Saxon Cross Hotel
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The Saxon Cross Hotel is situated on the outskirts of Holmes Chapel, deep in the Cheshire countryside. The hotel was a 2 star facility with 52 En-suite rooms all with Television and the usual coffee and tea making facilities.
The Hotel also houses 6 conference rooms with a capacity for upto 120 people in theatre style seating. Along with this is the usual restaraunt facilities and bar.
The complex is all one storey with the exception of the conference suite which is split over two storeys. The rest of the site is laid out in a chalet style something on the lines of a Butlins camp.
Sadly we have no idea when the Hotel originally opened but from what limited amount of information we have come across we would extimate it was constructed some where around the 1960s or 1970s.
Whilst searching for information on the place we did make one rather disturbing and sad find. Back in 2001 a diving supervisor from Market Drayton suffering from health fears committed suicide in one of the rooms.
From what we can gather the Hotel had been dwindling for a long time. Due to its out dated design and facilities it was no match against the more modern hotels in the vacinity.
In late 2007 we caught wind that the Saxon was due to close in December the same year. So whilst in the area exploring the near by Foden truck plant we dropped by to see if the hotel had closed. It hadnt!
A few months down the line we once again found ourselves in the vacinity and one cold night in February 2008 dropped by for a second time. This time we were in luck!
To our amazement the place was completely wide open. So without further a do we unpacked the cameras in temperatures of upto -4 degrees and went in to explore.
Some sections where immaculate and looked like they where still in use. There was so much still in situ it was untrue. Virtually every room still had a Television in it as well as a hair dryer, iron and even shampoo.
The offices where virtually untouched too. The conference rooms however proved to be the most intact section of the hotel. They where so immaculate you would of thought they were still in use. Some even had refreshments still on the tables.
As for the future of the Saxon? Given its outdated look and limited uses as a business venture it will probably stay derelict ??
