Our History

George and Ada purchased a small guesthouse in Halkett Place and named it the Merton House, after the London Borough where George grew up. At the beginning, there were only five bedrooms and one bathroom.

Despite a tricky beginning, George and Ada were soon filling the bedrooms and over the next two years, George and Ada leased the buildings on either side of the original guesthouse adding an extra 25 bedrooms.

George and Ada soon outgrew their guesthouse on Halkett Place. So, in 1923, George purchased Fontenay House on Belvedere Hill, to transfer business from Merton House. This would become the Merton Hotel and undergo numerous extensions and renovations over the coming decades to transform into the hotel we know today.

In the 1920s, visitors would arrive by boat and many would not have booked a hotel. Meeting passengers straight from the boats and getting the hotel name immediately into visitors’ minds was instrumental. So, George created a coach business for meeting guests at the harbour and for tours and trips around the island.

Over the years Mascot Motors Ltd would expand and by 1963 also include hire cars.

The bridge to Plemont Bay from the headland, which allowed beachgoers to reach the sand and sea, was in a complete state of disrepair. After acquiring Plemont Developments Ltd, which included the bridge and café, the Seymours redeveloped the sites and repaired the bridge so visitors could continue to enjoy the sandy cove. (At that time, the only way to reach the beach was to cross the bridge.)

On the 9^th May 1945, Jersey was liberated. George and Ada, alongside their family, now had to face the enormous task of rebuilding the hotel group. The hotels had been left in tatters, with walls missing and the furniture scattered all over the island.

The first task was to dig up the cutlery (and any other items they had been able to hide) and use the last remaining lorry from Mascot Motors to scour the island looking for their missing furniture. But they did it!

Robin, now 23 years old and just back from studying in Lausanne, and his new wife Rita joined the Seymour Hotel Group. Robin started out as Junior Manager at the Merton and Rita as a Receptionist at La Plage Hotel (which had been purchased by the group in 1948).

Working their way around the business as they started their family, Robin would soon become joint Managing Director of Seymours Limited and Rita would take responsibility as General Manager of Hotel de la Plage.

The Hotel de la Plage re-opened following a series of renovations and extensions to turn the hotel into an AA 4* standard hotel. It boasted 34 luxurious twin and double bedrooms with private bathroom and a further 42 double bedrooms with a private bathroom and balcony, a public bar, a basement car park, a sun deck and more.

In 1981, David – our current Chairman, Robin’s son and George’s grandson – joined the group, getting involved with the Café Bar at the Pomme d’Or. Not long before this, David’s childhood sweetheart, Tina joined the group as Rita Seymour’s assistant. It was working for the Seymour Group that allowed David and Tina to reconnect as friends before Tina officially joined the Seymour family.

In 2004, Seymour Hotels purchased the Watersplash, an iconic waterfront diner that is a focal point of surfing in the island and has become one of Jersey’s favourite nightspots.

In 2018, the diner received plastic free status from local group, Plastic Free Jersey highlighting Seymour Hotels commitment to caring for the environment.

Over the years, the nature of holidays has changed and perhaps the biggest is the rise in self-catered holidays. So, on the 18th June 2011, the Seymour Hotels group opened the Merton Suites.

Creating these 28 stylish apartments allowed the group to grow and develop their portfolio of properties, to include self-catered holiday accommodation and long-term lets, and invest in Jersey’s continued growth as a holiday destination.

In 2011, the fifth generation of the Seymour family joined the group as Stephanie, David and Tina’s daughter, took on the mantle of Seymour Hotels Marketing Co-ordinator until 2017, prior to joining her husband Richard in their own family business.

With three hotels (the Pomme d’Or, the Merton, and the Greenhills Country House Hotel), self-catering apartments, the Aquadome, and a waterfront diner and nightclub (the Watersplash), Seymour Hotels employs over 350 staff during the peak summer seasons. Committed to continuously delivering excellent service, we ensure that all who arrive as guests leave as friends.

We look forward to continuing to provide holidays full of happy memories for many more years to come.