Bohemia Village Voice

Louise (pictured) and Carol who own and run Tower House 1066 in Tower Road West have now got a licence for non-residents. The pair took over the guest house in 2006, and have since gained a Visit Britain 4 Star Silver Award.
“We want to be at the heart of the community”, explained Carol. “We can cater for special events, small functions and meetings, and we offer a very friendly service.” Louise added, “We want to bring in the people living locally who don’t know us. We give a nice personal service.”
At their stylish and comfortable Victorian guest house, Louise and Carol can cater for up to forty people, for events and celebrations such as wedding receptions, (after a ceremony elsewhere), birthdays and anniversaries. Available for booking is the formal dining room, a conservatory overlooking the garden, and in summer the terrace and tables in the garden itself. There is also a licensed bar. A large group can have the whole ground floor, depending on the time of day, (the lounge is set aside for residential guests in the evenings). A group can also book the whole establishment including accommodation if they wish.
At the end of last year, Louise and Carol were thinking of opening up for light lunches and teas, but then found that despite the economic downturn they were getting a lot of bookings for guest accommodation.
“Despite the credit crunch we’re far busier than we thought we would be.” said Carol. “We’re getting a lot of foreign tourists now, and we are very busy with business functions. We’re just concentrating on the celebrations and the meetings at the moment, rather than opening tearooms. It’s a bespoke service, and we tailor it to the customers’ needs.” Louise said. “If we do the tea-rooms it will be at a later date in the near future.” Carol added, “It will be open only on certain days of the week and certain times.” “It’s just getting that fine balance,” explained Louise. “ We don’t want to stretch ourselves so that it takes away the quality of service from our residential guests.”
Louise and Carol have an organic vegetable garden with three vegetable beds. They use organic gardening methods wherever possible and do their utmost to be environmentally friendly. “We’re as organic as we can be.” said Carol. “We use our home-grown veg to supplement our meals.”
Carol has a certificate in Diet and Nutrition, so can cater for most special dietary requirements. However, she said, “We don’t deal with someone who has a serious food allergy, as some of our food is bought and we can’t control what is in that.”
“We are part of ‘Sussex Breakfast’” said Louise. “To belong to this you have to have six items plus on the breakfast menu which are locally sourced. Again, it’s about supporting local people.”