Inside Martin Roberts' huge Welsh pub renovation project as he addresses lap dancing club rumours

Wales Online

16 hours ago

Inside Martin Roberts' huge Welsh pub renovation project as he addresses lap dancing club rumours
Exclusive access to the Homes Under The Hammer presenter's Welsh renovation and what's been holding up the project
Don't believe any local rumours - Martin Roberts' pub and hotel renovation is on its way to completion
(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne )
Almost a year to the day that WalesOnline last visited the former Hendrewen Hotel and Pub in Blaencwm to see how Martin Roberts' latest renovation we were intrigued to return with exclusive access and see the progress that has occurred over the past 12 months, and we're not the only ones.
The popular presenter of BBC's Homes Under The Hammer 'accidentally' bought an empty building at the top of the Rhondda Fawr valley after it closed during the Covid-19 pandemic and has been working hard to transform it with the help of a team of builders and the support of the local community.
‌
But maybe for some local Rhondda residents the project is taking longer than expected, and into the void has appeared a number of rumours swirling about regarding the building's future. For more property stories sent to your inbox twice a week sign up to the property newsletter here.
‌
READ MORE: The ordinary-looking home with an unexpected treat in the tiny back garden
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Martin Roberts ploughing half a million pounds of his own money into 'most worrying' project he's ever taken on after falling in love with Welsh community
There outside might look similar to June 2024 but a lot has been happening inside
(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne )
Article continues below
Martin explains: " As things go on rumours start to get rife so we have to put paid to them now - one is that it's being sold but I am not selling it, I'm not turning it into a lap dancing club, and I'm not turning it into flats!"
There has been a huge amount of work happening over the last 12 months, with stripping out all the interior of the property 'back to bricks' to create just a shell. Martin says: " The biggest challenge has been getting back together, all structurally sound, and it had 150 years of stuff to strip away and it took a lot longer than we thought it would."
The team uncovered some 'horrors' to deal with including a steel that was hiding a major problem. Martin explains: "One w all was held up by a piece of steel, which was supported by a bit of wood, which was supported by a final bit of wood that was holding up everything and it was a rotten piece of timber about an inch thick!"
‌
Martin standing where the central bar will be installed
(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne )
To the untrained or novice eye, stepping into the pub in its current condition in June 2025, it might appear that not much has happened over the last year, but that could not be further from the actual situation. For a 12 month comparison, see what Martin's pub looked like when we had exclusive access back in June 2024 here.
One of the main delays of the timeline - although Martin says there is no timeline as such - is the fact that the building is going to be a commercial enterprise. He says: " It's not the doing it, it's not the ideas, it's not the enthusiasm and having a great team - it's often the extra things you have to do in terms of planning and regulations because it's going to be a place of public use.
‌
"It means you have to adhere to a thousand billion more rules and regulations and it quite rightly covers everything and it takes forever, it's frustrating because I wanted to be further along but it has to be done. But we will get there."
CGI of how the finished project could look including the addition of a community shop and bike hire
(Image: Martin Roberts )
‌
The building is now structurally strong and the main ground floor area of the pub that has two defined lounge bar areas connected by the central bar are at the first fix stage, so electricity and plumbing are in, the new floor is down, and the showcase bar is complete but won't be installed until a later stage, much closer to when the pub is reopened.
Some of the walls are being left as exposed stone as Martin is keen to keep a country pub feel, enhanced greatly by the discovery of two fireplaces in one area that will ensure the pub always feels warm and welcoming with a 'k ick off your shoes, dog-friendly, chill out vibe'.
In the corner of this room is a major addition - two sections of wall have been removed in the corner to create a seamless flow from the old pub into the new glass and oak restaurant that Martin is adding to the side of the current building that will be an absolute showstopper - offering mountain and waterfall views from its glass covered gable end.
‌
The same spot 12 months ago with no break-through in the walls for access to the new restaurant
(Image: Jo Ridout, WalesOnline )
Martin says the planning has been given and that this area will serve high quality food with traditional food in the main pub section. He says: " I want it to be s omewhere special, not be over-priced but it will be a place where you'll want to come for a special occasion and I think the valleys deserve that.
"Why shouldn't it be as good as anything you find in Cardiff, London or The Cotswolds. I want people to walk through the door and go, 'I can't believe this is here because you could be Bourton-On-The-Water!'"
‌
CGI of inside the newly constructed, timber-framed restaurant
(Image: Martin Roberts )
But the food side of the establishment is also going to offer young people and local catering students at Coleg y Cymoedd the chance to practice what it's like to cook and run a restaurant "in a real world situation, as it's the best way to learn", he comments. " And do you know what, they will shine! If you give young people a chance from my experience the y always deliver, if you just believe in them."
This eagerness to involve young people in the project has been an impressive hallmark of Martin's renovation project, including with the renovation and building work, specifically through the Real Skillz Project, an initiative that provides construction skills training on-site in a collaboration between YEPS 16+ Support Team, Communities for Work Plus, and ARC Training.
‌
CGI of inside the main ground floor lounge bar area divided into two spaces with a central bar
(Image: Martin Roberts )
In the second bar area there will be a stage where young musicians and anyone who just wants to have a go will be able to access equipment and be a creative space, adding to the atmosphere and ensuring the building is always 'alive' in one way or another.
Upstairs progress is more obvious, with the eight bedrooms boasting new windows, electrics, plastered and painted walls and shower rooms, as well as some of the furniture for the pub downstairs that Martin has sourced as the project has developed.
‌
The slow progress delivering the commercial aspects of the building has been a blessing in disguise for Martin, as he says it has given him extra time to think and that has resulted in a new idea for the eight guest rooms.
He says: "The big news is, over probably too many bottles of wine one night, I came up with the idea of theming the rooms around TV shows, so you could be staying in Top Gear, A Question of Sport and, probably my favourite, Fawlty Towers.
The eight bedrooms are almost finished
(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne )
‌
"I will put in these rooms lots of memorabilia which I've gathered but also decorated in the style, so say Fawlty Towers will have wallpaper peeling off, shelves that are breaking, flock bedspreads and very old fashioned fittings."
There's also a Top of the Pops room and, of course, a Homes Under The Hammer property room, as well as a Doctor Who bedroom, Martin adds: "I've actually got a life sized cut out of tom baker - my era - and I'm currently negotiating on buying a 1970s dalek.
"The only good thing about any delays is that it means I came up with extra ideas, like the bedrooms, I didn't think of that at the start, it's a big project, there's lots to think about. For more property stories join our Amazing Welsh Homes Facebook group here
‌
"I m ight give some of the bedrooms to one interior designer to play with, I've been collecting lots of relevant memorabilia a nd collectables and we've got some great designs already, but I'd quite like to give younger people a chance to come in and say, do the doctor who bedroom, do the question of sport bedroom with a little bit of their spin on it."
One of the bedroom ensuites is done and dusted
(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne )
Martin is also keen to involve as many Welsh businesses as is possible in the project and one exciting example is engaging start-up company Siop Rhyd to design and create a resin section of the showpiece bar. Martin found the back story of Rhodri Phillips, who has worked on the resin for the top of the bar, as so inspiring he was keen to work with him on this fundamental aspect of the pub's interior. Find out about Rhodri's story here.
‌
There's also been more time for Martin to source some unique pieces for the furniture and décor of the ground floor lounge bars including traditional iron and wood pub tables as he is keen for the inside of the property to be as distinctive on this public level as in the bedrooms above it.
The purchase of the pub was not quite as reckless as it might first appear, as it is part of an exciting regeneration plan for the area that, if it succeeds, will be a new chapter for the area.
After being invited to travel down into the new closed Rhondda tunnel that links the Afan valley with the Rhondda valley and was once used to transport mined coal to Swansea docks by the Rhondda Tunnel Society, Martin was captivated.
‌
When the society invited Martin to become their patron he says he felt honoured and since then he and the society have made significant progress to reopening this unique slice of history as a tourist attraction - find out about the latest exciting development in the reopening plan here.
The first floor will have eight ensuite bedrooms, each with a theme, and this one is obviously a homage to Homes Under The Hammer
(Image: Martin Roberts )
The Hendrewen hotel and pub is located an easy walk to the now landscaped and filled in Rhondda Fawr end of the tunnel and can become a hub for hiring bikes to ride through the tunnel and supplies for people visiting to explore the network of cycle and hiking paths that cover this stunning area of Wales.
‌
The pub is not the first renovation project Martin has got his teeth into in Wales within the last decade, and specifically the Rhondda Fawr valley, which he clearly feels such a strong connection to, as he purchased and renovated Tynewydd farmhouse.
Now a popular holiday let, the oldest surviving farmhouse in the valley is also said to be haunted and was the subject of a celebrity special addition of discovery+ show 'Help! My House is Haunted'. See what it is like to stay at Martin's farmhouse here.
Martin's epic Welsh renovation journey has been filmed and documented from the very beginning of the project, when he 'accidently' and impulsively bought The Hendrewen hotel and pub without even telling his wife Kirsty.
‌
In December 2024 Martin announced exciting plans ahead with news of a new programme on ITV in the style of Jeremy Clarkson's Amazon Prime show, showcasing The Hendrewen project, based on the mini series called 'Oops I Bought A Pub' broadcasting on his YouTube channel.
Martin shows the family his 'accidental' purchase as part of an ITV documentary series called 'Oops I Bought a Pub' release date unknown at the moment
(Image: Martin Roberts' Property Titbits YouTube channel - Oops I Bought A Pub series )
Broadcast on ITV as a probable 10-part documentary series, it is expected to air sometime in 2026 - but first Martin needs to actually finish at least the pub, hotel and restaurant.
‌
He says: "I'd like to say Christmas this year but I don't want to rush it, I want to do it right. There's no point in opening in November or December because we won't have time to hire and train staff, s o w e'll probably finish in March next year and probably open next summer, there's no specific rush.
"It's a balance really, I want to get it open as soon as possible but I don't really want to open it in phases, I want to open it all at the same time. It's not a building you can just quickly renovate, and if you do it right it also costs a fortune. But it is very exciting, and it will open as soon as possible and when I am happy - it is my number one project next year, my main focus."
If you are a young interior designer who would like to know more about maybe contributing to one of The Hendrewen's bedroom designs, email [e-mail]
Article continues below
Find your own property to renovate here: