A historic hotel in Newport which has reopened with a newly refurbished bar and brasserie will be managed by a former football player.
Darren Jones, whose football career included playing for , and , has taken the helm as hotel manager of the revamped The Queen Hotel on Bridge Street.
Mr Jones will run the hotel and brasserie with head chef and general manager Iain Jackson, who previously worked at the Priory Hotel in Caerleon, Rougemont School in Newport and the Custom House in Penarth.
The hotel offers 29 rooms, some of which are still undergoing renovation, and an events room for weddings, corporate events and charity days.
“The hotel is undergoing extensive refurbishments at the moment, but we already have guests in the rooms we have completed,” said Mr Jones.
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“We’re a five minute walk from the rail station and that makes us a great choice for visitors, particularly those who are here for rugby weekends and the like,” he added.
The hotel is part of a wider redevelopment plan at the grade II listed building in the city centre, which also comprises a new co-working space called Q Newport, health spa, and leisure facilities alongside the hotel and brasserie.
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Local firms and organisations already occupy the co-working space, including tech fashion firm Brand Lab, with brasserie hoping to attract workers on the lunch break with a tapas menu served Monday to Saturday.
A brasserie menu, cocktails and luxury afternoon tea will be served Wednesday to Saturday with traditional roasts offered on Sunday.
Mr Jackson said: “Everything we serve is cooked from scratch using fresh ingredients from local suppliers, and that includes all our seafood, meats and fruit and vegetables.”
He added: “We have a patisserie chef on the team so there is nothing served here that is prepackaged or pre-prepared. It’s all about the ingredients, taking the best produce we can find and letting it do the talking on the plate.”