TWO accomplished Welsh hospitality managers will return home to their native Pembrokeshire to take on the most senior roles in running the new Tŷ Hotel Milford Waterfront.
Hotel Manager Adrian Andrews and Executive Head Chef Simon Crockford have both forged successful careers away from West Wales and are delighted to be returning to their roots for the exciting new challenge.
Opening in April, the development will be one of Pembrokeshire’s largest hotels with 100 bedrooms and an attractive restaurant with floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over Milford Marina.
Mr Andrews worked in a number of private hotels in his home town of Tenby before spreading his wings to become a multi-site manager for Premier Inn in Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff.
He said: “I’ve always kept my family base in Pembrokeshire but I am really excited to be coming back home to work and to be opening this fantastic new hotel. I’ve caught up with a lot of old friends already as we make all the preparations to open, and it’s been great to see the positive local reaction and the interest in seeing the hotel take shape.
“We’ve worked with a number of community venues to hold recruitment days and we’ve had an amazing response from people wanting to work with us, meaning almost all of the positions we need for opening have been filled. We can’t wait to welcome the first guests and I’m excited about what the hotel will bring to this area, for the community and for business.”
Owned by the Port of Milford Haven, the hotel will be operated by The Celtic Collection team behind the iconic Celtic Manor Resort.
Simon Crockford has spent the last 15 years with the company, cooking for famous faces like US President Barack Obama at the 2014 NATO Summit and Tiger Woods at the 2010 Ryder Cup. Like Mr Andrews, he was born and bred in Tenby where he started his culinary career before moving to five-star hotels in Cardiff and then Newport.
Wales National Chef of the Year in 2017, he has helped devise several dining concepts for the expanding Celtic Collection but he has never felt more passionately about a project than opening the restaurant at Tŷ Hotel Milford Waterfront.
Mr Crockford said: “I’ve been lucky enough to work on a number of amazing events and new venues at Celtic Manor. To now be given this opportunity to open a hotel restaurant 15 minutes from where I grew up, is an absolute dream come true. I think they may have taken the hint from all the Pembrokeshire produce I have always tried to get on the menus over the years!
“I’ve always championed the great food to be found in Pembrokeshire – from both the land and the sea – and I’m really enjoying getting out and meeting the farmers and the fishermen who will be supplying the restaurant. Trying to condense all the fabulous produce into one menu has probably been my biggest challenge.”
The hotel will provide a significant draw for new tourists to Milford Haven and Pembrokeshire, as part of a major redevelopment of the waterfront. Around 40 permanent jobs have been created in the hotel’s operations with many more supported in the supply chain and additional seasonal roles available.
