I found a ruined French chateau on Gumtree and turned it into a hotel

A man has revealed he bought a dilapidated French chateau on Gumtree and converted it into a sell-out hotel, despite having no experience in the business.

Musician Jamie first discovered the castle in 2021, when his friend Boris found it on Le Bon Coin (the French version of Gumtree).

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Jamie wasn’t convinced at first.

“You’re going to buy a half-broken toaster there.

“You don’t go there and buy a 12th century chapel,” he said on tonight’s episode of Channel 4’s Help! I Bought A Hotel.

Boris visited the property and was so taken with it that he convinced Jamie to use the advance from his new album to purchase the hotel for £210,000.

La Boule D’or, located in Clamecy, France, consists of a group of buildings that have been slowly abandoned since the 1950s.

The hotel’s crown jewel is a chapel, which was used as a restaurant by the former hotel owners until it closed five years ago.

Jamie and his three friends spent 18 months renovating the hotel and transforming it into a unique location especially for artists and musicians.

They documented their journey on TikTok and Jamie enlisted strangers from all over the world to help him renovate the hotel, some of whom stayed for months.

In order to create a sense of community in the hotel, Jamie and his friends decided to remove all televisions, encouraging guests to chat with each other.

The hotel has a garden bar, serving natural wines and beers. The chapel has been converted into an art space.

“The most daunting thing about actually opening is realizing we’ve never run a hotel before,” a nervous Jamie said ahead of the opening.

The day before the official opening, the new hoteliers discovered that some of the eleven bedrooms were unfurnished and that they had forgotten to make the beds.

To make sure their guests had everything they needed, Boris pretended to be a guest himself.

“I feel like I’m forgetting something very important,” he said.

After the friends quickly made all the beds and finished the rooms, they hosted an opening party, with the local mayor in attendance to cut the ribbon.

Before the event, the hotel had eight reservations, but thanks to a number of unexpected guests, the hotel was sold out on the first night.

“Today was one of the most special days I’ve ever had,” Jamie said.

“It’s so much more than just the four of us. We’ve created a beautiful community, a family.

“We look forward to welcoming more people.”

Help! We Bought A Hotel is on Channel 4 tonight at 9pm

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