The one thing that has remained the same at The Castle of Brecon Hotel is the view, with its stunning natural landscape, but that isn’t what people came to see the night before its grand reopening.

The whole interior of The Castle of Brecon Hotel has had a huge £3 million makeover, cementing itself as a flagship hotel for The Coaching Inn group, who took over The Castle of Brecon Hotel three years ago. From the bedrooms to the brand new dining room, quality and history have been neatly tied together.

The Castle of Brecon Hotel closed in October last year, and on April 10 business owners, locals to the area and political representatives were invited to a VIP evening to see the work that has been completed, ahead of reopening to the public on April 11.

Claire, a local from Brecon, celebrated her 40th birthday at The Castle of Brecon Hotel, and has many fond memories. She said: “It was always a lovely place to come anyway, but unfortunately it lost its way a little bit.”

After taking a self-guided tour of the hotel, she was blown away by the change.

“It is stunning,” she said. “It’s about time somebody invested in it. Our Wednesday nights will never the same again. To sit and look at Pen y Fan and look at the beautiful surroundings, it’ll be a pleasure to come back here.”

Tracy, another regular, said: “It’s nice to have some quality back in Brecon. We haven’t had our Christmas party at work yet. We’re going to see if we can arrange something for summer.”

Lisa from Brecon spent many an evening at the hotel, but stopped visiting when she felt it had lost its way. Will she come back now that she has seen the refurbishment?

“It’s just incredible,” she said. “I’m looking forward to spending many an evening here. I stopped coming. I think it lost its way, there was no maintenance and no upkeep. It was a real shame. We always came with friends and family, spent an absolute fortune, but now really excited to see it back. I shall be here when it opens with the husband and the kids.”

Alex and Jamie Ryan got married at The Castle of Brecon Hotel 10 years ago, and came to see the changes. Jamie said: “I’ve been following the progress on the Facebook page, so really looking forward to seeing the changes.”

“I’ve seen photos of the bedrooms,” Alex said. “I think this will add so much more to the town.”

Mike Pope is the general manager of The Castle of Brecon Hotel, bringing years of experience. He says that some of the transformations, which includes the old ballroom being changed into an artwork-led dining room, are “magnificent”.

“It was a run down building and the property needed a real investment. A lick of paint was never going to do the job,” he said.

Mr Pope is keen to welcome all to the hotel, whether guest or those in the area looking for good food and a wonderful view. “We want to see smiles on all our guests faces,” he said. “We want people to embrace what we’ve done. We want people to come and enjoy our wonderful food.”

Upon its closure, there were concerns from the locals of job losses, but the opening has created 55 jobs. Mr Pope said: “We’ve hired over 50 people, and we are still looking for a few other people to fill the gaps to make that perfect team. We’ve tried to develop what we think Brecon will want.”

Built into the remains of Brecon Castle, a Norman castle which dates to around 1093, history has very much been respected during the development. “It still feels classic and contemporary and there’s a lot of nods to the history of the building as well,” Mr Pope said. “We’ve got the best of both worlds here in Brecon, with a view you could never rival.”

The hotel has kept its Welsh roots, with Welsh food dishes and collaboration with local distilleries, such as Penderyn.

Adam Charity, Chief Operating Officer at The Coaching Inn Group, told The Brecon and Radnor Express: “Being attached to a historic monument had its challenges. We wanted to make part of the castle poignant for the hotel, so we made the kitchen into the castle wall to have a point of difference. We wanted the event space to be used all year round and we made it into one big restaurant that overlooks the Brecon Beacons. This is by far the biggest investment the group has ever done. This is the flagship refurbishment and I feel that this is the best refurbishment we have ever done. The town deserves something special. Giving back to a building like this, which is so iconic was well worth the wait. Being attached to a castle is quite unique, and to me I think we’ve given this building a new lease of life for the next hundred years.”

Richard Lewis, CEO of RedCat Hospitality who looks after The Coaching Inn Group, said: “I visited the site when I joined the business just over a year ago, and it was pretty clear the site needed the investment. We had a decision, either we invest in the site or we sell it. The Coaching Inn Group has thirty five sites all around the country, all well invested, and famous for their great service and great food and drink. We realised there was a lot to do here and it would be a significant investment, but we decided to back the team. It’s a great location and a great town. I’m really proud of what we have created here. It’s a lovely environment, we have an amazing team passionate about the local area and really excited about the changes we have made.

Cllr John Powell, Mayor of Brecon, said: “I’m very proud to have the honour of opening The Castle of Brecon Hotel. It’s amazing. The look and style is completely different to what we’ve known over the past decades. Onwards and upwards.”

Matthew Dorrance, Deputy Leader of Powys County Council said: “I think it’s great to have a new chapter for the hotel. People have always done their best to keep this place going and keep this place rooted in the community. It’s good to see what a multi-million pound investment can do for the place. I think Brecon deserves this high quality venue that brings tourists in and makes a contribution to jobs and the economy too.”