Heartbreak for Dunstable couple after hotel closure ruins wedding plans leaving them £3k out of pocket

An engaged couple from Dunstable have been forced to postpone their wedding after their venue, the Old Palace Lodge hotel, closed its doors after taking a Government contract to house asylum seekers.

Peter Williams, 55, and Helen O’Halloran, 54, had booked their wedding at the hotel two years ago and were due to get married on July 8 in front of friends and family from around the world.

And the day should have been extra special as both have overcome serious health challenges – with Helen recovering from breast cancer and Peter having heart surgery.

But their plans are now in ruins after the Old Palace Lodge announced it would close with immediate effect last Sunday (January 22).

Peter said: “To say me and my fiancée are heartbroken is an understatement. We haven’t been able to recover all our losses so we are still around £3,000 down.”

And they say they were only made aware of the cancellation and closure after seeing a Facebook post and receiving text messages from friends.

Peter added: “Helen and I have both had some health issues with Helen having recovered from breast cancer and myself having a heart valve replaced, so this was going to be a very special day for us and our family.

“But the worst thing is that my father was so so excited about our wedding and we had arranged for some Irish dancers to perform. Unfortunately, he passed away just before Christmas and with the stress of this, I had a heart attack just before New Year, so this happening is the total icing on the cake.”

Price increases and issues with finding another venue at such short notice have meant that they have postponed their wedding until next year. Helen and Peter are now looking at going abroad to get married as they say it is working out cheaper.

Peter added: “We wouldn’t book there again even if it reopens as too much damage has been done.”

In a statement, the hotel blamed the impact of Covid and added pressure of energy costs that saw bills raise 'five-fold'.

It said: “The Old Palace Lodge did not fully recover from the negative impact of Covid, whilst the added pressure of the huge unforeseen rise of energy costs, increasing the hotel bills five-fold and with their current financial commitments the owners have found it impossible to carry on; to preserve the hotel for the future they have decided to work for Central Government.”

It added the owners "appreciate the devastating effect this will have on the local community however in the current financial climate they had no option but to seek this alternative which hopefully will be short lived but necessary to secure the survival of this much loved business”.

A public meeting about the closure was held yesterday, with residents and councillors demanding answers from MP Andrew Selous – who did not attend.

The MP later told the Luton News he would do everything that he could to make people aware of other local venues that may be able to accommodate them.

> Has your special event been impacted by the closure? Get in touch at [email protected]