A couple who spent their entire savings renovating a hotel returned from holiday to find it destroyed after a burst pipe flooded the entire building.
Des Thomson, 50, and Sinead Finnegan, 40, were left distraught after finding their beloved Osprey Hotel in ruins.
When they returned to the Scottish town of Kingussie from Sri Lanka on December 19, they discovered that a pipe had burst in the loft and water had been flowing out for weeks.
To make matters worse, the couple's business insurance has refused to pay out because they were away from the property for more than thirty days and out of the country.
Mr Thomson told it The daily record: 'Every morning we wake up and deal with a nightmare.'
Des Thomson, 50, and Sinead Finnegan, 40, were left distraught after discovering their beloved Osprey Hotel had been destroyed
To make matters worse, the couple's business insurance refused to pay out because they were away from the property for more than 30 days and out of the country. In the photo: Damage caused in the dining room by the flood
The couple discovered that a pipe had burst in the coop and water had been flowing out for weeks. Ceilings, floors and walls must be removed
He said he immediately knew something was wrong when they saw condensation on the hotel windows when they returned.
The distraught hotel owner added: 'We did everything ourselves and needed a well-deserved rest, ready to move on. But we haven't returned to anything, everything is affected. It has destroyed our lives and we are desperate. We've lost everything.'
Mr Thomson, who is originally from Glasgow, bought the hotel in 2019 after returning to Scotland after spending 20 years in Dublin.
Despite Covid hitting within months of their takeover, they continued to pour their savings into transforming the hotel, which was in need of a major renovation.
After four years of hard work, the couple finally opened for business in April. The Osprey had been doing well for six months when the couple decided to book a holiday in October.
Mr Thomson revealed that a friend would be staying at the hotel so he assumed everything would be fine, but that was not the case.
The couple will have to remove every wall, ceiling and floor, while all furnishings such as mattresses, carpets, TVs and electronics have been destroyed.
The commercial kitchen equipment and dining room have also been destroyed, leaving the couple with a near-impossible task of refurbishing the hotel for a second time.
Mr Thomson, who is originally from Glasgow, bought the hotel in 2019 after returning to Scotland after spending 20 years in Dublin. In the photo: the Osprey Hotel
A bedroom in the hotel is pictured before it was completely destroyed by the floods while the owners were away
There is a bar in the hotel. The owners are raising money to renovate the hotel
The entrance to the Osprey hotel in the Scottish town of Kingussie
The couple claim they were made aware of the sewerage fault that led to the flooding, which was the result of a botched job carried out by previous owners.
Despite a huge £125,000 quote to repair the hotel, the owners have refused to give up and vowed to rebuild their hotel. They hope it can open its doors again in May.
They set one up GoFundMe, where they wrote, “The Osprey is our life, business and home. We will have to strip the hotel down to the beams and we will do that. We plan to rebuild it bigger and better.”
At the time of writing, the couple have raised almost £8,000.