Ruth Watson sells the Crown and Castle to TA Hotel Collection

Former presenter of Five's The Hotel Inspector Ruth Watson has sold the Crown and Castle to the TA Hotel Collection.

Ruth and her husband David have decided to step down from the five-AA-starred, two-AA-rosette restaurant with rooms in Orford, Suffolk after 18 years.

Watson herself will continue to oversee the food offering and look after the venue's website and marketing for the foreseeable future.

She said: "Regular guests should feel thoroughly reassured that long-standing general manager, Tim Sunderland, is remaining to captain the ship and ensure standards remain as high as ever."

Guy Heald, chairman of the TA Hotel Collection, added: "We have no desire to change a single thing about the Crown and Castle, being great fans of everything it does and what it has achieved. Indeed, we feel we can learn from it."

The TA Hotel Collection is a Suffolk-based group of luxury hotels and businesses founded in 1996 with the acquisition of the Thorpeness Hotel & Golf Club. The group also owns the the Crown at Woodbridge, the Swan at Lavenham, and the Brudenell and White Lion hotels in Aldeburgh.

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