A new community hub for senior citizens and people with disabilities will open next year at the refurbished Maison des Landes in St Ouen.

The new social space will offer opportunities for locals and visitors to socialise, have lunch and enjoy a variety of activities such as talks, films and games.

Maison des Landes was founded in the mid-1960s as Britain's first ever hotel to accommodate those with disabilities, until it was forced to close in 2019 due to the pandemic. 

Trustees appointed by the Lions Club Jersey have uses the time since to completely refurbish the hotel and add a community hub.

Peter Tabb, the Trustees' chairman, has been telling us about the £2.5 million revamp.

“The hotel’s closure, forced on us by Covid-19, has given the Trustees the opportunity to re-examine the purpose of the hotel which, although unique when it opened now faces a much more competitive and demanding marketplace.

This has meant that we had to compile a vision of what Maison des Landes as a state-of-the-art hotel that was both in keeping with the vision of founder Elizabeth Ashton Edwards and also more appealing to the people of Jersey who shared the special requirements of our traditional visitors.”

The Community Hub will be open to community groups, charities and disability organisations. 

It will include large gardens, a 48-seat dining room, a treatment room offering massages, hairdressing, manicures and pedicures, and a hydrotherapy pool.

“Maison des Landes is the only hotel in the Channel Islands designed specifically for people with disabilities.

The Community Hub will share these facilities which will make them accessible to all and will offer elderly locals, visitors and people with disabilities a unique facility – an enriching and relaxing experience in a social space designed specifically around their needs."

It will open in 2022.  The Lions Club is still looking for further funding and sponsorship to ensure islanders can use the facilities at minimal cost.