor of the premises and construction work is not expected to affect the hotel’s opening hours.