Youth hostel with 11 bedrooms goes up for sale

A backpackers' retreat which has been running for almost 40 years is for sale for £650,000.

Hunstanton Backpackers, one of three approved Youth Hostel Association hostels in the county offers 39 beds and has been trading for more than 38 years.

The current owners, Neal and Alison Sanderson, took it over nine years ago and run it privately. Their core business is from local school residential trips and from renting out the whole house to families.

Mr Sanderson, a former sales manager, said he and his wife, a former accountant, had put it on the market with the aim of retiring. He said the property, currently closed because of Covid rules, would reopen as soon as possible.

"We decided to sell before Covid. It's been tough and the one thing we specialise in is accommodation for groups. Covid and groups just don't go together.

"We are hoping to reopen and we've made some changes to make it more family friendly as we don't think the schools will be able to return soon, but we are all ready for them when they do.

"We'll really miss the people who come and stay, many who've become friends. Some children have come from inner city schools and have never been to the coast."

The property in Avenue Road was previously two semi-detached houses and was converted to one dwelling in the 1970s.

It is built from the orange carrstone typical for the area and named as 'gingerbread' because of its appearance.

Inside are two entrance halls, a reception area with a bar and office, a communal sitting room, two kitchens and a guest dining room/conservatory.

On the first floor are 10 guest rooms and on the second floor is the owner's flat with a sitting room, kitchen, three bedrooms and a bathroom. Outside the property has a front and rear garden. The accommodation has social areas, self-catering facilities and a licensed restaurant.

The two other YHA hostels are in Wells-Next-the Sea and Sheringham.