hotelThe Hotel Inspector · Season 7, Episode 6 · Aired May 23, 2011
The Hollybush Inn
Hay-on-Wye, Wales
Yes. This one is still open.
What happened after
Pub + campsite with en-suite rooms; current Yelp hours listed for July 2026, though the venue's own Facebook page is stale (last post 2017).
What happened on the show
The Hollybush Inn in Hay-on-Wye was the dream of 57-year-old healer Barbara Lewthwaite, who wanted a laid-back, ethical, nature-friendly retreat at the 18th-century property, spread across tepees, a caravan and camping field, a five-room B&B and a bar and restaurant. Guests, though, complained about the facilities and about the owner going barefoot, and the dire reviews plus poor winter trade had left Barbara buried in debt and fighting to survive. Alex Polizzi's series 7 challenge was to reconcile a heartfelt alternative vision with the hard requirements of running a business people would actually pay to stay at, without stripping out the ethos that made the place Barbara's in the first place. Barbara's barefoot, ethically-minded retreat aired in May 2011, and the pub and campsite sides appear to have carried it through in the years since.
After the cameras left
The Hollybush is still trading, now a pub and campsite with en-suite rooms between the Black Mountains and the River Wye. Current Yelp hours are listed for July 2026, though the venue's own Facebook page is stale, with its last post back in 2017, a mixed-recency picture that holds the open status at medium confidence. Barbara's unconventional retreat seems to have endured in some form, with the pub and camping sides carrying it, even if its online footprint has grown patchy in the years since the cameras left.
Sources
Confidence: medium. Last checked 2026-07-19.
What is there now
Street imagery via Google Maps. Location approximate.