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First look: Historic coastal Crusoe Hotel and restaurant reopens its doors under new owners

Graham and Rachel Bucknall, of The Crusoe Hotel.
Graham and Rachel Bucknall, of The Crusoe Hotel.

The highly anticipated opening of Fife’s The Crusoe Hotel has arrived – and its new owners have vowed to ensure it becomes a venue the local community is proud of once again.

Purchased by husband and wife Graham and Rachel Bucknall in April this year, the couple were handed the keys on Saturday May 1.

After a mere 11 weeks, in which work has been carried out both in and outside the long-established venue, they will welcome customers back to the premises for food and drink from today.

The Crusoe Hotel, based in Lower Largo, Fife.

While the hotel’s 15 bedrooms will remain unavailable for bookings until autumn, Graham was eager to reopen The Crusoe, which is based on the quayside of Lower Largo, to the public as soon as possible.

Owners mean business

Graham, who has a background in corporate finance, and Rachel got straight to work in transforming the venue.

Main bar area.

A restaurant and a lounge and public bar, open from 9.30am to midnight Friday and Saturday and 9.30 to 11pm Sunday to Thursday, are among the amenities open to guests.

Menu items include a range of seafood dishes, as well as burgers, salads, soups and more.

The Seaside Bar.

“We’re delighted to be reopening,” Graham said.

“Rachel and I wanted to open our doors as soon as possible and attract visitors, making sure they had some delicious food and drink. And of course, it was important to get money in too.

“It’s been a tough time for the hospitality trade over the past 18 months, so we spent most of May working out what we needed to do as basics. For example, plumbing, electrics and repainting the outside of the hotel to give it a fresh look.

The Selkirk Room.

“Then, the team did a quick four-week refurbishment of all the public buildings. They look great – we’ve tried to keep a lot of their old character, but have also made them much fresher and up-to-date. The hotel also has a new beer garden outside.”

A scenic and welcoming area

Graham joked that the pair once had “normal jobs”, but have relished their journies to becoming the owners of not one, but three hospitality venues in Scotland.

These include The Bridge Inn in Ratho, near Edinburgh, The Ship Inn in Fife, and their most recent addition to the group, The Crusoe Hotel.

The Crusoe Hotel overlooks the small fishing harbour of Lower Largo.

Not only that, but the couple has also purchased a property in the village as well. So what exactly was it about the area that they admired so much?

“On the odd occasion, we would visit the lovely East Neuk of Fife and The Ship Inn,” he added. “And five years after starting our visits, we bought The Ship Inn in 2014.

“Rachel and I had a look at a few places, one of which was The Crusoe, in early 2017. It was struggling then and has had a tough time over the past three to four years. It was around Easter this year we knew we were getting it (finally) and we were very excited.

A new beer garden has been constructed.

“Lower Largo is a lovely, welcoming village and the locals are very proud of its history. I’d love to be able to say it’s the gateway to the East Neuk.”

An asset

The new owners hope to restore the hotel back into an establishment that locals and tourists alike will admire and want to revisit, not only for its rich history – as it claims to have tangible links to the real Robinson Crusoe – but also its new look and offering.

Graham said: “There were four things about The Crusoe that the pair of us absolutely loved. Firstly, it has a fabulous location on the water, meaning that freshly caught seafood comes straight into our kitchen.

The lower restuarant.

“Secondly were also really keen to give people a chance to grow and expand their careers. Two of our head chefs and the general manager have come from The Bridge Inn, while four senior staff and front of house have come from The Ship Inn.

“Thirdly, we fell in love with it. Particularly when it was struggling, we did think ‘are we sure’? But we’ve had a great reception from the locals. We are hoping we can do the right thing by it.

We really want The Crusoe to be a community a place, as well as somewhere that people can visit, love and enjoy from around the world too.”

Graham Bucknall.

“Finally, potential. It’s not done all it could do over the past few years.

“I’m looking forward to meeting the expectations of our local community, however, they are quite high. Obviously, we won’t get it right every time and we’ll make mistakes, but I want to deliver on what the locals would like us to do.

“Over the last few years, they haven’t felt welcome in their village hotel. They haven’t been proud of it either. If we can turn this around, then I think we’ll be well on the way to creating a great asset to the village.

The Seaside Bar.

“We really want it to be a community a place, as well as somewhere that people can visit, love and enjoy from around the world.

“It’s integral to the whole community and it is a privilege to have it. Hopefully, we can deliver on what Lower Largo and The Crusoe deserve.”


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