feature
Island Life - April/May 2010
Hillside
Hillside is a distinctive house that has
Gert born in Helgenaes in Jutland, has
built in 1800 and steeped in history. It
stood overlooking Ventnor for more than
worked internationally for many years
began life as an inn for Ms Mary Groves,
200 years. Recently brought back to life
ending up in London, but has always
formerly Groves Hotel. She had been
as an hotel and restaurant thanks to the
dreamed of having a place overlooking
running a successful inn at Steep Hill
innovation of a man who laughingly calls
the sea.
Cove when a local landed gentry set her
himself “a crazy Dane”.
When Gert and his partner Anna found
As he and Anna waited for the tide
to turn, they began to fall in love with
up in business by building Hillside.
Originally a single storey building,
themselves sailing against the tide on
Ventnor, the unique houses and the
Mary Groves kept for nearly 40 years. In
the south side of the Island, little did
setting. When they visited the town for
1840 the poet John Sterling purchased
they know it would spark the onset of
the first time, Hillside, set in 5 acres of
the house. He built a second storey as
a project that has painstakingly and
land was on the market. That was the
a nursery to house his many children.
meticulously completed in June last year.
spring of 2008 and we completed the
Hillside remains one of the few two-storey
Hillside nestles cosily under St Boniface
contract in December that year Gert
thatched hotels on the island.
Down and is one of the latest and
certainly most tantalising hotels and
restaurants in the up and coming town.
66
recalls.
That’s when the major refurbishment
began on the Grade II listed property
Modest Gert insists the major renovation
and refurbishment would not have been
possible without the help and dedication
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