ABOUT US
We purchased the commercial building, 4-6 Bridge Street in 2002. Anthony had suffered a serious accident which enforced a change of career. As a tradesman, he wanted to continue to use his carpentry skills and he ventured into picture framing having identified a gap in the market whilst recuperating. Having refurbished the ground floor retail space at 4 Bridge Street, the gallery and picture framing workshop opened in November 2002. The living accommodation above the gallery was in need of renovation and investment but it was going to take time and money whilst juggling a new business and raising a young family.
The tenanted accommodation on the top floor was the first to benefit from a refurb and in 2017 we started work on Apartment 1. As with a lot of old buildings, once you start to strip back it becomes apparent that the job is more than had been anticipated. Apartment 1 was gutted and we spent endless weekends working together stripping lath and plaster, plaster-boarding, fitting new flooring as well as installing a new kitchen and bathroom, rewiring and plumbing whilst doing our best to preserve some of the characteristic details of the Victorian building. In 2019 the work was completed thanks to the support of local tradesmen and suppliers and the property was first promoted on a holiday let platform.
The management and daily operational responsibilities are mine to control, and I have enjoyed using my years of experience within retail to ensure guests enjoy comfortable and pleasant accommodation.
The pandemic struck and the holiday let business was closed as were the majority of businesses in 2020, however, I was able to accommodate some keyworkers during this period. As one hand gives, the other takes away, and our tenants decided due to the uncertainty in the world, they would return home to live with parents which meant that Apartment 3 was empty and we were unable to market/let due to COVID restrictions. We had found it increasingly difficult to find good tenants, and combined with a reduced demand for apartment accommodation and the construction of new halls and student accommodation by the University of Wales, we had to consider other ways of sourcing an income. As a result of the success of Apartment 1, I persuaded Ant to let me operate another holiday let, Apartment 3, so the work commenced in 2021 and yes, the space had to be gutted!
2022 brought some normality to our lives and Apartment 1 was proving successful with great guest reviews. Apartment 3 on the other hand has been a very slow job. We couldn’t source building materials, and having ordered and paid for goods they couldn’t be delivered and tradesmen couldn’t enter premises whilst still in the depths of the 2021 pandemic. It was a challenging time and frustration got the better of us and we lost our project mojo. As retail reopened, Anthony became busier than ever in the framing workshop and Apartment 1 was busy too so there was limited time to march on with the renovation of Apartment 3.
The renovation of Apartment 3 was finally completed and the property listed on a holiday let platform site in the spring of 2023. In May 2023, we launched our new independent website www.aberystwythholidayapartments.com
It’s been, and will continue to be a labour of love. That said, we have invested in and upgraded our property. I’m proud to be able to provide a service to visitors so that they can explore Aber and the surrounding area, which in turn, will benefit our local economy and support local businesses.
We look forward to hearing from you………Mandy & Anthony
