Grand farewell

By Melissa Donchi
AFTER 77 years the Lithgow family has sold the iconic Yarra Glen Grand Hotel to a local showbiz couple for an undisclosed sum.
The Yarra Valley-based actors Fred Whitlock and Alison Whyte snapped up the hotel not long after they sold their Terminus Hotel in Abbotsford earlier this year.
Alison Whyte is best known for her role as Emma, the conscientious producer in the satrical comedy series Frontline.
It will be the first time in 77 years that the hotel has been owned outside of the Lithgow family.
The hotel was built in 1888 and has been classified by the National Trust and registered with the Heritage Commission.
Current owner John Lithgow was born at the hotel, which his grandfather had owned since 1930.
Mr Lithgow has managed the hotel since the early ’70s after his parents retired and has overseen its transformation from country pub to four star destination.
Many famous faces have passed through the hotel but it was Prime Minister John Howard that was the most memorable.
“I was in Queensland at the time and I made plans to get back to the hotel by 2pm to meet him at 4pm,” Mr Lithgow said.
“Everything imaginable went wrong, the plane was delayed, we crashed into a car…by the time I got there it was five to nine and the PM had been there for hours.”
But despite all the memories, Mr Lithgow is more than happy to break the family ties.
“I’m actually pleased that it’s over,” Mr Lithgow said.
“It was always at the forefront of my mind and took precedent over anything else I was doing.”
Mr Lithgow said it was a family decision to sell up and put the business on the market in early March after consulting his wife, Anne, and children, Jake, 29, and Kimberley, 27.
“It’s been very rewarding personally to oversee the renovations and turn it into a four star property,” Mr Lithgow said.
“We are the preferred supplier for Qantas, Great Aussie Hotels and other inbound operators – for a 10 room country pub I don’t think that’s a bad achievement.
“But I don’t think any of these achievements would have been possible without the support from the Yarra Valley wine industry which gave me the fantastic opportunity to redevelop the hotel and turn it into a destination itself.”
While it’s the end of an era, it’s also the beginning of a new venture which will see the Lithgow family possibly relocate to the city to invest in a business which they hope their son Jake will manage.
“It’s been a truly memorable experience and I have some wonderful memories,” Mr Lithgow said.
“But it’s time to go.”