Maitland's iconic Rutherford Hotel has been sold for an undisclosed sum.
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The historic New England Highway property now falls into the stable of The O'Hara Hotel Group, which owns The Bradford Hotel, also at Rutherford, and East Maitland's Windsor Castle Hotel.
The hotel and adjoining land was purchased by Hunt Hospitality, the same owners of The Kent and CBD hotels in Newcastle, in early 2016.
Nick Quinn from The O'Hara Hotel Group said Rutherford Hotel has been performing well and Hunt hospitality have done a great job with it.
"We love the Rutherford area and it's certainly a growth area," he said.
"It's only early days yet and we don't really have any plans for the hotel at this stage, but what I can say is we certainly will not just sit on our hands.
"The sale happened very quickly and it's been a whirlwind. We will work things out over the next couple of weeks," he said.
“But as is evident in all our hotels we will have a strong focus on customer service and great food as well as the community. The Rutherford community is one of the best and we are excited about this next chapter.”
Mr Quinn said the sale figure his company reportedly paid for the hotel will remain undisclosed, but also added many figures being “thrown around” are incorrect.
Rutherford Hotel was built as an inn in 1851 known as The Union Inn and was renamed Rutherford Hotel when publican Miles Kelly took it over in 1875.
The Maitland Mercury reported in 1909 that “important additions and alterations” were being made to the hotel consisting of the construction of an upper storey and the remodelling and complete renovation of the original building.
The work was carried out by W Taylor and Sons to plans and specifications prepared by architect James Warren Scobie.
The additions of brick, the walls plastered, with pine ceilings and new rooms were constructed in accordance with the Liquor Act along with a balcony along the front supported on cast iron columns with “handsome brackets and frieze”, The Mercury report said.