The building, which dates back to 1884, was listed for sale last month and it has attracted a number of interested parties.

Measuring a significant 2914 square metres, the site includes the hotel, Stumpy’s on Stewart Bistro and the Bottle-O bottle shop.

The hotel has two street frontages – Stewart and Lambert streets.

Dudley Hotel licensee Robert ‘Stumpy’ Taylor said even though the property was passed in at the auction on December 15, it was important to “get it out there in the marketplace”.

“There’s a couple of people who are looking at contracts,” he said.

“We’ve given it three months to see what happens and then once that finishes we’ll look at a couple of other options.”

Marketing agent Gerry Quinlan from Manenti Quinlan and Associates said: “The Dudley Hotel was undoubtedly one of the best regional hotels to come to the market in the last five years.”

“Interest is expected from interstate as well as local buyers,” he said.

Since Mr Taylor took over as licensee in 1993 a number of major renovations have been conducted.

In 1999, the bistro and gaming areas were extended.

Renovations took place again in 2001, and this time a glass deck was added to the side of the pub near the children's play equipment.

The last renovation took place in 2004 when gaming room was moved to the old house. Decking and a courtyard were created and a function room was built.

“The premises have been meticulously maintained and upgraded to cater for changing trends within the hospitality trade,” Mr Quinlan said.

“The hotel has been refurbished to an outstanding level.”

Hotel broker and auctioneer Richard Thomas, from Thomas Cooper and Co, said: “the stable and vibrant Bathurst economy provides security to potential investors”.