Our first experience of Torbay was in the Spring of 2016 when driving around South Devon on the lookout for somewhere to settle and bring up a young family. Driving along Torquay seafront on a beautiful spring afternoon, and then back along the stunning coast road from Dartmouth we both fell in love with South Devon, finally moving to Paignton in the winter of 2017. The only time (yet!) that we have seen significant snow here...
The opportunity to buy Kethla House came in 2021, and we took over from the wonderful previous owners, Don and Julie, in March 2022. Although neither of us have had prior experience in the hospitality industry we have always loved entertaining guests and have thrown ourselves into making Kethla House a luxurious home from home for our guests. Our mission is to ensure that all our guests have a relaxing and enjoyable stay with us, and especially for all those new to the English Riviera and to South Devon to experience the same love at first sight and happy memories that we did when we first came here.
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Sade's first career was as an engineer in the oil and gas industry. Sade is hands-on and practical - she has always been passionate about buildings and about interior design. Since taking on Kethla House Sade is responsible for updating the furnishings and décor, and she does most of the maintenance and decorating. Sade has an outgoing, bubbly personality, loves welcoming our guests, making them laugh and making sure that they have everything they need for their stay.
When not busy around the guest house, Sade loves dancing, travelling, gardening and entertaining...
Jonathan hails from another, rather different, seaside town - Dover in Kent. Previously a university lecturer, when he married Sade he moved to Nigeria (via a brief sojourn in Saudi Arabia), where he spent his time setting up a business providing editing and consultancy services to academics and researchers around the world.
At Kethla House, Jonathan helps check in guests, cooks the breakfasts and deals with most of the administration. As the in-house accountant, he is engaged in a, mostly losing, battle to temper Sade's constant stream of good ideas...
Beyond the guest house, Jonathan loves travelling, playing with our children, art, ballet and cricket.