Does Clooney want hotel? Categorically not

RUMOURS that film star George Clooney has bid to buy the French Horn in Sonning have been quashed.

The 12-room riverside hotel and restaurant is being sold for the first time in 50 years with offers over £12 million being accepted. The deadline for bids closes on Wednesday.

The sale, which is being handled jointly by estate agents Haslams and Christie & Co, comes with adjacent residential properties and covers a total of 8.6 acres.

Steve Woodford, executive chairman of Haslams, said: “It has generated a lot of interest. We’ve had the best part of 20 viewings.

“They have been a real mixture of people — from locals with money to people overseas, Hong Kong, Dubai, Jordan, all over.

“We’re anticipating between three and six offers, which is very positive. We’ve got a number of viewings lined up for this weekend.

“One client has had three builders meeting down there to discuss how they could reconfigure it. We’re hopeful it will be kept as a boutique hotel.” Asked if Clooney, who has a house in Sonning with his wife Amal, has shown an interest, Mr Woodford said: “Categorically not. Not unless he has come dressed as someone else.”

Ronnie and Carole Emmanuel bought the 200-year-old 19th century coaching inn in 1972 and it is now run by their children, Michael and Elaine.

The French Horn has 460m of water frontage and diners can arrive by boat at the restaurant, which serves French-inspired cuisine and has 100 covers.

Opposite are eight 19th century Furleigh Cottages which traditionally hosted mill workers. There is also the four-bedroom River and Bridge House, Porter’s Cottage and Orchard Lodge, which is currently configured as four separate flats. There are 5.6 acres of adjoining paddocks.

The hotel’s famous guests over the years have included Princess Margaret, Lady Diana and Elizabeth Taylor.

It has appeared in literature, including Jerome K Jerome’s 1889 novel Three Men In A Boat, where it is described as “the most fairy-like nook on the whole river”, and in TV shows including Midsomer Murders.