Maison des Landes, a registered charity supported by the Lions Club of Jersey, is open again to welcome visitors to the island and local people with disabilities seeking a get away.
Located on the edge of the Jersey National Park at Les Landes, the hotel is the only hotel in the Channel Islands designed specifically to cater for people with disabilities.
It has 23 specially equipped rooms, a 48-seat restaurant and a treatment room where guests can book massages haircuts, nail treatments and visits by the chiropodist.
Beginning life in the mid-60s, Maison des Landes has grown to accommodate around 40 guests. In 2020, the hotel closed as a result of the pandemic and the trustees took the forced closure to launch extensive renovation works that were originally intended to cost around £2.5 million.
However, soaring inflation, the discovery of an unfortunate amount of asbestos and the need to rewire the whole building added an extra million to the the final budget.
Pictured: The Maison des Landes has reopened following a £3.8 million refurbishment.
The renovation’s major addition is the ‘Community Hub’ – a social space and meeting place opening later this year which will welcome community groups, disability organisations, charities and Jersey residents. The Community Hub will share all the facilities of the hotel including the refreshed hydrotherapy pool, one of only two similar facilities in the island.
Traditionally, the hotel opened from Easter to early October, but the upgraded Maison des Landes will be open all year.
Peter Tabb, President of the Maison des Landes Council of Trustees, said: “We look forward to welcoming not only guests from off-island, but also those here in Jersey, too.
“In particular we recognise Jersey has a chronic shortage of facilities for people seeking respite, and Maison des Landes plans to go some way to addressing the issue by providing special rates to Jersey people booking respite breaks at the hotel.
“Our aim was always to provide somewhere special for local people with disabilities and their carers, and indeed anyone in our community who is disadvantaged in some way.”
Dr Margaret Bayes, Chair of Carers Jersey, added: “The transformation of Maison des Landes is very impressive and it’s fantastic to see this sort of facility become available to local people. The need for respite breaks in Jersey is a very real one.
“Options are limited for people with disabilities and their carers and anything that offers carers a break is welcome.”
