Old Thorns Manor Hotel

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Old Thorns Manor Hotel is a hotel and leisure resort in Hampshire, England, near Liphook and the A3 road. The Old Thorns estate was owned in the late 1950s by Ken Wood, the inventor of the Kenwood mixer, and a golf course was added about 24 years later on a 400-acre site. In the 1970s Commander John Harris began building the golf course, but after his death the project was completed by Peter Alliss and Dave Thomas, who had worked on courses at The Belfry. The course opened with a launch attended by golf stars including Bill Rogers, Jack Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros, and Isao Aoki. In 2007 the Shaw family bought the golf course and hotel and expanded the development with more rooms, conference and banqueting facilities, and a large health spa. In 2013 a Chinese investment group, UCF, purchased the estate, and later added 50 on-site apartments. Today Old Thorns operates as a hotel and golf/resort with extensive leisure facilities.