Croydon golf club to turn into luxury hotel with wild cattle

By Tara O’Connor, Local Democracy Reporter

A former golf resort will soon reopen as a luxury hotel with wild cattle allowed to roam free on its land.

The Birch Hotel in Selsdon has taken over the former Selsdon Park Hotel, which closed down at the end of 2021 and had an 18-hole golf course.

The new up-scale hotel offers a £150 a month membership and one of its 181 rooms can be booked from April 1 from £180 a night – the price rises to £220 a night later in the month and a suite would set you back £350 a night. 

The new owners claim to have “rewilded” the former golf course to create a “scrubland savannah”. This includes introducing long-horned cattle and Exmoor ponies to roam free around the site.

Planning permission for alterations to the building is yet to be approved by Croydon council.

This includes changes to a 1980s extension of the Gothic building which is currently “unusable” according to a planning statement.

The latest documents from Savills on behalf of the hotel do not include plans to renovate an existing lido which was included in documents submitted in September.

Promotional material for the hotel still includes the lido and said it will open this summer.

Information from the hotel says it will include an arcade, tennis courts and screening room. The company runs another similar hotel in Cheshunt.

Managing director Ayo Akinsete said: “In our post-pandemic world where boundaries have become even more blurred and it’s harder than ever to switch off, we need a reminder of the best things in life.

“Birch (Selsdon) is a place to pause, to try new things, to reconnect with yourself and others, and to have fun.

“We want guests and members to leave feeling inspired, upbeat, calm and nourished but also empowered to cope with the everyday juggling act of life.”

Pictured top: Birch Selsdon Estate (Picture: Inna Kostukovsky/ Birch Hotels)