VETERAN owners of a well-loved hotel have issued a final farewell to customers stating that “all good things must come to an end”.

Anthony Lloyd, who set up Fallowfields with his wife Peta more than two decades ago, announced the sudden closure of the Southmoor hotel in early January.

The 71-year-old has finally spoken of the illness that drove him to the decision, in an interview with the Oxford Mail.

He said: “I was sad to see it close. I am being investigated for cancer, so the advice was to take stress out of one’s life.

“We had a lot of changes and we needed a new chef team. We had a few issues like that so I felt the time had come to sit back and take things a bit more easy.

“Many people have been in contact with us on Facebook and Twitter. We’ve had lots of very personal notes. But all good things have to come to an end.”

The former RAF pilot, whose plane was shot at in Borneo, was not the picture of health.

He spluttered as he spoke in the grand living room of the hotel, where bridal parties have celebrated weddings and diners have awaited gourmet suppers.

He added: “My wife and I are living here at the moment but we are going to be moving up to London at some stage to be closer to our family – while I’ve got time left on this earth.”

The couple, who have three daughters and one son, set up the hotel after Mr Lloyd retired from a career in global technology company IBM.

Fallowfields, in Faringdon Road, boasts a 4.5 star rating on Tripadvisor.

Customers were alarmed by its closure, which left them uncertain about how to get refunds for wedding deposits and vouchers.

General manager Sven Saint-Calbre initially said customers had been informed of the closure and would be refunded.

Guy Simmonds, 25, put down a £1,000 wedding deposit for a ceremony in August with his partner, 27-year-old Kate Evans.

The couple, who live in Oxford, received a “poorly formatted” email from the hotel informing them of the closure, which they thought was a hoax.

Mr Simmonds said: “I tried calling the hotel, but received no answer. So I went to the hotel, where a member of staff confirmed to me that it was in fact closing down.

“He informed me that our deposit should be returned ‘within a week or two’.

“It took over four weeks for us to get our money back.”

Another customer, who preferred not to be named, was anxious when the hotel cut off its phone lines and shut down its e-mail address and website.

The 43-year-old woman, who lives near Banbury, said: “As a Christmas present for my parents I bought them a £150 voucher for the hotel.

“It’s a substantial amount of money. We only came to know there was a problem when my mum went to ring to make a reservation.”

Mr Lloyd said anyone who needs a refund should post their voucher to the hotel.

He confirmed that the hotel was up for sale.

STAR SERVICE

* 3 AA rosettes recognising “outstanding” cooking
* 2005 and 2007 gold winners of Tourism South East’s Tourism Excellence Awards, for small hotel of the year
* 2013/14 silver winners of Tourism South East’s Beautiful South Awards, for small hotel of the year
* Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence, rated 4.5 stars
* Oxford Mail’s Katherine MacAlister described “genuine delight and astonishment” in a review of the hotel’s restaurant last year