Hoot of an Unexpected Guest Lands at Luton Hoo

Richard Baker, the new general manager at Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf & Spa has dealt with many strange items left behind at hotels – including wooden legs, dentures and teddy bears – but nothing as strange as the unexpected and apparently lost guest that landed last week.

 

A giant Eagle Owl, the world’s largest owl weighing up to 9lbs and with a wingspan of 6ft, was spotted perching on the roof of the Grade 1 listed mansion and has since been sighted several time around the hotel and grounds.

 

Thought to be extinct in England for more than 100 years, a pair of Eagle Owls believed to have arrived from continental Europe started breeding on the Yorkshire Moors in the 1990s. Experts believe there are only around 40 wild Eagle Owls in the UK with exact numbers difficult to establish, so it’s likely that Luton Hoo’s guest has escaped from a sanctuary, wild bird centre or zoo.

 

If so, Richard admits the bird is the strangest piece of ‘lost property’ he has ever come across in his lengthy hotel career, and even he was stumped for an answer when first asked what to do about the owl.

 

“My years as a General Manager would normally be enough to deal with most queries, but when our Estate Manager came to me to ask what do about the owl I didn’t have an answer immediately to hand,” he said.

 

Estate Manager Richard Biffen heard a strange sound one evening last week, and when he went to investigate he saw a large silhouette perched on the roof. Someone managed to take a photograph using a mobile phone and after further investigation a local owl sanctuary confirmed the bird was an Eagle Owl.

 

“It has been spotted a number of times over the past few days so we’re now waiting to hear in anyone has misplaced their owl,” said Richard Baker. “As they are so rare in the wild, and mostly seen in the north of England, we believe it might have escaped from a sanctuary or zoo.

 

“In the meantime we’re happy to accommodate our additional guest, even if it won’t be dining in the restaurant. It’s certainly another interesting and unexpected chapter in the progress of Bedfordshire’s newest five-star hotel, but one we have thoroughly enjoyed.”

 

Anyone with any information about the Eagle Owl should contact Richard Biffen at Luton Hoo on 01582 734437.