(by Newsdesk)
The “North America Royal Aristocratic Castle” in Langdale is no longer a tourist accommodation.
From the ferry, the 21,000 square-foot chateau-style mansion is visible halfway up the hill to the right of the bypass. Built in the early 2000s by an engineer who had worked on the Sunshine Coast, it was bought by businessman Xuanwen Yang in June 2015 for a little over $6.6 million.
At the time Yang bought the property, Sotheby’s International Realty listed it as having 12 bedrooms. In the spring of 2016, the mansion began showing up on accommodation booking services like Expedia and Travelocity under the name North America Royal Aristocratic Castle, a four-star hotel with 20 rooms. Rates were between $250 and $988 per night. On booking.com the “castle” was listed as a 28-room resort.
The zoning allows for a B & B with two rooms only.
Soon after its opening, guests were writing scathing reviews on Tripadvisor. The place was filthy, the room had no sheets or towels, the mattress was soiled, the shower drain was clogged with hair, and there was no breakfast, one guest wrote. “It was so bad it was almost worth it.” Their credit card was charged $250 for the night.
Other guests were greeted by two full-grown German shepherd guard dogs that charged and attacked and scratched at their vehicle.
The garden was dead, the fountain was full of slime and not working, and the foyer had Christmas decorations in July, another guest wrote. “We were told to make our own breakfast from the various items left in the fridge and filthy kitchen. Cost? $310.”
Expedia and booking.com are no longer taking reservations. Travelocity has deleted the listing. The castle’s website has been taken offline. Phone inquiries go to voicemail.
SCRD Area F director Ian Winn was aware of complaints about the castle last summer. “A guest was afraid to get out of her car because of the dogs,” he said. “I looked at the website, and the owner had grandiose plans. He wanted to build some sort of Trump Tower on the Sunshine Coast. It looked like something right out of Dubai.”
According to SCRD communications officer Cecilia Garcia, the owner has filed no development applications with the district.
A Gibsons resident who visited the property recently reported that it was filthy inside. “It was totally neglected. It makes me kind of sad for the previous owner, or whoever used to work there.”
(by Newsdesk)