Historic residence and one-time pub Roseneath will find new life with buyers James Morgan and Sonia van Huisstede.
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The couple bought the 1837 home at East Maitland for an undisclosed sum and plan to reopen the two-storey sandstone gem to the public as the Old Victoria Hotel.
Only minor, sympathetic revisions are planned before it opens in mid-August.
“This place has to tell us what to do,” Mr Morgan said.
“We’re only the caretakers. There’s no owning something like this.”
One of Maitland earliest settlers Samuel Clift built the inn on Day Street, which includes a partitioned dining room on the first floor fit for roaring celebrations.
The Clifts were affluent pastoralists who also built Walli House on old High Street, Maitland, as an inn but it never served a drop to patrons.
The Victoria Inn was renamed Roseneath in 1930 when the Clifts sold it.
Russell and Jan Lines spent the past 15 years restoring the home while they operated parts of Roseneath as Anoushka’s Cafe and more recently a bed and breakfast-style accommodation.
The Lines handed that heavy baton to the new owners this week.
The property had been on and off the market since 2012.
“We were looking for a spot to do something, but we weren’t sure where,” Ms van Huisstede said.
“It came our way through some friends of ours and it just felt right.”
The couple has a background in small business and wanted to create a cosy hotel diner with accommodation.
Craft beer will be part of the mix.
A new bar will be installed in the old cafe section.
“It has a great atmosphere when you come in,” Mr Morgan said.
“It will be a comfy place where people can come in and relax.”